Fancy Festive Foodstuffs

I am so very traditional when it comes to my Christmas Cake. I made it in October, on the same days as Bob's birthday cake. If the oven is on for hours I might as well have two cakes cooking. My kit is rather old...

• Good Housekeeping Cookbook 1978 [Book Club]
• Salter Scales 1988 [Holiday bargain purchase in Yorkshire]
• Kenwood Chef 1994 [from Bob]
• Mason Cash Mixing Bowl 2002 [from Steph]
• Red Melamine bowls 2009 [from SIL Denise]
• small M&S Mason Cash bowl [2015, CS]

But it is reliable, and used every year to produce my cake. Some years I have pushed the boat out a bit and tried making fancy Christmas foods.

In 2013 for our 'Open House' I made a wreath, rosemary from the garden on a round tray - with red and green grapes, cherry tomatoes and cubes of feta cheese in petit fours cases.

I note that this year Aldi have a recipe for a charcuterie wreath
This looks truly amazing, 40mins prep time, serves two [is that all?] It does look glorious.

M&S have a recipe for a mincemeat tree [serves 4, 35 minutes to prep and cook]

Costa are serving 'festive cherry bakewells' Methinks with some green marzipan and a holly leaf cutter, and I could pimp up a pack of regular supermarket ones...

I haven't decided how to decorate the Christmas Cake yet. Something simple. One year I made a croquembouche as well as a fruit cake. Stacks of choux pastry balls, drizzled with caramelised sugar. Never again! The kitchen floor felt sticky for days! 

For about 10 years we had Snowy Mountain Pudding  -it looks impressive but is incredibly rich

Kirsten  makes Speculaas as a nod to her Dutch heritage [My Belgian calls them speculoos] My FIL used to cook and press a tongue.

Do you have a go-to Christmas recipe in your family?