I must admit I get rather cross with all the Christmas hype on the high street and how it all seems to get earlier every year. In our house, we cannot, I mean we are not allowed to, get excited about Christmas until after my birthday which is on the 11th December. Having grown up with joint presents and joint parties and joint cards, this one rule is simply non negotiable – especially when it comes to the Christmas tree.
The tree goes up literally the day after as eager little hands unpack the decorations and seek out favourites. My girls each have a little box of decorations that they have made at school or we have bought for them each year. The idea is that they have the box ready to take with them when they leave home. They get so excited when the box comes down from the loft. Each has a story – a ballet figurine one year because they were obsessed with their pink tutus, a star made from their little handprints on card at nursery, reindeer baubles from a visit to Santa at Lapland. The list goes on.
The decorating chatter is filled with “do you remember…?” as their little hands reach to secure the decorations carefully onto the tree. They reach higher every year and this year I am sure they will reach higher than me as they’ve grown so tall.
Reaching up the Christmas Tree
Another tradition we started last year was baking edible tree ornaments. These beautiful Polish biscuits from Ren Behan’s blog are on the list. Just so pretty and rustic. A perfect match for the home crafted school ornaments that go between the ‘posh’ baubles.
Polish Pierniczki – Click for recipe on Ren’s blog
Another favourite are these German Baiserringe – delicate rings of meringue which look every so pretty on the tree and are a welcome snack after the Queen’s speech on Christmas day.
German Baiserringe – Edible Tree Decorations
[recipe title=”Baiserringe – German Christmas Meringue Decorations”]
- 3 large egg whites
- 150g caster sugar
- Food colouring of your choice (optional)
- Sprinkles for decorating (optional)
- A piping bag with a 1cm nozzle
- Ribbons or Wool for tying onto the tree
Preheat the oven to 100C and line a few baking trays with greaseproof paper. Draw circles on the baking paper to the size of your choice – I used an espresso saucer. You could make stars or hearts also.
Break the egg whites into a super clean bowl and then using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment or a handheld electric whisk, beat them until they form soft peaks. You should be able to tip the bowl over and they should stay put. Then add the sugar a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is shiny and glossy. At this stage you could split the mixture and add a few drops of food colouring of your choice to make different coloured rings.
Next transfer the mixture carefully into the piping bag. Gently does it because you need to try and keep the lovely air you’ve whisked in. Now pipe small blobs on to the circles you drew as a guide. Carry on until all the meringue is used up. If you are using sprinkles, now is the time to sprinkle them over.
Place the trays in the oven with the door slightly ajar. I wedged the door open with two wooden spoons. Bake for about 40 minutes. They should be firm to touch on the outside. Now turn the oven off and leave the meringue rings in the oven for another 40 minutes so they crisp up without burning. Once cool you can decorate with edible glitter and tie a loop of ribbon for popping them onto the tree.
[/recipe]
Amazing Edible Tree Decorations!
Thank you 🙂
Happy birthday for Thursday Urvashi! Hope you have a great day… and then a little time to draw breath before the Christmas decorations go up.
Thank you Sarah. I am planning to take a whole proper day off and relax for a change!
What great plans – loving the Baiserringe! We don’t put up our tree until Christmas Eve, so we still have a long way to go …
Oh really? Do you find there are any left? Last year we left it til the 20th and really struggled to find a nice one
I know – it’s a risky strategy 😉
My parents’ tree is always adorned with a mixture of bought decorations (some with memories associated) and ones my sister and I made, falling apart now, a few decades old! Love that you’re setting up boxes for them for when they have homes and trees of their own!
This is my worry. That their beautifully handcrafted nursery ornaments will have fallen apart by the time they move on. This year I think we will maybe put them somewhere a bit safer than the tree!
I love handmade edible tree decorations… my mum would always make ginger biscuits with pretty royal icing but i’ve never got around to doing it myself. I adore the look of your meringue ones – so delicate and pretty. I really must get myself into gear next week and have a go! Happy birthday for tomorrow!!!!
Thank you Katie. I tend to do them all on Xmas Eve once I know I don’t have any work to focus on at all for a few days.It’s quite therapeutic.
Wow they look amazing!
Thank you 🙂
What a lovely post Urvashi, I love reading the story of your memories and your girls getting taller. It’s such a point in time isn’t it? I’ve noticed it this year, the contrast in how different they are each year. Happy birthday for tomorrow by the way 🙂
Thank you. I’m sure Amber is going to be taller than me next year but I am also sure my hubby will continue to pick her up to put the fairy on the tree like he’s done since she was 2. That’s a tradition that’s never going to stop 🙂
How funny, it’s my husband’s birthday today but happy birthday for tomorrow! I like the idea of you getting your birthday to celebrate before the tree goes up. I am afraid that isn’t the case here but I also love the idea of making at least some of the decorations, and I have baked Ren’s cookies before, they are delicious! The meringue wreaths look stunning too.
Thanks Laura! I saw you were baking birthday cakes so wondered who that was for. Hope he had a lovely day.
Happy Birthday!! I have a cousin whose birthday is the 25th, so you can imagine how much she hated sharing her birthday with Jesus. 😉 I love your Christmas decoration boxes idea for the girls. Too late for us but we do enjoy decorating the tree. I grew up putting up the tree on the first Sunday in advent, when we would string popcorn to make tinsel, and hang salt dough painted decorations. Now we use decorations from my childhood mixed with one’s from our daughters growing up. I don’t do edible decorations for the tree anymore but every once in awhile I will make a gingerbread house from scratch, using templates I cut out years ago on cereal boxes (when I still used to buy cereal!). Have a lovely birthday today, and enjoy the school holiday when it comes.
Lovely Kellie. I am yet to do my gingerbread house. Nextcweekend!
I love your traditions Urvashi – and building a box of decorations with memories for your girls to take with you is gorgeous. We have got earlier and earlier as the National Day holidays at the beginning of the month usually are the perfect time. This year we are late but it’s going up this weekend – to the sound of Handel’s Messiah.
Thanks Sally. Love the soundtrack you are proposing. Sadly I have One Direction on replay. Do you get real trees over there?
And Happy Birthday 🙂
Thank you 🙂