Christmas entertainment

Moving to Lincolnshire and not sure what will be on this Christmas to keep the family entertained?

Perhaps you have been looking at one of our traditional brick built homes at Pinchbeck Fields and are looking at what's on offer in the surrounding area.

From shopping expeditions to pantomimes, there is plenty to do to keep everyone amused ahead of the festivities!


Why not explore Doddington Hall's Alice in Wonderland themed festive decorations? Meet Father Christmas and browse Christmas gifts, trees, and food from the farm shop.

Visit Santa in his grotto at Baytree Nurseries near Spalding. Baytree Winter Wonderland is the UK's number one Grotto. It covers 26,000 square feet of undercover area. Wind your way through hundreds of snow covered trees, climb onto Santa's magic sleigh ride and travel into the heart of Winter Wonderland. Hop off the sleigh and slowly walk past the toy workshop under twinkling lights and see Santa's little helpers hard at work.

Fancy rubbing along with Aladdin? Oh yes you do. Why not take the family to the panto at the South Holland Centre on until 31 December.

Finally, there’s a wealth of farmers’ markets and seasonal fairs around the county of Lincolnshire. Go to the Visit Lincolnshire website for more details.

Housing market is a Christmas turkey say surveyors

The UK housing market remains flat in the run up to Christmas, according to the November 2017 RICS UK Residential Market Survey.

It remains to be seen whether the scrapping of Stamp Duty for first time buyers announced in the Budget will provide much of a lift for the market.

The headline price balance eased to zero in November, indicating flat prices at the national level over the month. Once again, however, there were significant variations at a regional level. The South East and East Anglia reported negative price trends.

Looking forward, the three-month price expectations are also more or less flat at the national level as the net balance moved to -5 per cent from -10 per cent in October. Looking at price expectations at the regional level, sentiment again remains particularly cautious in London and the South East but, in contrast, contributors are confident that prices will rise in the North West, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland during the three months ahead.

The marked decline in new buyer enquiries over the previous couple of months appeared to moderate in November, 5 per cent more respondents noted a decline in demand (as oppose to an increase), compared to -19 per cent in October and -21 per cent in September.

Newly agreed sales continued to edge lower at the headline level with 10 per cent more respondents seeing a fall rather than rise, compared with -20 per cent in October. The numbers were either a flat or negative across most other areas of the UK. Going forward, national sales expectations remain flat for the coming three months.

New instructions to sell continued to deteriorate in November, as the supply crisis continues. This figure has now been declining for 22 months in succession. However, in part driven by the slower pace of sales, stock levels on estate agents’ books held broadly steady.

Christmas table etiquette

We all do things differently. But despite popular opinion is there a right way and a wrong way to do something? Apparently, there is, especially at Christmas. We want to do things the right way to make sure we bring a sense of occasion to the proceedings.

Here are top ten tips for a proper Christmas lunch:

1. Pull crackers at the start of the meal and everyone should join in and wear the paper hat – avoid looking like a Scrooge.
2. Aim to sit down for a lunch – not dinner – at around 1pm. Or you could have the meal in the early evening. Avoid mid-afternoon.
3. Don’t worry about starters – dive straight into the main meal. Perhaps serve drinks – champagne, dry sherry or orange juice before lunch. Don’t over do it too early though.
4. When loading your plate, less is more. Don’t ask for seconds – wait to be offered.
5. Ladle gravy from the gravy boat, don’t pour it.
6. Put cold sauces such as cranberry sauce into ramekins with serving spoons – don’t put the jars out on the table.
7. Hot sauces, like bread sauce, should go in sauce boats and be ladled onto the side of your plate. Don’t dunk your meat. Spread the sauce onto your turkey.
8. Serve your Christmas pudding on plates not bowls.
9. Serve your pudding with rum butter, brandy butter or brandy sauce.
10. Warm some rum/brandy, pour over the pudding and serve flaming.

But above all, remember - it is supposed to be fun! 

December gardening tips

The shortest day of the year is rapidly approaching. The amount of time you can spend in the garden is limited. It’s going to be cold so some hard work to keep you warm is the order of the day.

The good news is that when you're done you can put your feet up by the fire and relax for the holidays.


Get stuck into any digging that you need to do and prune trees and shrubs.

