Christmas Fun Stuff

PARENTAL NOTE - Please be aware that this page contains links to External Websites. Please ensure you know what your children are viewing at all times.
Please see my notes on for more information Other Websites/Third Party Sites for more information.

Fun Stuff

Make Christmas Ornaments

Here are some links to some websites where you can make fun Christmas ornaments.

Paper Bauble Ornaments - Click HERE
Song birds to hang on your tree - Click HERE
Teardrop Ornaments - Click HERE
Multifaceted Ornaments - Click HERE
Balloon Shaped Paper Ornaments - Click HERE
Paper Orbits to hang on your tree - Click HERE

Wintery Paper Tree - Click HERE
Sparkly Glitter Trees - Click HERE
Paper Bauble Garland - Click HERE

Christmas Around The World
Find out what Christmas is like around the world, visit the website below for all the information.
Christmas-Around-The-World

Storynory
Great website full of interesting stuff to keep the kids busy - check it out here. Storynory.

Colouring Pages
All the colouring pages your child could ever want.
Visit Fisher-Price colouring pages HERE

Games
Online Christmas Games for children - lots of fun for all.
Click HERE

Large Ice Marbles
During really cold weather – fill balloons with water and food colourings.
Leave outside to freeze.
Once frozen cut away the balloon – they'll look like large marbles

Santa Claus Webcams - click HERE

Somethings to think about : (found from internet searches)

Why does the glue in a tube not stick to the tube itself?
Why can't we ever manage to open a plastic bag on the first attempt?
How come soap bubbles are always white no matter what the colour of the soap?
Americans spend over 2 billion hours a year mowing their lawns.
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.
Polar bears are left handed.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.

STRANGE BUT TRUE

Look at your zipper. See the initials YKK? It stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, the world's largest zipper manufacturer.
40 percent of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as a medicine.
Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.
There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.
By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand.
The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
Brains are more active sleeping than watching TV.

Santa Game

To play the game below, use the Spacebar to make Santa jump and the Up Arrow key to catch objects.
Game downloaded from Santa.net.

Your Christmas Jokes

What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes.
Harry From Kent, UK

What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman? Frost bite.
Molly From Edinburgh.

Knock, Knock. Who's there? Holly.
Holly who? Holly days are here again.
Laura From Birmingham UK

How does Jack Frost travel to work? By Icicle.
Claudia From Leicester UK

What does Jack Frost eat for breakfast? Frosties.
Claudia From Leicester UK

What does Santa like on his ice-cream? Glaced Merries!
William From Glasgow, UK.

What's an ig? An eskimo's home with no loo
Jimmy From Donegal, Ireland.

Knock Knock Who's there? Donut Donut who ? Donut open till Christmas !
Jilly From Southampton, UK.

What do you get if you cross a Reindeer and a musical instrument? An Organ Donner!
Emily From Kildare, Ireland.

On Christmas it started raining, little Timmy thought it was snow, while little Jill thought it was rain. When they heard a bang downstairs and saw one big, looming figure, Rudolph it was. “Oh your magic aren't you, tell me it is raining so I can prove my brother wrong" said Jill cheekily. " Rain it is" said Rudolph. "No it is not!" said Timmy desperately. Rudolph who was also known as Rudolph the Red, turned to him and said “Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear!"
Bernard From Kildare, Ireland.

Who hides in the bakery at Christmas? A mince spy!
Lauren From Liverpool.

What did one snowman say to the other snowman? Can you smell carrot?
Mitch From Watford, UK.

What do you sing at a snowman's birthday party? Freeze a jolly good fellow.
Robbie From Didcot, UK.

Who gives puppies Christmas presents? Santa paws!
Rachel From Hinckley, UK.

What do you call an old snowman? Water.
Sasha From Tamworth, UK.

What often falls at the North Pole but never gets hurt? Snow.
Ryan From Carlow, Ireland.

External Web Sites

Elf Yourself

The link will bring you to an External WEBSITE - where you can upload pics of yourself and friends and enjoy the completed Elf Video.

Website - Santa and Christmas at the North Pole.

Are you on Santa's Naught or Nice List - click HERE to find out.

