to make a personalized Christmas card. Here are a few ideas:

1. Glue small fern leaves on a piece of paperboard. Putting them together simulates the look of a Christmas tree, especially if you add a small star sticker or cut-out on the top. The trees can be decorated with small gift packages, i.e. squares made of colored tape which you wrap with cross ribbons in contrasting colors.

2. Even if you are not good in drawing, you can still create beautiful Christmas cards. Cut out Christmas motifs from magazines, preferably colorful ones, and glue them together on a piece of paper (e.g. in several layers). It sounds simple, but you can really make very beautiful and creative cards in no time.

Large picture: Christmas cards

Victorian Santa Cards

Christmas Coloring Pages

merry christmas

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Christmas Cake

The Christmas cake is a part and parcel of the Christmas celebrations. Christmas cake celebrations will remain incomplete without the traditional cake. It is always the cake and wine which is first served to people who wish each other during Christmas. Christmas cakes are either traditionally baked at home or are bought from outside.

Different types of Christmas cakesare baked or bought like spongy, moist, glazed, round, square, garnished with nuts, fruits, cream, rum, whisky etc. The traditional favorite of many is the Scottish Christmas cake which is made of Scotch whisky and is light and crumbly There is also a practice of adding coins in the Christmas cake as good luck charm. They used to be silver coins, or sixpences which used to be wrapped in grease proofed paper wrappers.

In Japan, the Christmas cake is eaten on Christmas eve which is generally a sponge cake topped with whipped cream, fruits and chocolates. In the Phillipines, the Christmas cake is soaked in rum or brandy with syrup of sugar and water. These cakes have a long shelf life and are ideal for Christmas gifts. Sometimes they stay so long that they are even consumed during Easter or the next Christmas.

The story of the Christmas cake originated in 1870 in Victorian England. Initially people used to only have porridge as not many houses had ovens to bake cakes. Slowly, they started adding things to christmas cake and christmas cake became a pudding, which was later turned into a cake by adding additional ingredients.

Around the 16th century, a bean and a pea were baked into the cake in two halves. Whoever got the bean in the cake was to become a King for the night and everybody had to listen to him and the lady who got the pea would become his queen. In smaller homes, the person who got the bean would become the guardian angel for the whole year.

With Christmas around the corner, who can forget the delicious Christmas cakes associated with Christmas? Such is the fondness of people for these cakes that the Christmas is not assumed to be completed unless the Christmas cake is distributed in the home and shared by all the loved ones.

Christmas cake recipes: Moms find a special reason to make Christmas cake on the special day of Christmas, the birth of the Holy Christ.

Where to found the delight of these cakes?

• There are many books which can help you to make a yummy cake on this Christmas.
• You can also refer to the Internet to have those great Christmas cake recipes.

Christmas cake decorating: It is observed that people prefer to decorate their Christmas cakes to make it more attractive looking with the help of:

• Christmas cake decorating with strawberries
• Christmas cake decorating with jellies
• Christmas cake decorating with food creams
• Christmas cake decorating with pastes

Those cake decorators are readily available in the market and you can make a use of them to provide that extra touch.

Christmas cake ideas: People all over the globe love to make unique Christmas cakes. To make it more beautiful:

• They at times make the use of personalized messages on them
• They draw pictures of Santa Claus to make them appropriate for the festival
• They adorn Christmas gifts on them for luring children .

Christmas cake decorating ideas: People wait all part of the year to celebrate this great festival. And when the time does come, they make sure it is celebrated in the best way by decorating these cakes more creatively with all the available items in the market before gifting them to their loved ones. They become more inventive with decorating idea and embellish them with :

• Christmas cake decorating with food items,
• Christmas cake decorating with decorative things
• Christmas cake decorating with colored flavors.

Japanese Christmas cake: The traditional Japanese food during the time of Christmas is the Christmas cake. This cake is normally made up of

• Christmas cake decorating with strawberries
• Christmas cake decorating with whipped cream
• Christmas cake decorating with sponge cake

• People gift Christmas Chocolate cakes as a mark of the celebrations to their beloved ones like:

• Christmas Chocolate cake gifts for relatives
• Christmas Chocolate cake gifts for friends
• Christmas Chocolate cake gifts for colleagues
• Christmas Chocolate cake gifts for fiance
• Christmas Chocolate cake gifts for wife

Jamaican Christmas cake

• The people of Jamaica are known to love dark, heavy and spongy Christmas cake with rich flavors and rum soaked fruits.
• The Christmas cake is a favored gift to celebrate the birth of the Holy Christ since generations in Jamaica.

Christmas cake designs: The Christmas cake is designed with delicious food items like

• Christmas cake is designed with strawberries
• Christmas cake is designed with jellies
• Christmas cake is designed with fruits.
• The Christmas cakes are designed to celebrate the happiness involved with Christmas.
• People share these christmas cake by writing their personalized christmas messages and quotes for their loved ones.

