Homemade Den / Survival Kit

It’s been a little while and since I last posted, I’m now teaching a class once again, so finding time much scarcer than it ever was! Late home every evening and completing lots of extras on my days off, as well as running a home, cooking etc, has taken quite a lot of energy and effort, so my weekends are very relaxed at the moment, especially since there’s no dashing around to swimming, park run, etc.

However, it can’t be denied… we’re getting nearer to ‘that’ time of year, so I’ve started thinking about presents. I’m very aware it’s going to be a very different sort of Christmas for many this year and, with that in mind, am thinking about some homemade, baked, ‘put together’, crafted type presents. I thought I’d start the ideas off with something I put together for my eldest girl last year for her birthday. She’s very much into the outdoors, survival skills, nature and generally, running around woodlands, so when I saw this Den Kit, I thought it was the perfect present…then I looked at the price and considered all the little extra things that really should be in an outdoor kit: hot chocolate flask, binoculars, spotter’s book, collection jars etc. and thought that, for a similar price, I could ‘build my own’ to my exact specifications!

So, that’s what I did…I’m not convinced it ended up cheaper necessarily, but it certainly ended up personalised to her likes and preferences and is something she gets out regularly to use the tarpaulin for a summer den, or the ‘nut cracker’ and tools to make holes in seeds and nuts to string, or the spotter’s guide when we go for a walk.

Our key items:

Click the item link to find out more / purchase – some of these aren’t quite the same as ours as they are no longer in stock.

• Canvas Bag
• Nut holder (cracker)
• Hand drills
• I-Spy Nature
• Tarpaulins
• Mallet
• Dragon’s Sneeze fire steel
• Walkie-Talkies
• Bug Collection Kit

If you’ve got an outdoorsy child, they would love this sort of kit, and because you can choose what goes in, it’s such a personal present! And one to which you can add little by little. While I think of it, there’s also a lovely Lonely Planet ‘Wild Things’ book with all sorts of children’s outdoors activities which would go beautifully alongside the kit.

Keep an eye on future posts for some other gift ideas too – Mini Flapjack jars, Gin Botanical Kits…

*Disclaimer* Some of the links in this blog post may be affiliate links. If you purchase through these links then I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

Well, that’s it for another year…all the build up, excitement, mad rush of present buying, wrapping, food ordering etc. done for another year. It seemed, with us anyway, a much calmer affair than previously. I’d done a lot of buying ‘along the way’ and had tried to buy big, costly presents second hand, and give as much eco as I could. Table presents included soap and pouches, bamboo toothbrushes and cleaning liquid sachets with a glass bottle. Not exciting, I know, but hopefully a little change along the way. Or maybe it was more relaxed because the girls were that little bit older. Cc really ‘got’ it this time round and F was really looking forward to the big day. And whilst they both enjoyed opening presents, the elder one in particular, was super excited to give her little sister her own carefully chosen gift.

I think what is often missed in the run up that nearly everyone seems to get caught up in, is that it’s just another day. A special one, yes…but the shops are open the next day, gifts often at a reduced price, food a plenty. And Christmas dinner? A sunday roast, surely? Maybe with a few added extras but lots of us make one regularly. If we all decided to take it as ‘just another day’ but with added warmth, kindess and love, then we wouldn’t need to get in first to book that christmas food delivery slot, or panic about getting stuck in Tesco’s car park for 3 hours 2 days before Christmas. We’d all just go and do our usual weekly shop. I’m the first to admit, I was one of ‘those’ mums who had ordered the Christmas day food, and the food for the rest of the week way in advance and just had to go and collect it. In fact, we were still eating it three days later. But only because I hate traipsing round a heaving supermarket to find the things I’m looking for!

