COOLER-EBOOKS.com is offering all customers a 25% discount on ebook purchases until 22^nd December.

COOLER-EBOOKS.com is the world’s largest ebook store with more than 2 million titles for download, with many classic ebooks available for free, and in a variety of formats.

The ebooks can be read on a host of different ereaders including the gorgeous COOL-ER (pictured).

COOLER-EBOOKS.com is also offering a free ebook and audiobook of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. To download your copy, click here.

On Saturday, head to Somerset House from 11-1 or 2-4:30 to make snowflakes and icicle mobiles.

In the free holiday workshop, children of all ages can create a glittering vision of wintry cool to hang up at home using frosty, icy patterns and stained glass effects!

Also on Saturday, visit the Roman Road Market for some Christmas shopping. There will also be free ice skating on the temporary rink on Usher Road (off Roman Road).

Santa will be out and about roaming ‘the Roman’ handing out gifts to children under 11 years old ‘whether they’ve been naughty or nice’.

And you can warm up with a free hot drink and nibbling on a mince pie whilst listening to local choirs performing cheerful carols or the brass band at Gladstone Place.

On Sunday, check out Christmas on the Canal at the grand opening of City Road Basin in Islington.

Festive activities include Christmas markets, boat trips, Santa’s Grotto on board the Angel boat, Carol singing, a snow machine, mulled wine and mince pies and a giant tree Christmas lights switch-on.

This is not a post about saving money, but it was too silly to pass up. MTA Solicitors have sent us a list of the craziest laws on the books that you might break this Christmas season.

• Think twice before tucking into a mince pie on Christmas day. The most outrageous law revealed for the festive season: ‘mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas day’.  So, will we all have to stay clear of the mince pies on Christmas day?
• Be carefully when you’re sending out your Christmas cards as “it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British Monarch upside down”.
• If you’re catching a cab home after the Christmas party don’t be surprised to hear the cab driver ask you if you have the plague. “Cab drivers must ask all passengers if they have small pox or the plague”.
• Watch out for this over the Christmas period ‘In London, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside.’
• Don’t forget your archery practice on Christmas Day! ‘In England, all men over the age of 14 must carry out two hours of longbow practice a day.’
• “In Scotland, it is illegal to be drunk in possession of a cow”, so don’t take your cow out on the town to celebrate Hogmanay.

CEO David Green explains that the rule on eating mince pies actually stemmed from Oliver Cromwell who passed a law to ban Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony. That law has never been repealed, so it’s true that mince pies are in fact illegal!

Making gifts is very in this year–it’s cost-effective, thoughtful and fun!

Here are a few lovely recipes for homemade gifts to try from our friends at Gold Top.

Gold Top Milk Biscuit Stars and Christmas Trees
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Makes approx. 12

Ingredients
150g plain flour, sifted
100g plain wholemeal flour, sifted
50g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
60g caster sugar
50g Gold Top slightly salted butter, diced
1 tsp vanilla essence
approx 200ml Gold Top Milk

Method
Pre heat the oven to 200C, 180 C fan, 400 F, gas Mark 6

Sift the flours, ground almonds, baking powder, salt and 50g sugar into a food processor bowl.

Add the diced butter and pulse the processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Mix together the vanilla essence and milk. Gradually add the milk until a soft dough is formed. You may not need all the milk. Turn out on a slightly floured board and lightly “knead” for 30 seconds.

Roll to about 3mm thickness and cut with a floured star-shape cutter.

Place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment. Brush the biscuits with the remaining milk and sprinkle with the remaining caster sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Decoration can be added for faces with icing.

Decoration
Re-use a gift box by decorating with wrapping paper or patterned paper of choice (we used an old toiletries gift box).

Carefully line up the milk biscuit shapes inside the gift box.

Wrap the box in clear cellophane to display the biscuits. Secure with cellotape underneath the box and tie with coloured ribbon.

Approximate total cost of gift = £3.60

Cost of recipe ingredients required for gift = £1.35
Cost of ingredients if bought in full = £6.31(value of ingredients remaining after recipe = £4.96)

Decoration: = from £2.25

Wrapping paper – from £0.50
Box – Reuse a gift box (alternatively boxes can be bought from £1.00 at stationers)
Tissue paper – from £0.75
Cellophane for wrapping (£1 for 1m square available from florists)

Homemade Dolce de Leche
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour – 1 and a half 1/2 hours
Makes: 1 litre

Ingredients
1.5 litres Gold Top Milk
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
500g caster sugar
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method
In a very large saucepan, bring Gold Top Milk to the boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and strain through cheesecloth or muslin. Return to pan.

