King Cake

The dessert that we recommend you to celebrate the Epiphany is the King cake, also called kingcake, kings’ cake or three kings cake.

It's a sweet bun, in the shape of a hollow circle, made with colourful candied fruit that you can find not stuffed or with cream, truffle or chocolate.

It is a tradition in many countries to eat it as a dessert or afternoon snack on January 6^th, closing the last of the Christmas celebrations, despite not having a religious origin.

It seems that this cake was already prepared for the Roman Saturnalia (in the second century BC), dedicated to the god Saturn (god of agriculture and harvest), when it was celebrated that the days began to grow longer, after the winter solstice.

Since then a dry bean is hidden into the cake and subsequently it is also included a small figure. In its beginnings who receives the dry bean in his/her portion of bun was named king of kings for the day, but with the introduction of the figurine and to date, who receives the bean will be the one to pay the cake and who receives the figurine will be the king of kings that day.

Who will be King of Kings this year?

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Decor for the Twelfth Night

The decoration for that day can not be other than the Three Wise Men, so we suggest you to make the Magi with a foamy of bright colours and glitter.

To make the head use an empty egg. To do that, first wash very well the egg, and then make a small hole on each side of it, then blows through one of the holes to drain the yolk and white.

In our case we used a brown egg and two white but if you only had eggs of one colour, you can also paint them.

To dress each king we used 3 main colours and the black and silver colours to decorate the capes and fur.

Below you have the pictures of the Three Wise Men that were made by our special partners “Jesusete” and Paul.

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Twelfth Night

The night of the 5^th to 6^th of January is Twelfth Night, and every year the Three Wise Men of Orient bring gifts to those children who have been good during the year. For that, during the Christmas, children should send a letter to the Wise Men with the gifts they want to receive and the merits that the have made during the year to deserve them. The Three Wise Men and their assistants, the pages, will carefully read the letter of each child and they will give him/her those gifts that they would think better for each child.

On December 24^th, after the birth of Jesus, the Magi, which came from the East, will follow the Star of Bethlehem that will guide them to pay homage to Jesus and offer him the following gifts: gold (as a symbol of kingship on earth), frankincense (as a symbol of deity), and myrrh (as a symbol of his future suffering and death).

And after paying homage him they would go towards to deliver the gifts to all children in the world.

As you can imagine, that night, the Magi have a lot of work, since they have to deliver many gifts for just one night, and despite being wizards, they appreciate a little help, so we have to put our shoes on the window so that the Magi and their pages can quickly find those homes with children who have asked gifts. As they would be tired, sure they appreciate that you leave a glass of water for them and milk for their camels.

So you know, write your letter for the Magi as soon as possible, and the night of January 5^th put your shoes on the window. Do not forget to leave something for them and their camels!

We wish you a magical Twelfth Night!

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New Year's Eve

Here there are all links posted during the week with all our recommendations to enjoy the last night of the year:

The last night of the year

Glasses engraved with wishes

Orange cream with berries

Pineapple sorbet with champagne

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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Engraved glasses with wishes

The first toast of the year is magical, and therefore we toast our dearest wish, so our decor idea for New Year's Eve is to engrave with our greatest wish the champagne glasses to make our first toast.

You just need to buy a small bottle of acid to write on the glass and write what you want. If you have not a very steady hand you can buy templates with letters suitable for working the glass with that acid. Leave it on for a few minutes, then remove it with water and the glass is engraved with the word chosen (there are also templates with drawings).

As it is acid, this product scratch the glass, so that the engraving is permanent, and therefore you can wash the glasses whenever you want, in the dishwasher or by hand.

We preferred to use templates, as they are very comfortable, and this is the result:

We wish you very Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true !!

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Pineapple sorbet with champagne

I like a lot this sorbet to enjoy it in New Year's Eve. It is very refreshing and simple to do.

You need:

50ml lemon juice;

100ml of orange juice;

1 peeled pineapple cut into pieces;

200g sugar; and

Champagne 

Grind all ingredients except for the champagne until you have a smooth cream, without lumps.

Pour the cream into the bowl of the mixer and put it in the freezer, stirring every half hour in order to avoid the ice.

Once the mixture is frozen and without ice, beat it to obtain a cream.

Finally pour the mixture into a glass of champagne (about 3/4 parts) and finally poured the champagne (1/3 part), stir the mixture and you will have it ready to serve.

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Orange cream with berries

One of the digestive desserts that I like after the New Year's Eve is an orange cream with berries. It is very soft, light and easy to do.

For 4 servings you will need:
4 oranges

1 lemon

125g sugar

140g of butter

2 egg yolks

2 eggs

20g cornstarch

To decorate you need a handful of some red fruit such as raspberries, blueberries or small strawberries. Being New Year’s Eve, we have chosen icing cherries.

