Home Bristolian What did you miss on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas? Christmas decorations, lobster and...

What did you miss on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas? Christmas decorations, lobster and more

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Kirstie Allsopp offers festive tips on how to have a stylish Christmas without breaking the bank.

She is joined by her Relocation, Relocation co-host Phil Spencer, who attempts to wow her with his wrapping skills, and her florist sister Sofie, who’s tasked with creating some spectacular floral arrangements to add extra sparkle to the season.

First up Kirstie shows us how to make a grown up snowglobe, with a a bottle of gin, edible silver and an led coaster light. You can buy the coasters online, a pack of five “costs about a tenner” in kirstie’s word. It’s the perfect handmade gift and the best part is, because the edible glitter is edible, there’s no wasting any gin.

The Christmas reef portion of the programmed was wonderful, it’s amazing seeing such beautiful colours and who knew that a Christmas reef could also smell so good – it was Kirstie’s aim to have as many textures and tones as possible whilst creating he reef.

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She starts with a reef frame which you can get from any florist and then some biodegradable moss which she wraps around tightly, it doesn’t matter if it’s slightly messy. Reef making isn’t an exact science so go wild.

Secure reel wire is used to wind everything into place. Don’t forget the rosemary, bay leaves and eucalyptus. Maybe even some dried limes and orange slices! Mmm, we can smell the reef from here.

You could even buy a reef from the shop and add some of these items to make your home smell even more ‘Christmassy’.

Don’t forget to use a pretty ribbon to tie the reef to your door, there’s the finishing touch to your stunning reef.

“Do you come down in the middle of the night and fiddle with your reef?” says Kirstie to her florist sister Sofie. To which Sofie pulls a suggestive face.

Next up Kirstie discovered the tastes of the Indian ocean, finally the part we’ve all been waiting for, food. Kirstie is joined in the kitchen by MasterChef winner Shelina Permalloo who brings a luxurious Mauritian twist to the festive table with a seafood showstopper

To start with Shellina tells us about the Lobster she’s picked, its pre-poached which you can get from your local seamonger. Shellina is from Mauritius and wanted to get an authentic Mauritius flavour so of course that requires lots of tamarind with chilli, ginger and eight cloves of garlic, not to forget the lime juice and sugar. Our mouths are watering already.

Shellina also made a beautiful mango salad with fresh chilli’s and garlic. Kirstie states she wishes this was ‘smellivision’, us too Kirstie! Couldn’t send us some of these tasty dishes, could you? Please.

This lobster dish is looks truly spectacular and it’s a lighter option than turkey and stuffing, that’s if you can refrain from eating so much when it tastes that good.

Next up, it’s stacked Christmas tree candles, made with Soy wax, which is melted to 90 degrees, then cooled to between 60 and 70 degrees, this is when you put your colouring in.

Next, you then put it into a mold and let it cool for 20/30 mins until it has the consistency of gingerbread and then you can get going using cookie cutters to cut out your shapes. Kirstie and Phil are using stars so when they have all of their stars they can stack them and make it look like a Christmas tree! What a great idea.

Kirstie and Phil had a few issues getting their wax to the right temperature! However, some ‘festive magic’ aka camera trickery helped them.

When you’ve put your shapes on top of each other to make a Christmas tree like figure then you can skewer a hole through the middle and then thread the wick through the skewered holes. These are a great craft for children to get involved in this Christmas, or adults of course.

Kirstie ends the programme by making some tasty trifles with malt whiskey and saying “If you can’t be posh at Christmas then when can you?”.

Some Twitter users such as @janebryant59 shared their thoughts on Kirsties Christmas Cracker saying “I thought I was doing well this year. All presents bought, cards written and putting the tree up this weekend. However, after watching 10 minutes of #KirstiesHandmadeChristmas I feel totally inadequate because I haven’t made a bottle of snow globe gin or my own fecking crackers.”

@darrentedeschi had the opposite thoughts saying he “Always feel like xmas begins when @KirstieMAllsopp@Channel4#KirstiesHandmadeChristmas is on. Love all the ideas!”

Will you be trying any of the ideas from Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas, or do you have some better ideas of your own? Let us know in the comments below

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