Ready, steady... GO!! Enjoy your Christmas!!

Hark! how the bells
sweet silver bells
All seem to say
throw cares away.

Christmas is here
bringing good cheer
To young and old
meek and the bold

Ding, dong, ding, dong
that is their song,
With joyful ring
all caroling

Christmas has come!

Mince Pies - A Sign that the Festive Season has Begun

Mince pies are the first sign of Christmas in the UK. These tiny tartlets, start popping up everywhere, from workplace canteens and coffee corners to the local Starbucks (...) It's supposed to be good luck to eat a mince pie every day of December and most people don't turn them down when offered.

MINCE PIES = PASTELILLOS DE FRUTA

TINY = DIMINUTO

POP UP = SURGIR, APARECER

TURN DOWN = (phr. vb) RECHAZAR

Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since as long ago as the 16th century. Then they were made of meat but are now made with sweet mincemeat; a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices and brandy.

SWEET MINCEMEAT =PICADILLO DULCE

Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Mince Pies. Why? Take a look at this easy Christmas Mince Pie Recipe full of rich, sticky, sweet fruits wrapped in pastry. Delicious.

  

 Ingredients:

• 350g all purpose/plain flour (harina normal)
• Pinch (pellizco) of salt
• 225g butter
• 1 beaten egg + 1 cold water as needed
• 1 jar of mincemeat, shop bought or home made
• 2 table spoon (cuchara sopera) icing sugar

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 200°C

Make the Pastry

• Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture is like fine breadcrumbs (migas de pan), working as quickly as possible.
• Add the egg to the mixture and add cold water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture binds ( ligar) but don't make it too wet that it is sticky.
• Wrap (envover) the dough in plastic wrap and chill (enfriar) for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes

Assemble the Pies

• Choose a muffin or bun tin (molde para magdalenas)  for the size of the pie you want.  The number of pies will depend on the size of cup you choose.
• Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to 3mm thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin, don't worry if the pastry doesn't come to the top.
• Fill the pastry lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness (grosor) and cut smaller circles to fit as lids (tapas) on the tarts or to be decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.
• Dampen (humedecer) the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole (agujero) in the surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam (vapor) to escape..
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins (15 mins if making canape size) or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle (espolvorear) with the icing sugar.
  
  Mince pies are delicious served hot or cold ...

................................................................................................................ From: about.com

MORE anti-crisis Christmas presents...

There's no need to spend a lot of money. Love and imagination are enough sometimes...

 Recycled Disco Ball

YOU WILL NEED Large paper clip Tacky glue (= pegamento) 8-inch (20.3-centimeter) Styrofoam ball (=bola de poliestireno) 8 to 10 old CDs (ask for permission to use them) String (= cordel) WHAT TO DO Straighten the paper clip and bend it into a U-shape. Dip both ends of the clip in glue, then stick them into the Styrofoam ball With a parent’s help, use scissors to cut the CDs into irregular one-inch pieces. (Be very careful of sharp edges!) Rest the ball on top of a bowl to keep it from rolling. Dab glue in the center of a CD piece on the side that is less shiny. Press onto the ball. Repeat until half of the ball is covered. Let dry. Repeat on the other half of the ball. Tie the string around the paper clip loop, and hang near a window or light. Then start practicing your dance moves. STRAIGHTEN = ESTIRAR.............................................SHARP EDGE = BORDE AFILADO BEND = DOBLAR.........................................................REST = DESCANSAR, POSAR EN DIP = SUMERGIR........................................................DAB = APLICAR SCISSORS = TIJERAS..................................................SHINY = BRILLANTE ONE-INCH = UNA PULGADA........................................LET DRY = DEJA SECAR LOOP = LAZADA Text by NGS Staff Photograph by Rebecca Hale ......................................................................From: kids.nationalgeographic.com

Anti-crisis Christmas presents

Christmas is a time of added expense and the global financial crisis will make things difficult for us. We HAVE to SPEND LESS.
Be imaginative, be thoughtful...  and ENJOY preparing gifts for your beloved.


ADDED EXPENSE = GASTO AÑADIDO.............THOUGHTFUL = CONSIDERADO, AMABLE, ATENTO...........GIFT = REGALO

Pot O' Gold Craft 

Create your own pot o' gold and save some money. This craft is totally green too! You can use leftover chip cans and tissue paper!

POT O'GOLD =  HUCHA (pot of gold = puchero de oro)........................SAVE = AHORRAR

CRAFT = MANUALIDAD..................................................................GREEN = ECOLÓGICO

LEFTOVER = SOBRANTE, DE SOBRA..............................................CHIP CAN = LATA DE PATATILLAS

TISSUE PAPER = PAPEL DE SEDA

YOU WILL NEED

• Cylindrical can with lid (= tapa)
• Festive tissue paper or wrapping paper (= papel de envolver)
• Clear contact paper (= papel adhesivo)
• Tape (= cinta adhesiva) or glue ( =cola)
• Scissors (= tijeras)
• Optional: Garland ( =guirnalda), glitter (=brillantina), or markers (=rotuladores)for additional decoration

HERE'S HOW
1. Tape tissue paper or wrapping paper to the outside of the can.

2. Cover in clean contact paper

3. Cut a slit in the lid.

4. Fill with money.

.........................................................................From: kids.nationalgeographic.com

..................................................................................................Text by NGS Staff

..................................................................................................Photograph by Lyssa White

..............More ideas coming soon!

In case of emergency...

YELL = gritar, chillar