One of my favourite ‘new additions’ to Christmas is our Christmas Eve box. Basically, a few of the big day presents, such as books and a family game, move into the box, alongside a family set of pjs, mugs and hot chocolate. So nothing ‘extra’ but the elf (I know, I know) brings the box on Christmas Eve morning and disappears during the day, leaving us with things to do, read and play. And this year, we moved both our Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day dinner to lunchtime, whereas it’s usually in the evening or later afternoon. This seemed to free up the afternoons perfectly and on Christmas Eve, we played games after lunch, went to the Crib Service at Church where the girls thoroughly enjoyed being shepherds, and even fit in a visit to neighbours for a few drinks before coming home, getting changed into our new pjs, setting out everything for Father Chrismas and the reindeer, snuggling in to watch The Tiger who came to Tea, and having a very reasonable bedtime of 8pm for the girls. They even both slept through and we had to wake Cc at half seven on Christmas morning as F was too excited to wait any longer!

It also helps that we both had the whole period off work, give or take a few mornings and afternoons, so there was no rushing to put things away and get the house back to normal before going back to work. We usually leave decorations up until the weekend in January before 12th night, and by then I can’t wait to declutter, clean and add bunches of daffodils dotted around the place. It always looks so fresh and tidy after, when presents have found a home and the kitchen surfaces are cleared of biscuit tins, mince pie packets, half eaten cake, etc.

So now, we move from the end of one decade, and one which, for our family, has been truly amazing, into a new one. I know many people find this time of year incredibly difficult, and my heart and love really does go out to you if you are one of those who deeply feels the loss of someone, or just finds the stress of this period all too much.

I wish you all good health and happiness from us to you…here’s to many more family adventures in 2020.

Merlotti x

Galleywood Vineyard & Winery

I was lucky enough to visit the new Galleywood Vineyard and Winery last week, and what a treat it was. In a beautiful, countryside location, behind the main streets of Galleywood, hides rows and rows of vines with a beautiful white new-build ‘watermill’ type building. I say new build, but the wooden simplicity and beautiful proportions of this building suggest olde worlde charm. With high, vaulted ceilings, gorgeous fixtures and fittings and, most importantly, a vintage champagne press, it’s impressive. 

I talked with the owners, Nicola and Ian Phillips, for around an hour as they passionately discussed their dream come true: a quality wine and sparkling fizz, made from farm to fork, well, glass, following a traditional process. The vintage original champagne press uses a very gentle pressing method and is still widely respected for its fine wine pressing that supersedes many a modern press . A light press is all the grapes receive, just hard enough to squeeze out the purest juice, meaning, once the product is finished, often there is no need for filtering for purity as it already meets the industry standards without any. This does, of course, mean more waste as the pulp and skin of the grapes aren’t squashed and the grapes aren’t ‘fully’ used, but the now-squished grapes are turned into compost and fed back into the land growing the vines. 

Different from Prosecco and Cava, the English Sparkling Wine is more similar to a champagne. Rather than the pressed liquid all going into one big vat, then being pumped out and bottled, and it then being ready to serve, this, once bottled, ‘rests’ for a while – for 3 years! Then each bottle is placed tilted neck down in a stand and rotated very slowly over the course of a month. This helps the yeast that has been used settle towards the cap. Once it’s all had a chance to gather, the bottle neck is frozen, the cap opened and the pressure in the bottle pushes the settled yeast out of the bottle. The sparkling wine sweetness is then slightly adjusted for style, re-corked, labelled and is ready for sale.

I was able to sample both the 2015 sparkling and the 2018 white. The sparkling is just lovely: fresh, light and dry, but not overly so. In fact, I’m looking forward to another glass of this at one of the Vineyard’s Fizz & Chips events in January and February: Live music from Ian’s band, fish and chips and glass of fizz…perfect! The white is a Bacchus, and whilst very aromatic to the nose, has a soft, gentle flavour and is very easy drinking, especially at Christmas! 

The owners hope to include and attract a local market, and also villagers to help with the harvest in future years and already have several plans and ideas for the years ahead. It really does have a ‘village’ feel to it, and is right on the doorstep. Open days and tours have already been held, but keep an eye on their Facebook page for future events. If you’d like to purchase before Christmas (I’m definitely popping down for a few bottles) then the Winery door is open today, 23rd December, until 7pm for you to pop by and say hello.