Learn more about the Reindeer - click HERE to visit the Reindeer Barn.

RECIPES

RUDOLPH'S SNOWBALL CARROT MUFFINS
425g can of Pineapple in juice.
200g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g golden caster sugar
50g desiccated coconut
2 eggs
85g butter melted
150g pot natural bio-yogurt175g grated carrots

To Decorate
50g creamed coconut
juice from pineapple can
50g desiccated coconut
100g icing sugar
orange writing icing
crystallised angelica

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases. Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice, then crush the flesh with a fork. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, melted butter and yogurt together and pour into the bowl, along with the carrot and pineapple. Stir quickly, then spoon into muffin cases and bake for 18 mins or until risen and golden. Can be frozen at this stage for up to a month.
To decorate, mix the creamed coconut with 5 tbsp pineapple juice and stir in the icing sugar. Put the desiccated coconut onto a plate or tray. Peel the muffins from their cases and put on a rack. Spread the icing over until completely covered (this can get a bit messy), then roll in the coconut. Leave to dry for a few mins. Pipe a carrot on the top of each muffin using the writing icing, with strips of angelica as stalks.

TOFFEE POPCORN BARK
200g milk chocolate
200g white chocolate
2 x 30g bags toffee popcorn

Line a 20 x 30cm baking tray with baking parchment. Melt the milk chocolate and white chocolate separately, then allow to cool slightly.
Pour most of the chocolate onto the tray, roughly swirling together. Sprinkle over the toffee popcorn, then drizzle over the remaining milk and white chocolate, and chill until set. Break into big chunks before serving.

CHRISTMAS CUPCAKES
For the Cakes

280g self-raising flour
175g golden caster sugar
175g unsalted butter , very soft
150g pot fat-free natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs.

For the Frosting

85g unsalted butter , softened
1 tsp vanilla extract.
200g icing sugar , sifted.

To Decorate

natural green food colouring (for Christmas trees), sweets, sprinkles and white chocolate stars
milk and white chocolate buttons and natural colouring icing pens.

METHOD

Heat oven to 190C/170 fan/gas 5 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with cake cases. Put all the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix with a whisk until smooth. Spoon the mix into the cases, bake for 25 mins until golden and risen and a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
For the frosting, beat the butter, vanilla extract and icing sugar until pale and creamy and completely combined. To make snowmen, reindeer and Christmas puddings, first spread the icing over the top of each cake. Then lay the chocolate buttons on top, slicing some buttons into quarters to make ears and hats. Finally, use icing pens for the details. For the Christmas tree, colour the icing with green food colouring and pipe onto the cakes using a star-shaped nozzle, decorate with sweets, sprinkles and white chocolate stars.

PEPPERMINT PUNCH
Add peppermint/mint ice cream to ginger ale .
Stir with a peppermint stick or candy-cane.

SNOWY SODA
1/4 cup pure cranberry juice
1/4 cup pure orange juice
1/2 cup tonic water (or any soda)
In a tall glass put cranberry juice, orange juice and tonic water (or any soda).
(northpole.com)

SNOWBALL TRUFFLES

200ml double cream
200g good-quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
200g desiccated coconut

Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring just up to the boil. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour over the boiling cream, then stir until the chocolate and cream are well blended and smooth. Cool, then set aside in the fridge until the mixture is solid, about 2 hrs.

Scoop out teaspoons of the mixture and roll into small walnut-size balls with your hands. Sprinkle the coconut onto a plate and roll the truffle in the coconut until evenly covered. Will keep in a cool place for 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
Recipe from Good Food Magazine Dec 2007

EDIBLE NAME PLACE BISCUITS

300g icing sugar
½ tsp peppermints extract
4 giant cookies
sweets and sprinkles , to decorate

Mix icing sugar with peppermint extract and enough water to make a thick icing. Spread the icing over cookies and create a border around the edges using sweets and sprinkles. Leave for 10 mins for the icing to set. Then, using an icing pen, write a guest's name in the centre of each cookie. When the icing is dry, wrap in cellophane and tie up with a pretty ribbon.
Recipe from Good Food Magazine Jan 2012