CHRISTMAS CROONING!

Every year I think about it, and every year I come to the same conclusion:  I really couldn’t choose which song is my favourite if my life depended on it.  These are a few of my faves and here’s why:

1. All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey (I can sing as loud as I want and no one can hear me!)
2. The Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (It makes me feel unbelievably happy and sad at the same time!)
3. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole (You can’t get more Christmassy than a lyric like: ‘Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…’!)
4. The Twelve Days of Christmas (There’s something about remembering and repeating lyrics backwards that is just the most amazing fun!)

Christmas songs are great but they’d be nothing if you didn’t have other people to share them with.  There’s nothing I like more than lighting some cinnamon spiced candles, putting on some of my favourite festive tunes, and inviting some friends around for mince pies and mulled wine.  I don’t know if it’s my sparkling personality, or the alcohol, but before you know it, everyone is joining in with Mariah, and I can promise you, I’m not the only one trying (and failing) to hit the high notes.

If you want to replicate my Christmas party experience, I can recommend this recipe for my favourite mulled wine.  Before you know it, there’ll be a bunch of budding Mariah Carey’s and Sean MacGowans in your house too!

BEST MULLED WINE RECIPE (serves 12-24 dependent on glass size)

INGREDIENTS

2 bottles red wine

1 orange stuck with cloves

2 oranges, sliced

2 lemons, sliced

6 tbspn caster sugar

1 cinnamon stick

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tbspn cherry brandy

METHOD

1. Put all the ingredients in a pan with 2½ pints of water
2. Heat gently until it reaches simmering point and all the sugar has dissolved.
3. Keep it just below simmering point for at least 20 minutes, but don’t let it boil. You don’t want the alcohol to evaporate.
4. Serve in glasses with slices of fruit for decoration.
5. Enjoy – the mulled wine, and the singing!