Add the vanilla paste to the Gold Top Milk. Stir in the sugar and replace the pan on medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Just as the Gold Top Milk mixture begins to boil, stir in the bicarbonate of soda. This will cause the mixture to froth so make sure your pan is plenty big enough.

Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer the mixture for about 1 and a 1/2 hours, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat when the mixture is caramel brown in colour and thickened so that a wooden spoon drawn through the mixture leaves the bottom of the pan visible.

Stand the pan in an ice bath or bowl of ice cold water and stir constantly until dolce de leche is cold. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use as banoffee pie filling or as a sauce for ice cream.

Decoration
Pour the Dolche de Leche into a clean, attractive, jam jar. Secure the lid.

Using a small bowl draw a circle onto some old fabric and cut this out.

Wrap the cut fabric around the lid of the jar and secure with coloured ribbon.

Approximate total cost of gift = £3.57

Cost of recipe ingredients required for gift = £2.32
Cost of ingredients if bought in full = £2.74 (value of ingredients remaining after recipe = £0.42)

Decoration: = approximately £1.25
Re-used jam jar (alternatively glass storage jars can be bought from £1 from home stores or supermarkets)
Old piece of fabric
Ribbon – from £0.25

Coffee and Macadamia Nut Fudge
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Makes: about 30 squares

Ingredients
A little oil, for greasing
300ml Gold Top Milk
350g caster sugar
100g Gold Top slightly salted butter
2 tsp strong coffee paste
75g macadamia nuts

Method
Grease an 18cm square cake tin and base line with non-stick parchment paper.

Put the Gold Top Milk, sugar and butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Heat slowly, stirring all the time, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted.

Bring pan to boil and boil for 15-20 minutes, stirring all the time.

When the mixture reaches 115°C on a sugar thermometer or soft-ball stage – when the mixture is dropped into cold water it forms a ball which will not hold its shape.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coffee paste. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before adding the macadamia nuts.

Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until it starts to thicken and the gloss disappears.

Pour into the prepared tin and leave to set at room temperature. Do not put in the fridge or a crust will form.

Once set, cut the fudge into small squares and store in a sealed container.

Decoration
On clear cellophane draw around a large plate to create a circle.

Carefully cut the circle out.

Place the fudge pieces in the centre and gather the cellophane together.

Secure with red coloured ribbon and place into the tea cup, beer glass or mug.

Approximate total cost of gift = £4.25

Cost of recipe ingredients required for gift = £2.53
Cost of ingredients if bought in full = £6.57 (value of ingredients remaining after recipe = £4.96)

Decoration: = from £1.75
Traditional tea cup and saucer, beer glass or mug – from £0.50 from charity shops or car boot sales
Ribbon – from £0.25
Cellophane for wrapping (£1 for 1m square available from florists)

Giles & Posner have another great Christmas gift offer—this time for your favourite bachelor!

The “Ultimate Lads Package” includes the Hotdog Rotisserie, Football Popcorn and Cyclone Cocktail for half price, a total of £32.45.

The offer is available until 31^st January.

Giles & Posner have also given VoucherMum.com readers a 10% discount with code VMUM through 22nd December. Unfortunately I’m told you can’t use the discount on sale item (but I wouldn’t blame you for trying!)

Saturday, head to Contemporary Applied Arts for Make It: Magical, before it ends next week.

The free workshops for kids age 6-12 are based on the gallery’s Christmas exhibition, ‘Mystery, Magic and Merriment’. You’ll have a variety of materials available to make a special gift, keepsake or seasonal decoration or create beautiful cards, with technical guidance from gallery staff.

Saturday’s workshop is from 10.30 – 12.30pm. For this one I’m told you MUST book ahead. To do so call 020 7436 2344 or email clare@caa.org.uk or harriet@caa.org.uk.

On Sunday, head to the National Portrait Gallery for Christmas Past, where you’ll get to explore how families celebrated Christmas in the past and make a traditional tree decoration inspired by the collection.

This event starts at 2:00 p.m. and is recommended for kids 5+. Free tickets are required and available on the day one hour before the event starts from the Information Desk in the Main Hall.  The session will last approximately 90 minutes.  Places are limited to 20 per session, maximum 4 tickets per adult.

Christmas on a shoestring? BBCShop.com has over 900 offers to make Christmas shopping a breeze for those of us putting a spending limit on gifts this year. More than 220 products are £5 or less.

