The best gifts in life are free: eternity

 

So, the in laws have arrived, the presents are wrapped, there is more cheese and cream in our fridge than it has seen in a very long time, and there are twinkly lights shining out from our tree cheering the dark skies of Ealing.

I feel pretty Christmassy.

But, I thought I’d step back away from the human celebrations and the commercial side of things to look at the real reason for the season. All the little traditions, whilst being lovely in their own right, have much deeper significance and meaning- especially the tradition of giving gifts.

John Lewis are reporting record sales figures this year, despite the gloomy economic climate- so it would seem that the spirit of giving is alive and well in the world today. As is the spirit of receiving! So much so, that many people get themselves into financial ruin in order to be able to give at Christmas time. It is ironic that this holiday has become one of the most expensive and commercial celebrations in the year, because in essence, it is all about a free gift. 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9 v 6

We hear this passage read at carol services around the world- but what does it mean? This old testament passage is the prophet Isaiah talking about how one day God himself would come to earth as a human baby. Hundreds of years later- that prophesy (and many others like it) was fulfilled, 2000 years ago in Bethlehem.

That is why, at Christmas, the gifts under the tree are but shadows of the real gift, that is already given through Jesus.

^“9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1John v 9-12

We had the above reading from 1 John at our wedding, and heard it again at a Christmas wedding this weekend. For me, it really sums up what the gift of Christmas means:

A loving, and undeserved gift

God loved (and loves) us, even when we ignore and ridicule him. When we look at the darkness of the world- and the darkness in our own selves we know that we are no way perfect enough to earn our way to God- but that doesn’t matter. He loved us first, despite of, not because of, anything we have or haven’t done.

A sacrificial gift:

Not only did God love us first, he loved us sacrificially as a remedy for our darkness. 

Many medieval carols are written in sad minor keys to acknowledge that this baby in the manger is destined to die on a cross. Without the sacrifice of Easter, the gift of Christmas would be no gift at all. God came to earth, to live to die and to rise again- to save us and to bring us back to Him.

A free gift

With gifts under the tree- the receiver has very little to do with the process: We just get to receive it, open it and hopefully enjoy it! It’s the same with the real Christmas present- the gift of Jesus is there (you can find it wrapped up in carols and in tradition, and you can unwrap it by reading one of the New Testament gospels). It’s free. It’s a gift we didn’t ask for and don’t deserve, and it’s up to us to receive it or not.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite carols, that I think sums it all up rather well:

 

 

 

Exploding Oreo truffle cake

Could this be a wedding cake waiting to happen?

Exploding Oreo truffle cake.

Fabulous freebies: magazines

Fabulous freebies: magazines.

Great for engagement party or wedding do. Just wrap in celophane with ribbon for a cheap wedding favour!

Budget City Wife

Whether you are having a Jubilee street party, a summer BBQ, a birthday party, wedding or indeed ANY occasion, these cake pops are well worth the effort.

At a wedding reception recently, the couple had an amazing sweet bar which included cake pops, and mini oreo cheesecakes. Both were amazingly delicious, and it got me thinking- what if you combined the two?? Oreo cake pops I thought, must be possible.

After a bit of research on google, I couldn’t see any UK recipes, so I just took some principles and had a go at making up my own for our BBQ last weeken, and actually they turned out to be rather simple to make (although decorating was messy!) and very yummy! Not only that, but they are also cheap to make too!

Here’s how you make them

 

 

Top tips:

We had heard that you could use polystyrene cups…

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Budget City Wife

Whilst we didn’t really save money on our flights we recently booked a short break visiting family in Italy. If you are looking for a reasonable destination a little off the tourist trail, the Veneto region of Italy is rather lovely.

We stayed near a small town called Lonigo, which is nestled in a valley surrounded by hills of vineyards.

Totally un-touristy, there is an unmistakably Italian feel to the town, with covered walkways and a romantic town square complete with fountain and coffee shops. Being a local town for local people, eating out is very reasonable, with pizza and beer for 2 at what my father in law claims is the best pizza place for miles around (Casa Mia) setting you back around £15

Close to Verona and Venice (you can get very reasonable train tickets to both these cities) we’ve done the touristy things before but this time…

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Budget city wife

It may or may not have escaped your attention, but I haven’t been blogging in a while.

In part, this is to do with my day-job and getting injured in a freak stair related incident. But, mainly it’s because (and no offence to all you wedding bloggers out there) there’s a big part of me that doesn’t want to keep writing about weddings.

I started the blog to be a helpful resource to any budget brides out there who were fed up of the lack of genuine budget options being covered in the mainstream wedding mags.

I’m moving into a new stage of life.. and it’s almost a year since I was genuinely a ‘budget city bride’ so I feel the time has come to move on from weddings, and blog about what its like to try and lead life on a budget in the big city. Lets face it, in the current climate- its an ever increasing issue.