The steps are:

1. First grate the skin of an orange and reserve it;
2. In a separate bowl, beat very well the 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks, 75g sugar and 20g cornstarch, until you get a smooth cream; 
3. Then squeeze the juice of 3 oranges and lemon; 
4. Strain the juice and add 75g of sugar and 140g butter. Heat the mixture until it begins to boil;
5. Add to the cream the juice and the zest of the orange that we have previously reserved, beat very well and cook the resulting cream over low heat, stirring until the cream thickens;
6. Once the cream thickens, let it cool and then put it in the refrigerator until it will be completely cool; 
7. Finally decorate it with red fruit that you like.

Enjoy!

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New Year's Eve

New Year’s Eve is one of the most magical nights of the year, when we hope that many of our desires will be fulfilled and our luck will be better with the begining of the New Year. So we transmit all kind of rituals from generation to generation that we insist on doing, however strange it may seem, since it is always funny to do them, even more when the group of the people is large.

There are so many rituals that circulate throughout the world that I think it is best to organize them to know what we have to do before midnight, just at midnight, and immediately thereafter:

To receive the New Year:

1.- Clean your house: this ritual brings new and positive energy.

Clean thoroughly your house, through out everything old and deteriorated, so that at the stroke of 12 midnight your home receives in good condition the New Year, reflecting how your new year will be.

2.- Lemons: eliminate the envy and bad energies.
In the corners of your home place lemons cut in four parts overnight, and those will remove negative energies and the envy and will bring harmony.

3.- Bath: it purifies the soul and attracts positive energy.

Get ready to welcome the new year with a bath with essences: roses attract love, cinnamon attracts passion, tangerine attracts prosperity and money, chamomile brings soul healthy, sea salt gets away envy and sandalwood gets away the negative energy.

4.- Underwear: attracts love, luck and clothing.

If you want to attract love you should wear red underwear, and if you want luck it will be yellow. Note that you can not buy that underwear for you, you must receive it as a gift and you should wear it for the first time.

If you want not to lack clothes for the new year, you should wear it inside-out.

5.- Candles: attract different desires, depending on the color:

Before midnight light candles of different colors to welcome the New Year with them on. Each color brings a different desire:

Red: attracts love and passion;

Yellow and gold: attract money and abundance;

Green: attracts health;

White: attracts peace and harmony;

Orange: attracts energy and career success.

6.- Lights: attract clarity and eliminate the dark energies.

Receive the midnight with all the lights of your house on, those will remove the dark energies and lies from the New Year.

7.- Sheep: attracts wealth and abundance.

Before midnight give a small wook sheep to your guests and it will provide them good luck and fortune. It is best to leave it hanging from the doorknob throughout the year, especially since 2015 is the Chinese Year of the Sheep.

8.- Tickets: attract economic prosperity.

It is recommended you have money in your wallet, pocket and shoes, to start the New Year with money. Tradition says that it is better to have bills than coins.

At midnight:

9.- Twelve  grapes: attract your desires, luck and prosperity.

During the last seconds of the year you must eat a grape at each stroke, one for each month of the year, while you make a wish for each grape. And if you are able to eat the 12 grapes your will have a prosperous year.

10.- Windows: eliminate negative energy and bad luck.

Receive the New Year with open windows, that lets out the bad luck and enter the positive energy.

11.- Water: gets away tears.

At the stroke of midnight throw a glass of water to the streets to ward off sadness and tears.

12.- Right foot: attracts luck.

Start the New Year stepping with the right foot just after the midnight, to begin "a good start" year.

13.- Broom: clears out the negative energy.

At midnight sweep your house from indoors to outdoors, and that will eliminate negative energy and jealousy.

After midnight:

14.- The first toast of the year: attracts luck and happiness.

To attract luck and money for the New Year you should toast with all attendees with a gold ring in the glass.

If the wine is sparkling, bubbles will attract happiness, and if the ring is a wedding ring it will bring stability to the couple.

Do not take out the gold ring before drinking it completely and before hugging all your guests right after.

15.- Luggage: Brings travels in the New Year.

If you want to travel more, after midnight, you should go out with a suitcase (no matter if empty) and walk around the block. The farther you get farther your trips will be. If you can not go outside, take out your suitcase outdoors.

  

16.- Lentils: Attract food and luck.

Immediately after the first toast of the year, eat at least a spoonful of lentils. You will not lack food or good luck.

17.- Coins: attract economic prosperity.

Keep 12 coins in your pocket and toss them after midnight to bring good fortune for the coming year.

We wish you a Happy New Year and may all your wishes come true!!

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Christmas, Reindeer of Cork, Christmas Strawberries and Punch of Champagne

Here you are the links of all our posts about Christmas: Christmas, Reindeer of Cork, Christmas Strawberries and Punch of Champagne.

