Christmas Pudding Sundae with Carte D'Or Ice Cream

Christmas pudding is such a traditional festive dessert, but if you are looking for a twist on this old favourite, why not try a Christmas Pudding Sundae instead?

Made using creamy, vanilla Carte D'Or ice cream, rich Christmas pudding and a fruity, spiced cranberry and mulled wine sauce, this dessert combines some wonderful seasonal flavours to create something new and exciting. Carte D'Or sent me the ingredients to have a go myself.

Christmas Pudding Sundae Recipe

Ingredients

Serves four

8 scoops Carte D'Or Vanilla Ice Cream

200g Christmas pudding

100g cranberry sauce

2 tbspn mulled wine

2 tsp sugar

2 tbspn flaked toasted almonds

1 tbspn chocolate shavings

Method

Crumble the Christmas pudding into a pan over a low heat and warm through (or microwave according to instructions).

Mix the cranberry sauce, mulled wine and sugar in a separate pan. Bring to boil and stir to combine. Reduce slightly.

Spoon half of the Christmas pudding between four sundae dishes.

Drizzle a spoonful of the hot cranberry sauce onto the pudding, then top with a scoop of ice cream.

Repeat the layers, finishing with ice cream on top.

Drizzle over some more of the cranberry sauce and decorate with almonds and chocolate shavings.

Serve straight away.

Ian, who loves Christmas pudding, really enjoyed this dessert. It looked impressive and made something new and innovative from something very traditional. It will make an excellent pudding over the holidays. The warm Christmas pudding, the hot, tangy sauce and the cold ice cream worked really well together.

Don't lose your Christmas memories - back 'em up!

66% of people have lost digital Christmas photographs according to a survey commissioned by Seagate. Losing precious videos or images, really can be devastating as they are totally irreplaceable. From accidental deleting to software problems, these virtual files can be lost unless they are backed up and stored safely. With only 13% of people bothering to print out their festive pics, safe storage is paramount if you want to preserve your Christmas memories.

Having images on just a camera or a phone is not enough. Imagine losing your device and everything on it. Thankfully, most people can back up images directly from a smartphone instantly, using a simple app. Files on laptops can be easily backed up to external hard drives or to a personal cloud storage device. Sharing to social media is also a good way of keeping extra copies of precious images online.

Remember though that storage is not an unlimited resource to be taken for granted. Do you really need twenty identical shots of the kids in front of the Christmas tree? Use storage sensibly and back-up your files effectively.

Here is our review of the Seagate Personal Cloud 2-Bay storage device, which is what we use to keep all of our precious photographs safe.

A Silly Family Photo and a Wonderful Celebratory Weekend

Four generations of the Jones-McDonald family gathered together to celebrate my parents' sixtieth wedding anniversary this weekend. We were joined by my sister, who has recently relocated down south, who returned along with her husband and two little ones, and her four grown-up daughters with assorted fiances, who helped make a day that my mum and dad will remember forever. There were 22 of us in all, including eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild. Unfortunately, my niece Kate and her little boy couldn't make it and my nephew Tom lives in America - but it was almost a full house! A wonderful time was had by all, including a lovely three course Sunday lunch at The Hind's Head, a gastro-pub in a village three miles away from my home. It was so nice to catch up with everyone, and Freddy was overjoyed to be reunited with his cousins Addy and Dylan again.

I took a lot of photos as it is quite a rarity to have all five of my children home at once, and to get all four generations of our family together. I was pleased to get some new family pictures, but my favourite of the day was this one of my family, (soon to be) daughter-in-law, grandson and parents pulling silly faces...you can only stay serious for so long!

Days spent like this, surrounded by loved ones, laughing, chatting and having fun, makes me realise just how blessed I am. I've got a family that brings me love and joy and makes me so very proud everyday. I couldn't really wish for more.

#JustWrite this Christmas with Bic

According to research conducted on behalf of Bic, it has been found that almost half of 13-19 year olds have never written a thank you letter, 83% have not written a love letter and just over a quarter have never even written out a birthday card.