Christmas cake pictures: Nowadays, people also send Christmas cake pictures to their loved ones as a mark of their affection. Millions of Christmas cake pictures are downloaded from the Internet and used by people to surprise and make their loved ones happy.

Drusilla's Seafood Eggplant Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. butter
1/2 lb. onions, chopped
1/2 lb. celery, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp. red pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbl. garlic
1 1/2 Tbl. chicken base
1 lb. shrimp
1 lb. crabmeat
5 medium eggplants
1/3 lb. American cheese
2 oz. grated Romano cheese
6 oz. Italian breadcrumbs

Directions:

Step 1:
Combine first 8 ingredients in a saucepan and cook until vegetables are clear.

Step 2:
Add shrimp and cook until done. Add crabmeat and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Step 3:
While cooking vegetables and seafood, peel and cut eggplants into 2x2 cubes. Boil in a separate saucepan until cooked.

Step 4:
Once all are cooked, add eggplant to vegetables and seafood. Mix well.

Step 5:
Add cheeses and breadcrumbs to achieved desired consistency.

Step 6:
Place in a casserole dish and brown in oven at 400 degrees.

Cajun Style Turducken Recipe

What You'll Need:
20 - 25 lb. whole turkey, deboned with wings and legs still intact.
5 - 6 lb. whole duckling, deboned
3 - 4 lb. whole chicken, deboned Poultry seasoning blend
Cornbread Stuffing (recipe listed below)
Cajun Rice Dressing (recipe listed below)
Shrimp Stuffing (recipe listed below)
Kitchen string Cotton thread and a large needle

Have the birds deboned by your butcher to save yourself quite a bit of time, but if you're a particularly adventurous cook you can do it yourself. Professional Cutlery Direct provides step by step instructions for deboning poultry. Just be sure to keep the wings and legs on the turkey, that way the finished turducken will still look like a turkey.

It's best to prepare each stuffing ahead of time so that they have time to cool before you are ready to assemble your turducken. A basic stuffing recipe is listed below, and it can easily be adapted for any flavor that you choose.

Cornbread Stuffing

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. cooking oil
4 cups cornbread (crumbled)
1/2 lb. chopped chicken livers
1/2 lb. chopped chicken gizzards
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
Poultry seasoning, salt and black pepper (add according to taste)
Butter or olive oil for saute-ing vegetables
Chicken broth

Directions:

Brown chopped chicken livers and gizzards over medium heat in cooking oil. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper cook until soft. Season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Add crumbled cornbread to vegetables and meat. Pour chicken broth into mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.

Cajun Rice Dressing:

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. cooking oil
lb. ground beef
4 cups cooked white rice
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups beef broth
Salt and black pepper (to suit taste)

Directions:

Brown ground beef over medium heat in cooking oil. Add celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic cook until soft. Season with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Add the cream of mushroom soup to the pot and heat through. Mix cooked rice with beef and vegetables. Pour beef broth into mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.

Shrimp Stuffing:

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. cooking oil
4 cups cooked rice
2 lb. chopped shrimp (raw)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
Salt and black pepper (to suit taste)
Dash of red (cayenne) pepper

Directions:

Saute celery, onion, and bell pepper until soft. Pour in diced tomatoes. Add chopped shrimp, cook until slightly pink. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Combine with cooked rice. Add a little water if stuffing seems dry. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.

Assembling the Turducken

Begin by placing the turkey skin side down and seasoning it well with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Then spread the cornbread stuffing over the turkey. Next, place the duck on top of the cornbread stuffing and spread the Cajun rice dressing over it. You will then place the chicken on top of the Cajun rice dressing and add the shrimp stuffing. Each stuffing layer should be approximately 1/2 inch thick. Any leftover stuffing can be placed in casserole dishes and baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes.

Once you've stuffed each bird, fold the sides of the turkey together to close the bird. Enlist someone to help hold the turkey closed as you begin to sew up the opening. The stitches should be spaced about 1 inch apart. You finish sewing the Turducken tie the legs together, just above the tip bones. Be sure to place the Turducken breast side up while cooking.

Once the turducken is assembled, place the turducken in a large roasting pan and cook in a 325 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven. Alternatively, you can place the turducken on aluminum foil or in an aluminum pan, and then cook on a 350 degrees Fahrenheit grill or smoker.

Regardless of which method you choose to use you should cook the bird until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest area on the bundle reaches an internal temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Fahrenheit is the minimum temperature for cooking poultry, but 180 degrees Fahrenheit will ensure that the turducken is fully cooked all the way through). The USDA recommends that a stuffed turkey of this size will generally take 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours to cook, but your best bet is to rely on the meat thermometer.

Baked Turkey Recipe

Ingredients:
1 (12-pound) turkey
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, sliced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 cloves large garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:

Step 1:
Preheat oven 350ºF.