I’m not going to take down the wedding stuff, but 2012 is going to be a new season, with a new look.

Goodbye budgetcitybride, hello budgetcitywife

Alternatives to a veil

Whilst a veil may be traditional they are certainly not compulsory. It all depends on the style of your dress and how formal/informal your wedding is.

Just because you dont go for a veil, doesn’t mean you need to miss out on headgear all together though. There are some great alternative (and budget!) options

Dahlia fashion in london have some gorgeous vintage headbands that would set off an informal boho/retro dress beautifully

gorgeous headbands from http://www.dahliafashion.co.uk

Or, for a more informal trendy wedding, why not try a birdcage veil, like these from Lily Bella (starting at a very reasonable £14.99)

gorgeously stylish- from http://www.lilybella.co.uk

Personally, my dress had enough detail, so I just went for a combination of flowers

Sometimes a few flowers or a clip is just right

Fool-proof family cake recipe

All celebrations, be they birthdays, engagements or weddings tend to require cake- so I thought I’d share our family ‘standard cake recipe’ which makes a lovely moist spongecake, ideal for cupcakes or celebration cakes.

Its very simple, and can be adapted and modified as necessary to give a whole host of flavour variations. The beauty of this recipe is it really has never failed me.

You will need:

eggs, sugar, baking margarine (I find Stork works fine!), self raising flour.

The difference between this method and most usual recipes is that you make a decision on the size of you cake, choose the number of eggs required, and measure everything else against the weight of the eggs.* As a guideline:

2 eggs = 24 cupcakes

4 eggs = small victoria sponge

6 eggs = larger celebration cake

So, for a small celebration cake (half size) I chose 3 eggs and weighed them (in their shells):

I then put in the same weight of marg’ and sugar, ‘creamed’ them together, added the eggs and flour- and mixed together (wooden spoon or a blender are fine).

You should end up with a ‘dropping consistancy’ mixture (add a few drops of milk if it’s too stiff). Put into cupcake cases/lined tins, and you are good to go!

Bake for around 12-15 min if cupcakes and 30-40 min for larger cakes (this mix wont drop, so feel free to open the oven and check if your cakes are done).

Like I said, you can adapt the recipe to any taste/occasion. Here’s a ‘berry and almond’ twist, with frozen red berries, 1 oz flour substituted for ground almonds, plus a drop of almond essence.

Almond and berries: for decoration add flaked almonds to cupcakes, or cover in marzipan and berries for a celebration cake

*This method works because eggs vary massively in their weight/ moisture content and you may end up with a very dry cake following standard 2 eggs = 4 oz recipe

Cupcake delights!

Cupcakes are all the rage nowadays. Whether its in a trendy west london eatery like hummingbird bakery, or at a local fete– these finger-food sized sweet treats have definately made a come back.

Ideal for all kinds of parties, from a kiddie table to a sophisticated soiree, their adaptability means they can look both fun and chic. Cupcakes are also very easy to display and are perfect for large gatherings and buffets, or the back of a village hall.

To top it all off, I just discovered these delightful ‘supercook’ cupcake wraps:

They give a very pretty lace look to your baking, and if you are getting different people to contribute a dozen or so cakes each, would be a perfect way to tie them all together.

Here seen with berry and almond muffins, they come in a pop out flat pack, and wrap around any standard cupcake case.

Best of all they were under £1 for a set of 12 at my local Sainsburys- Bargain!

Combine these with lacy bunting and doily lighting and you have an instant teatime party treat with a pretty delicate feel. Perfect for a garden party or church hall.

And one with icing

Lacy doily bunting

I wish I had made this discovery before our wedding, but it wasn’t until my birthday party in July that I had a total brainwave on how to make pretty bunting easily on a budget. I’d toyed with making bunting before, but fabric bunting can be quite faffy if you need lots of it, so I gave up on the idea.

This method is quick and easy and will make you around 100m of bunting for the grand total of £4.50 (I guarantee you will not find such a good deal buying the stuff!)

You will need:

• 100 doilies (I got mine for £1 from a pound store)
• A ball of string
• Scissors
• Glue

Making the bunting

Fold each doily (see below) to make 8 triangles. Cut these out.

Now, fold the top end over a piece of string and glue down…

Space your triangles a few cm apart and keep folding and gluing. Each doily will make around 1m of bunting. You could experiment with other papers etc, but this is by far and away the quickest and cheapest effect I’ve found to get an effective and pretty look.

If you need tonnes of the stuff, this is quite an easy one to delegate out to friends who want to help out as it really is very simple and should end up with a fairly uniform effect.. or, if you want to make it social, why not have a bunting making party over a few glasses of wine!