In the world of social media, instant messaging and texting, it seems that writing has taken a backseat with 1 in 5 youngsters failing to pick up a pen, more than once every couple of months, outside of school hours. Writing is a skill that is creative, helping to unlock an individual’s potential. It is so sad to see it being overlooked in favour of tapping away on a keyboard or touchscreen.

Handwritten letters are so personal and heartfelt, and can be treasured long after any words on a screen have been deleted. 65% of youngsters admitted that they knew that recipients of a handwritten letter, rather than an electronic equivalent, would be delighted by such a thoughtful gesture. Yet they still choose to text rather than write.

The #JustWrite campaign was launched by Bic UK and ROI to try to encourage people of all ages to pick up a pen and get writing. Bic sent us some of their kids' range to help get Freddy writing, and to nurture this important life skill, making handwriting a pleasure and not a chore.

Whether they are writing out cards for their classmates; making a wishlist for Santa or writing a thank you note to the grandparents, there are lots of opportunities for getting the kids practicing their penmanship this Christmas. Keeping a Christmas diary to record all the fun, festive things that they get up to, is a lovely idea to get children putting pen to paper during the holidays. A good way to get children enthusiastic about writing is to pop some lovely stationery items into their Christmas stockings. Who can resist the lure of brand new pens and pencils? The Bic Kids Evolution colouring pencils would be a wonderful gift for a child with their bright colours and extra resistant leads. All forms of mark making help with the fine motor skills needed for writing.

As a parent, I believe that I play a big role in passing on a love and respect of handwriting to my children. Encouraging them to pick up a pen to help me write a shopping list for Christmas supplies or getting them to enjoy some role play, such as pretending to be a waiter taking orders for dinner, makes it a fun activity rather than a chore.

Freddy is 6 and is just getting to grips with hand writing. He finds it a bit difficult to keep his letters neat, well formed and on the line, but practice makes perfect. Using the Bic Kids handwriting goodies, Freddy was keen to write out some family Christmas cards as well as a special birthday card for his nephew Ted, who turns three this month. Making writing fun is definitely the way to go when it comes to getting children to write for their own enjoyment. Freddy loved sitting down and independently using his new stationery to get writing.

Having the child friendly Bic Kids stationery really helped with the physical process of writing. The stationery is designed to encourage correct finger positioning and is comfortable for little hands to hold. The refillable mechanical pencil was Freddy's favourite item from the Bic Kids range. The neat little mechanical pencil comes with a thick HB lead and six refills. It also includes handy sticker name tags to personalise it. Suitable for both left and right handers, it has visual guiding lines for correct finger positioning. The Graphite Learners Pencil is a chunky, wooden pencil with an ultra resistant 2HB lead. The pencil itself is triangular for easy grip and won't splinter if it breaks. It is also made to resist pencil chewing. It is great to see stationery designed with kids in mind!

Freddy's next writing project will be his letter to Santa, which he'll do once he breaks up from school, ready to leave out for the Big Man himself on Christmas Eve!

A Family Meal at The Harvester

If you are looking for a family friendly restaurant to take the kids for a festive treat or somewhere to grab some food after a day's Christmas shopping, then The Harvester is a great choice.  We were invited to try out the new Harvester restaurant in Southwater, Telford. We booked a table for 4.45pm on the Wednesday, so the restaurant was quite quiet with just a few other families eating an early evening meal. It's a good time to eat when you have kids to avoid the busy, dinner time rush, giving yourself time to relax. The venue itself is large and spacious and is laid out with a touch of a rustic farmhouse theme, but with some modern, quirky twists, making it really interesting and fun. 

We were greeted at the door, shown to our seats and given menus. Minutes later the waitress took our orders - using nothing but her memory to record our meal choices, which was an impressive feat!

We opted for refillable drinks and this proved a highlight of the meal!  The drinks station was a funky, touchscreen affair that allowed you to choose your drink (including branded  Pepsi, Tango and R Whites) then let you add a twist of flavouring. Strawberry, lime, vanilla and cherry flavourings were added to Pepsi Max, lemonade and orange Tango, much to the delight of the kids and to Ian who got quite a taste for Tango with a twist of strawberry.

