Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Winter brings us inside near a cozy fire, and our friends and family share the same spirit. That brings us all closer together.

Besides the good spirit and peace to all men, we all want to give a good impression to our friends and neighbours by presenting a table full of colourful and delicious food.

Kick-start the festive season with these ideas for decoration and food. And remember, have a very good time. It’s Christmas!

Now is the time to start thinking about making your Christmas cake. Here is a link to a wonderfully British Christmas cake, a tradition on its own. Make your Christmas table unforgettably beautiful with these CLEVER IDEAS FOR FESTIVE DECORATIONS.

Cute, personal holiday gifts on a crunched timeline? You bet! See how you can create clever food gifts, quick crafts, and more in a jiffy.

And above all, be safe. Be jolly too. Merry Christmas from LCT IDIOMAS.

a hot cup of christmas

There is something about a hot cup of tea that just tickles my warmest feelings. I guess it reminds me of my childhood. Do you have a special comfort food or treat or drink that instantly evokes a special feeling in you?

For me this is it. Tea. Such a simple, delightful word. Whenever I think of tea, my mind fills up with images of Victorian ladies and horse-drawn carriages and dainty sandwiches.

Every year, on Christmas day I have tea in the afternoon with my family. The table is as pretty as possible with the finest china and linen, decorated with poinsettia, candles & the most fabulous array of food. We serve finger sandwiches and biscuits shaped like reindeer, stars, snowmen… And, of course, the queen of the table is always the Tea Pot. If I ever were grateful to a homely invention, it is to the teapot. Nothing like a graceful teapot pouring steaming tea into a cup to turn an ungainly, clumsy brute into a well-mannered gentleman.

This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

Most tea companies make a special tea for Christmas. It's always a different tea, a little spicy with wonderful flavours. Just right for the season and the weather. Today’s main star is… TEA.

 

Hot spiced tea
Ingredients

• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 to 12 whole allspice
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 12 cups water
• 12 individual tea bags
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

 

 

Directions

• Place cinnamon sticks, allspice and cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth. Bring up corners of cloth; tie with a string to form a bag.
• Place water and spice bag in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add tea bags; cover and steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and spice bag. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Add juices; heat through. Serve warm. 

Yield: 3 quarts.

In honour of this ceremony and the warm, cosy feelings it arouses in my British heart, I invite you to join me. Why don’t you throw your own Tea Party this year with friends or family? In order to help you start, I will be giving you some recipes for inspiration.

Egg 'n' Cress Tea Sandwiches Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup minced watercress, chives or parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 8 slices whole wheat and/or white bread

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the eggs, watercress, olives, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Spread butter over one side of each slice of bread.
• Spread egg mixture over butter side of four bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices. Top with remaining bread, buttered side down. Using a 3-in. holly-leaf-shaped cookie cutter, cut out two tea sandwiches from each sandwich. 

Yield: 8 tea sandwiches.

5 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS… AND COUNTING.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly

 

fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Yesterday it smelled like Christmas, now it’s starting to sound like it. Have you ever sung a Christmas carol in English? There are loads of them which are even good! You should try them. If you are bold enough, here is a link to carols for you to dare.

What? Is it the second week of December? Already? If the holidays have caught your season planning off guard, you've come to the right place. We've got everything you need to make your Christmas holidays plans sparkle. Get started now!

Easy Holiday Treats for Kids to Make
These treats are guaranteed to keep kids busy and happy to contribute to the holiday cheer: printables, christmas ornaments and cards

Liven up your holiday fun with tons of activities: beautiful and easy crafts 

What about a gorgeous and outrageously easy craft? I want one too!

Have each child paint four craft sticks brown. When the paint is dry, guide each student in gluing the craft sticks together as shown. After the glue dries, have each youngster use a black marker to draw eyes and add a red sticky dot nose. Then help her write her name on the handle. (Courtesy from Mailbox).

LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT OUR CITY.

Indulge yourself in the various Christmas Events that take place in Madrid during these exciting days and make it the most memorable time by browsing through these proposals. Everything from a gospel festival to a craft market that will delight your eyes and your finances!

If you are in for a good laugh and you’re a bit older than a toddler, here is a funny poem for you.

And it is my pleasure to tingle your appetite for Christmas food with the first installment in a series of delicious recipes. Are you ready?

 

A classic Christmas drink gets a coffee kick in this luscious combination. With just two ingredients, it makes a perfect last second entertaining option.

(from Taste of Home, find recipe here).

and here you can find the original recipe for EGGNOG, which is a traditional Christmas punch made of sweetened milk or cream mixed with eggs and usually liqueur.

10 days till Christmas…and counting.

IT SMELLS LIKE CHRISTMAS

 

It’s nearly that time of the year when bad feelings turn fuzzy, when we want to forget all about the long hours of work and the drudgery that comes with them, and the world becomes a snow-covered basket brimming with promises of good things to come.

It’s that time of the year when school and work and duty and backache and family and timetables and recipes and plane tickets and rush-hour presents become a blurry race into a parade of days when fun is a must and time takes on a new meaning.

Family time. Quality time. Eating time. Maybe a bit of spiritual time thrown in with the current.

It’s that time of the year when one word steps up into the limelight. Sharing. We share our time. Thoughts of each other. Things that convey our feelings for someone. A place in our lives that was forgotten amidst the vortex of everyday life.

Christmas is coming, again.

And I say “again” with all the heart-felt anticipation that a child harbours for Christmas Day or Epiphany when, at the first sight of sunlight, you peek from under a sleepy eyelid to find out what your first winter present is going to be.

What does Christmas mean to you? To me it means days off work, hours of recreation, warm and cozy moments around a table with family and friends, ornaments on a tree, jingle bells, surprises wrapped in tinfoil, a beaming face of joy at a gift, shopping lists, dancing till the wee hours.

Of course, it also means that everyone knows you have time to spare for their needs. Your house is invaded by aliens who bellow till your ears bleed, who gobble up every piece of turrón and cake and canapé you painstakingly prepared for hours, and who tear apart the beautifully decked tree with those expensive ornaments you just bought. It means you won’t have a moment for yourself until everyone has had their fill and you’re dropping on the floor out of exhaustion. It means endless hours of ever- the-same conversation with badly dressed people who never comment on your perfect attire. It means hundreds of kilos you can’t seem to know how to part with. It means, well, a lot of things you need to remind you it’s that time of the year, again.

I love Christmas. Don’t you?