Christmas is looming and apart from the obligatory Turkey, what to cook can be stressful, particularly if you have many mouths to feed and please.  One less thing you can worry about though should be your Christmas pudding.  I’ve always made my own pudding a few weeks before Christmas and they also make a great gift.  Plus the advantage of making one now is that it has time for all the delicious fruit flavours to mature and come together.  Traditionally, puddings were made up the Sunday before advent, also known as ‘Stir-up’ Sunday because all the family took part in stirring this great pudding.  Don’t forget to make a wish when stirring and if you really want to follow tradition, then wrap a silver coin in some foil and push in to the pudding before cooking, the lucky person that should find it is supposed to get wealth. I’d make it a large coin though, you don’t want to be sued for injuries.  In some history books it has been thought that Christmas pudding merged from Germany, brought by Prince Albert in the 19th century.  Apparently he was partial to rich, dark desserts.  Here are some great Christmas pud recipes that you can download off the internet. Most are simple to prepare and keep. 

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/traditional-christmas-pudding,1234,RC.html

(Trust Delia, she’s always got a handy recipe up her sleeve)

www.britainexpress.com/articles/Food/quick-christmas-pudding.htm

(This is a real quick recipe so don’t expect exact xmas pud looks or flavour)

www.fashion-era.com/Christmas/christmas_food_beeton_pudding_recipe.htm

(This is my favourite, Mrs Beeton does it again with about 5 to choose from)

www.traditional-christmas-puddings.co.uk/start.html