We then collected our salad from the salad bar. There were some lovely things to choose from including black olives, silverskin pickled onions, gherkins, rice salad, pickled red cabbage and noodles alongside traditional salad items such as lettuce, cucumber, potato salad and coleslaw. Everything was well stocked and the area was clean. Next we added our choice of dressings and topped our salad with croutons, seeds and onion bits. The bread station had both brown and white rolls with a choice of butter or sunflower margarine. Again it was well stocked and clean.

Everybody enjoyed their salad, which we had while waiting for our main course. It was fresh and we enjoyed the variety. Our food arrived at our table within 15 minutes. Everything was hot and the portions were very generous. We had herb battered halloumi, chips and mushy peas served with a little bowl of tartare sauce. It was presented well. I was very pleased to see such an innovative menu option for vegetarians, offering some good, tasty comfort food. Freddy ate from the kids' menu and ended up with the default kids' vegetarian option of pasta with tomato sauce and cheese, served with a side of fries and sweetcorn, which was OK, but not as exciting or adventurous as our meals. (They do also offer soy and leek sausages on the kids' menu, but Freddy is a Quorn sausage boy and not a fan of the vegetable based ones, so that limited his options.)

When we had finished our tables were promptly cleared and we were given the menus for dessert. To be honest we were pretty full from our mains, but Freddy had an ice cream with strawberry sauce, which came in a little jar and looked really cute. Kezia opted for the lemon meringue pie with cream and raspberry coulis, which was very well presented. We all had a nibble and it was very nice. The real Cornish style dairy ice cream that they serve in the Harvester is really good and the variety of sundaes on offer is quite extensive, and includes their famous Rocky Horror,  Eton Mess or Oreo Cookies and Cream.

Overall, we were impressed with the surroundings, found the staff quite friendly and helpful and we enjoyed the food. The salad bar and unlimited drinks were both highlights, but we were also impressed with the speed of service and the size of the portions. It was nice to see several vegetarian options on the adult menu. Our mains cost £7.69 and Freddy's Bigger Appetites kids' meal was £4.99, both including unlimited salad, making it good value.

The Harvester is definitely a good venue for feeding the family. They have a festive menu on offer over the Christmas period, (with three courses from £14.99 for adults and two courses for £5.99 for the kids) perfect for a special meal out.

Harvester also have a take-away menu, which includes a box of salad from the salad bar. Perfect for those nights where you want a nice meal and a night in and don't want to cook! A breakfast menu is also available, with unlimited cooked or continental breakfast options and unlimited drinks. A nice way to start the day.

Check out your local Harvester and look at the menus online at www.harvester.co.uk.

Christmas Chocolate Treats from Cadbury #freethejoy

Cadbury's Festive Chocolate

From chocolate tree decorations to chocolate Santas to boxes of treats to bags of Snow Bites, Cadbury have a range of festive confectionery that covers it all. All with the trademark purple colour and golden Cadbury logo, Cadbury products have been a quintessential part of Christmas for years.

The tree decorations are a Christmas must-have for me. Ever since my eldest was a little boy, hanging the chocolate decorations on the tree has become one of our traditions. Little Joe would seek out the foil wrapped treats and sneak the chocolate shapes from off the tree whenever he got a chance, leaving the strung foil wrapper behind as evidence of his choccie heist. Now Joe's son, my grandson Ted, is the chocolate tree decoration fiend, so I'll make sure that there are plenty of chocolates for him to find when he visits over Christmas.

The selection boxes, tubes of choclate and chocolate Santas make great stocking fillers or tree presents for all the family and are ideal gifts for the kids' school friends.

Cadbury Hot Chocolate

Nothing beats a lovely, warming hot chocolate on a cold winter's day - it's the ultimate in comfort. Cadbury Hot Chocolate delivers a mug full of joy by simply adding three heaped teaspoons of the chocolatey powder to a cup of hot milk. If you have a coffee machine with a steam arm, you can use it to make some fresh, frothy, foamy, fancy hot chocolate, just like they do in coffee shops.

