Homemade Christmas tips. Save money this Christmas

Tea lights are my #1 choice for easy homemade Christmas decoration.All you need to do is to buy lots of tea lights and use them imaginatively- no hard work is required to create a fabulous display.

Here are the ways I use tea lights for my homemade Christmas decorations.( Safety warning- always be aware of the dangers of naked flames, especially when children are around)

• Set tea lights on a mirror, placed in the middle of your Christmas dinner table. The lights are reflected, giving of a warm glow.
• Take a large glass serving bowl, half fill it with water, then float lighted tea lights on top. Everyone loves this! It makes such a pretty Christmas decoration for your table or windowsill.
• Collect together all the tea light holders you can find. Save glass jars in the weeks before Christmas ( I use jars that have had relish or pesto in them). Try arranging groups of holders  on trays, large plates or table mats. You can then move these into windowsill, onto shelves, or onto tables- trail and error will show you how to get the best effect.
• Line up a row of tea lights in holders or jars along windowsill, mantelpieces, down the center of  a table
• Key Point - one or two tea lights look miserable. You need a lot of tea lights for the best effect. Tea lights don't cost much, but they look fabulous. Dim the electirc lights and let your tea lights make you Christmas home look magical.

Cumberland Rum Butter recipe from Delia Smith
Delia Smith, one of Britain's favorite cookery writers, shares her recipes.

Here's another recipe from Food.com
This simple recipe gets a 5 star review.

This recipe comes from The Great Brtish Cookbook
This is an excellent website if you're looking for traditional recipes.

Cumberland Rum Butter - History and recipes
This article tells you the history of Cumberland Rum butter. It's actually an article written by your author, and I think you'll find it interesting!

How to make easy homemade chocolate truffles- click hereHomemade chocolate truffles- the perfect easy to make homemade gift..Personalize the flavor of your homemade truffles for a special friend or family member. 

How to make homemade peppermint candy- click here
Homemade peppermint candy is one of the easiest homemade gifts you can make. These peppermint candies look good and taste great. You could make these for a homemade Christmas gift.

Here are some ideas for easy, simple homemade decorations that you can eat!

• A pretty sparkly fruit bowl- just coat grapes, plums or other soft fruit in beaten egg white, sprinkled with fine sugar,and allow the sugar to set and dry, for frosted fruit which is delicious to eat.
• Cover a large plate or tray with leaves or greenery, and pile it high with oranges, satsumas or tangerines. This looks lovely and colorful, and the oranges release their scent in a warm room.
• The old favorite, clove studded oranges, goes back centuries, but still works well.Pierce holes in the orange skins, and stuff the holes with cloves. If you want, you can tie ribbons round and hang the fruit, or line up a row along a windowsill or mantle, or done the middle of the dinner table.
• Make simple cookies to hang, as in the picture below. There are more links to help you under the picture.

Sherry Trifle- mmmm that just has to be the best dessert for a Christmas Holiday party. Make ahead of time, no fuss, just very impressive . A traditional dessert that just keeps on giving.

Here's my Christmas recipe for Sherry Trifle. It's an old English recipe. Mrs Bridges would be serving something very similar at Downton Abbey 

Find Grasmere Sue's Sherry Trifle Recipe by clicking this link. Here's the trifle just ready to finish off.