Here is the scoop:

• Sing along to Aled’s Christmas Carols on DVD (£3.99)
• Be inspired in the kitchen with tried and tested recipes from the Good Food 101 Christmas Dishes book (£2.99)
• Keep little ones enthralled with CBeebies The Ultimate Christmas Collection DVD (£4.50), The Tale of Jack Frost DVD narrated by Hugh Laurie (£4.00) and The Snow Queen DVD (£4.50)
• Top Gear: Winter Olympics DVD (£4.50) provides entertainment with events including a mini on the ski jump and slalom speed/dance skating using a Jaguar and a Range Rover! (see snap)
• Keep the Bah-Humbug brigade on side with Christmas Specials from  The League of Gentleman DVD (£5.00), The Catherine Tate Show DVD (£4.50) The Office: The Christmas Specials DVD (£4.50) and Blackadder’s Christmas Carol (£3.50 on CD or £4.99 on DVD)
• Curl up on the sofa to enjoy a classic like Oliver Twist starring Sophie Okonedo, Timothy Spall, Edward Fox and Anna Massey on DVD (£5.00), The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling starring Max Beesley and Samantha Morton DVD (£5.00) or The Other Boleyn Girl DVD (£4.25)
• For lovers of Jane Austen BBCShop has Sense & Sensibility DVD (£4.50) and Becoming Jane starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy on DVD (£5.00)
• Romance fans won’t be able to resist Consuming Passion: 100 Years of Mills & Boon, three dramas interlinked with references to the publishing firm’s history with a cast including Daniel Mays, Olivia Coleman and Emila Fox DVD (£4.50)

The Body Shop has loads of vouchers but they aren’t going to just put them out there for anyone to use–you’ve got to play a little game called Pass the Parcel.

That’s right, click on the link and see what your discount is (mine was 20% off, but some lucky folks will get up to 30%!)

We love The Body Shop though. Everything smells amazing and really, can one have too many body butters? No? Thought so.

Plus, over 64% of the products they sell include the benefits of Community Trade, a unique programme which includes sourcing natural ingredients from marginalised communities in over 20 countries around the world.

Jessops have announced some fantastic Christmas offers across their range and there’s something for everyone on your list.

Here is what you can look out for in stores:

Fujifilm Finepix J30 in Blue (pictured)
WAS £ 129 THEN £99, NOW £79 SAVE A TOTAL OF £50

This cute camera comes in stunning bright blue. Great for the photography beginner the Fuji J30 combines 12 mega pixel quality with a 3x zoom, 2.7″ LCD screen, Scene Recognition and Face Detection – making it the perfect choice for camera novices this Christmas.

Fujifilm Finepix F72 EXR Digital Camera
WAS £249, THEN £199, NOW £179. SAVE A TOTAL OF £70

For the serious photographers the Fuji F72EXR is a 10 megapixel, 10x optical zoom camera featuring Fuji’s intelligent EXR technology. This combination of cutting-edge technology encased within a pocket sized digital compact body means that advanced amateur photographers through to professionals will be able to take breathtaking pictures in the most challenging of conditions.

Nikon Coolpix S225 Digital Camera
WAS £99, NOW £89, SAVE £10

The Nikon Coolpix S225 is a nifty, slim line, little camera in stunning silver, ideal for social photographers who demand a camera with style and excellent functionality.  Offering 10 megapixels,3 x optical zoom, Smile and Blink Proof Mode and Face Detection the Nikon Coolpix S225 allows you to take razor sharp photos.

Canon Ixus 95 IS Digital Camera – Pink
£149

Pretty in pink this camera has great features to match its looks! This 10 mega pixel camera has the ability to detect up to 35 faces in a picture making this the ultimate good-time group picture camera. Quick and easy functions turn this into the ideal ‘off the shelf and in your pocket’ model. You can even blow up images to poster size afterwards!

Yesterday I went to a Christmas Cookie Party at an American friend’s flat. In case you haven’t been sucked into the (brilliant) American tradition of Christmas cookies, here is how a cookie party works.

Everyone brings a big batch of cookies (ideally made from scratch!) so that everyone can take home 2-3 of each kind. Sometimes you bring copies of the recipe for everyone. Most times you share a story about your cookies.

Because I spent all day Saturday volunteering, I was a bit stressed about finding time to shop. So I searched for a recipe that I could make with all the basics we have in the house. I ended up baking an old-fashioned traditional cookie called snickerdoodles!

You’ll love them, and here is the recipe if you’d like to try. Credit goes to JoyofBaking.com.

Ingredients

Cookies:
360 grams plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
227 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
300 grams granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Coating:
66 grams granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Method

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until smooth (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough. If the dough is soft, cover and refrigerate until firm enough to roll into balls (one to two hours).

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C and place rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Shape the dough into 2.5 cm round balls.

Coating: In a large shallow bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

Roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on the prepared pan, spacing about 5 cm apart. Then, using the bottom of a glass, gently flatten each cookie to about 1.5 cm thick.

Bake the cookies for about 8 – 10 minutes, or until they are light golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Can store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for about 10 – 14 days.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.