Christmas

Reindeers of cork

Christmas strawberries

Champagne punch







                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                       

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Champagne punch

The champagne can not miss these days of celebrations, therefore, we propose an easy drink to prepare and ideal when you have many people at home: champagne punch.

The ingredients needed are the following (for 4 dinners):

• 1 bottle of champagne
• 1 glass of cognac
• 1 shot of dark run
• 1 shot of whiskey
• 1 shot of Cointreau
• 1 glass of dry white Martini
• 4 slices of fresh pineapple
• 4 peaches in syrup, drained
• the syrup peaches
• 1 orange, sliced
• ice cubes

The steps to make it are the following:

1. In the morning put in a punch bowl the pineapple and sliced peaches with the orange, the syrup and liquors.
2. Cover and store it in the refrigerator up at night.
3. A bit before sitting down at the table, add the champagne and ice cubes. Stir it well and cheers!!

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Christmas strawberries

Christmas is time of nougat, marzipan and chocolate but we can not forget to keep eating fruit. Therefore, our recommendation is a fruit dessert with a funny figurine: Santa Claus strawberries.

Besides, it is a very easy and quick dessert to make that lets you spend more time on other preparations.

The ingredients needed are the following:

• strawberries
• cream
• colorful noodles of sweet shop

The steps to make it are the following:

1. First of all, wash the strawberries and do a horizontal cut to have in one hand the body of Santa Claus and secondly the cap.
2. Put the cream in the strawberry base representing the body of Santa Claus and then, put on it the other piece that represents the cap.
3. Finally, put the brown noodles as eyes and the red noodles as mouths. 

Ah do not forget to put some cream in the cap of Santa Claus!

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Reindeers of cork

One of favorite figure of Christmas is reindeer Ruldolph. So in honor of him, we propose an easy and entertaining decor to do it by yourself with children. Besides, this decor will help you to place each guest on the table at the Christmas Eve dinner or Christmas Day meal. You can also use them to decorate the nativity. 

The materials you need are the following (per reindeer):

• 2 corks
• 5 toothpicks
• 2 movable eyes
• 1 red thumbtack
• tree twigs
• felt paper
• foamy/cardboard
• glue

The steps to make it are the following:

1. To make the head, cut one of the corks longer than half (approx. 2/3) and glue it to the other cork.
2. Then, paste with glue the movable eyes and twigs of the tree and put the red thumbtack to the head.
3. Cut a bit of felt paper to make the blanket and glue it to the cork.
4. To make the reindeer legs, cut four toothpicks to a length greater than half (approx. 2/3) and stick them into the cork.
5. Finally, to make the marker, cut a rectangle of foam board or cardboard and write the name of the guest. Glue it to the toothpick and stick it into the cork.

To make the reindeer's blanket and the marker, we have used the color red and green, typical Christmas colors.

Everybody on the table!

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Christmas

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. It is time of reunion and celebrations with family and friends but also of solidarity of those most in need.

On Christmas Eve, the night of December 24, the day before Christmas is celebrated. Traditions vary from country to country, but it is quite common a family reunion dinner and exchange gifts. The night of 24 to 25, Santa Claus brings gifts to children.

Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25 and commemorates the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem in the Catholic Church, Anglican Church, in some Prostestant Communities and in the most of the Orthodoxes Churches.

The nativity represents the birth of Jesus by a mockup of Bethlehem and its vicinity, in which the main figures are the stable where Jesus was born, the Holy Family, animals, shepherds and the Three Wise Men.

Another typical decoration is the Christmas Tree, symbolizing the love of God and has its origin in Germany where the evangelist St. Boniface stablished the tradition.

And last but least, another typical and essential elements are Christmas carols and songs. Christmas carols refers to the birth of Christ and the Holy Family and the songs refers to Christmas. Next you will find the link to one of my favorite songs "All I want for Christmas is you" of Mariah Carey. Hope you like it and Merry Christmas!!

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Ski, airbag backpack, towns of a Christmas tale and ski mask

Here you are the links of all our posts regarding ski: practice skiing, airbag backpack, towns of a Christmas tale and ski mask.

Practice skiing

Airbag backpack

Towns of a Christmas tale

Ski mask



                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                          

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Ski mask

The gift that we recommend to give to someone that practice ski is a ski mask. The ski mask "Julbo", type "First Class", model "Universe" incorporates the best of the photochromic lenses and presents the last design and technical screen in the market.

This new mask is a concentrate of technicality. With its minimalist concept of Minimalist Frame completely frees the viewing angle and the capabilities of the skier more daring.

Designed for medium to large faces, provides a high level of quality with a support on the face very flexible and comfortable as well an integrated ventilation on the frame.

And as every detail counts, the finishes are at the high of, with a frame decorated with pieces of metal and multilayer embroidery. 

In summary, an art for those who see everything in a big!

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