Step 2:
Clean and rinse out turkey cavity and pat dry. Place turkey in a roasting pan. Carefully lift skin over breasts, thighs and drumsticks and insert butter. Rub oil and crushed garlic cloves over turkey, then sprinkle with allspice and seasoned salt. Tie or skewer legs together to hold shape during cooking. Cover with aluminum foil.

Step 3:
Bake for 4 hours, or about 20 minutes per pound. Meat thermometer should read 180°F. when inserted into the thickest portion of the breast away from the bone. Remove foil during last 30 minutes of cooking, baste with pan juices and brown skin.

Makes 12 servings.

Favorite Holiday christmas Recipes

I hope you enjoy trying some of these holiday recipes. These recipes can be served either at Christmas Dinner, or brought to holiday parties. They have been submitted by my family and friends (most of whom are Cajun, so there may be an abundance of Cajun oriented recipes here). Special thanks to Sandie Tablada for contributing so many of her best recipes. We'd love to share your favorite Christmas recipes as well. Scroll down to the end of the page for more information on how to submit your holiday recipes to us.

Cajun Deep Fried Turkey Recipe - by Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:
2 (8-14 lb) turkeys
10 gallons peanut oil
1 cup salt
1/2 tbsp cayenne
1/4 tbsp black pepper

Marinade:
2 tablespoon Lea & Perrins worcestershire
1 tablespoon crab boil
1/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup honey
1 bottled beer
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon allspice
1/2 cup essence or Creole spice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
pinch of clove

Equipment:
40-60 quart pot with basket, burner and propane tank
candy thermometer to measure heat oil
meat thermometer to test turkey doneness
safety goggles
fire-safe gloves and pot holders
fire extinguisher
seasoning injector

Directions:

Step 1:
Season and cure the turkey with salt, pepper and cayenne. Rub seasoning on skin and let sit overnight.

Step 2:
In a blender, add all the wet ingredients and then the dry ingredients to make the marinade. Puree on high for 4-6 minutes. Make sure all ingredients are completely pureed and add to an injector.

Step 3:
Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Depending on the amount of oil used, this usually takes between 45 minutes and one hour. (To determine the correct amount of oil, place the turkey in the basket and place in the pot. Add water until it reaches 1 to 2 inches above the turkey. Remove the turkey and note the water level, using a ruler to measure the distance from the top of the pot to the surface of the water. Pour out water and dry the pot thoroughly. Be sure to measure for oil before breading or marinating the turkey.)

Step 4:
While the oil is heating, prepare the turkey as desired.

Step 5:
Once the oil has come to temperature, place the turkey in the basket and slowly lower into the pot. Whole turkeys require approximately 3 minutes per pound to cook. Remove turkey and check internal temperature with meat thermometer. The temperature should reach 170 degrees F in the breast and 180 degrees F in the thigh. Turkey parts such as breast, wings and thighs require approximately 4 to 5 minutes per pound to come to temperature.

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas

Aaah, Christmas! The Christmas holiday season is a magically special time when family and friends come together to celebrate, create memories, and recall Christmas's past as they continue traditions. What do you envision when you think of Christmas? Children's eager faces? Christmas shopping or Christmas carols? Decorating the tree? Special Christmas recipes? Christmas cards and family traditions? Gift-giving? The memories of past holidays and the anticipation of future Christmas seasons keeps us all looking forward to all that Christmas has to offer.

Christmas Traditions

There are many old Christmas traditions that have evolved over centuries. You can discover how these holiday traditions began and evolved here at Christmas Corner, but we strongly suggest that you consider creating new traditions that are unique to your family. We will give you ideas on how to make your Christmas holidays a special time for you and your family year after year.

Christmas Wallpaper : Holiday Desktop Wallpaper

Hope you enjoy this year's special collection. Clicking on the thumbnail will open it in a new window. Once you can see the entire image, you can right-click on the large image to save it as your desktop wallpaper.

Christmas Wallpaper - 2008 Collection - 1600x1200

Christmas Wallpaper - Special Collection

(Special Collection Christmas Wallpaper Courtesy of Bob LaForce)




How To Download and Set The Christmas Wallpaper as your Desktop Background

Unsure how to make one of these images your Christmas desktop wallpaper? It's easy! Just click on the appropriate linked size (or the thumbnail image of the 2004/2007 collections) to load the full-sized image. (Be sure to wait until the entire background picture has finished loading). Then do one of the following:

Windows Instructions... When the image has finished loading, right-click the wallpaper and select "set as wallpaper." or "set as background." on newer versions of Windows.

Mac Instructions... When the picture has completely loaded, hold down the mouse button until a pop-up menu appears. Choose "download image to disk." Once the image is saved, use the Appearance Control Panel to make it into a desktop picture.

That's it! Enjoy the Christmas wallpaper!