Adding flavoured syrups and topping with squirty cream, marshmallows, sprinkles or flakes, creates some incredibly indulgent festive, hot drinks. You can experiment with flavours and presentation to create your perfect Christmas Cadbury Hot Chocolate concoction.

As the Cadbury Drinking Chocolate does not contain milk, it is also ideal for anyone who avoids dairy products, by making it using soya, almond or coconut milk. In fact, using coconut milk adds an exotic twist to your hot chocolate, which is quite delicious.

Here is a recipe for a tasty festive twist on a classic hot chocolate using the barista method with a steam arm (but you can just as easily make it by adding the ingredients to hot milk and whisking together):

Minty Hot Chocolate

3 heaped teaspoons of Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate
200ml cold semi skimmed milk
20ml mint syrup

Mix together in a stainless steel jug, then heat and foam with a steam arm to approximately 70 degrees centigrade. Garnish with a sprig of mint for a fancy finish!


Look out for a Cadbury Advent surprise in a town near you

Be sure to follow the #Cadvent hashtag on Twitter or the Cadbury UK Facebook page to keep up to date with the Cadbury advent calendar truck that are appearing around the country bringing festive cheer to the people of Britain. Towns up and down the country such as Aylesbury, Peterborough and Liverpool have already enjoyed the Cadbury Christmas treatment as the advent calendar opened its festive doors revealing a special surprise treat for the locals. Will it come to a town near you?

Cool, colourful stationery stocking fillers from Helix Maped

A great gift idea for school age children is stationery. Kids love something shiny and new in their pencil case or school bag, so it's a good idea to pop some lovely, colourful, kid-friendly stationery in their Christmas stockings. Anything that encourages my six year old Freddy to put pen to paper is a good thing, so if I can add an element of fun to writing, all the better. Even reluctant writers won't be able to resist when faced with a selection of cool, funky stationery,  such as these lovely products from Maped.

Maped Helix is a stationery brand with a long history in making educational supplies. The Maped products are the fun side of the brand, giving brightly coloured, quirkily designed, stationery supplies that the kids will love using. We were sent some products from the range to try.

The product that immediately caught my eye was the Bunny Innovation sharpener. The rabbit's mouth has buck teeth that move up and down when the pencil is sharpened as if nibbling on the pencil, helping kids learn to use the sharpener properly. It's innovative and fun and encourages a child's independence and responsibility when it comes to managing their own stationery.

The Twin Tip pen is the first double nibbed pen with colour changing ability, allowing writers to switch between four different coloured inks. Each end writes with a choice of two colours so switching between them is quick and simple. The soft grip pen makes it comfy to use. Great for diary writing, kids can easily add some colour to their page using just the one pen.

Tatoo Soft Scissors are comfy to use and beautifully designed with colourful handles and matching colourfully designed blades. They are perfect for paper crafting and are 13cm in length making them good for smaller hands to manage. The Graph Pens are vividly coloured, fine markers for writing and drawing. Their triangular shape makes them easy to hold and control. 20 different colours are available in a variety of sets or individually. The Colour Peps Flex Box is another innovative Maped product. The lidded tube contains 12 coloured pencils, which can be easily accessed by removing the lid and squashing down the flexible, concertina-style tubing to create a handy pencil pot. Once you've finished you can unclip the tube and allow it to go back to its full size and pop on the lid, storing your pencils safely and neatly away. It's a fun design that is quite ingenious. The pencils themselves have a soft lead and an easy to sharpen wood surround, making them nice to use.

These are just a small selection from the extensive Maped range. They also stock lots of stuff for left-handers, which I think is absolutely brilliant. Having lefties in the family, I know the difficulties they have when it comes to using some stationery, so to find fun and colourful left-handed friendly products is great for leftie kids.

See the range on the website at: www.mapedhelix.co.uk/products