You should now have time to sit by the fire and plan your gardening for next year. And perhaps you’ll get a chance to unwrap those gardening gifts that Santa left under the tree.

Here is a list of the top ten things you should consider completing this month - courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society:

1.    Check your winter protection structures are still securely in place.
2.    Check that greenhouse heaters are working.
3.    Insulate outdoor taps and prevent ponds from freezing.
4.    Prune open-grown apples and pears (but not those trained against walls).
5.    Prune acers, birches and vines before Christmas to avoid bleeding.
6.    Harvest leeks, parsnips, winter cabbage, sprouts and remaining root crops.
7.    Deciduous trees and shrubs can still be planted and transplanted.
8.    Take hardwood cuttings.
9.    Keep mice away from stored produce.
10.    Reduce watering of houseplants.

For more details on winter and December in your garden visit https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/december and follow the links.

Allison Homes' Run-up to Christmas Time Plan

Is the thought of planning your Christmas lunch for a house full of family and friends keeping you awake at nights?

We have got you covered.  If you are going to be the cook on the 'big day', here is your ultimate day-by-day guide to preparing for the family Christmas meal:


This weekend:

•  For fresh birds, order early to ensure you get the weight you want.
• Buy a frozen turkey to avoid the last-minute rush.
• Look for the Quality British Turkey mark for assurance of best standards in welfare, food safety and traceability.

Week commencing 11th December:

• Work out how long your frozen turkey will take to defrost.
• Make a note of when you need to start defrosting the turkey.
• Write a shopping list – check the cupboard for essentials such as herbs, spices, oil.
• Make a separate shopping list for fresh ingredients.
• Make the brandy butter and refrigerate it.
• Make and freeze the breadcrumbs for the stuffing.
• Decide on table decorations - buy or order them.

Week commencing 18th December

• Buy the bulk of your shopping - eg Christmas pudding, custard, chocolates, etc.
• Buy all the dry ingredients required for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and not forgetting Christmas Eve.
• Buy fresh food including the turkey (if you haven’t ordered one).
• If cooking a frozen turkey take it out of the freezer in time to defrost it thoroughly.
• Don’t forget to order chipolata sausages or buy ahead and freeze them.

23rd December:

• Collect fresh turkey, sausages.

24th December:

• Prepare the stuffing & the gravy. Chill until needed to cook.
• Prepare the sprouts and other vegetables. Cover and store in the fridge.
• Peel the potatoes, cut to the required size – cover in water with a slice of lemon.
• Make the cranberry sauce – cover and chill.
• For a frozen turkey check turkey is thawed – there should be no ice crystals in the body cavity.
• Don’t forget to remove giblets from the turkey. Check both neck and cavity!
• Cover the turkey loosely and leave in the fridge overnight at a temperature of no more than 5 degrees C.
• Calculate your roasting times.
• Lay the table.

Candles at home at Christmas

Candles have been around for centuries. Early candles were made from animal fat and beeswax. As production industrialised other materials were used – fat from sperm whales, vegetable oils and paraffin oils in particular.

Manufacture of candles declined after the invention of the lightbulb in 1879.

Despite this advance in lighting technology,  we still use candles to brighten our homes, to create a cosy atmosphere or to impart fragrance.

There is still a sense of something magical about burning candles. This perhaps comes from various religious and ceremonial uses that we can still remember.

You can use candles to make a beautiful centrepiece to your table at formal family meals – like Christmas dinner. Or, you can dot them around the home in designer holders to create a wonderful festive atmosphere.

Here are some of our favourites and where to get them:

• Yankee Candles has a huge range of candles of all kinds. Their candles are in jars and pillars, so they impart their relaxing and evocative fragrances without getting melted wax all over the place. Winter Glow, Berry Trifle and Christmas Cookie pillar candles are a favourite. Visit www.yankeecandle.co.uk for more.
• John Lewis stocks all the popular candle brands. Its website lets you shop by fragrance as well as brand. As well as candles the retailer also has ranges of diffusers, candle holders and gift sets to choose from.
• If you are looking for simplicity in design but a wide range of relaxing aromas, then the White Company could be for you. It has candles, votives, pillar candles and tealights galore. Visit its website for more.
• Stylish British parfumier Jo Malone of London has a nice range of candles for the home.  
• Going even further up market and for something a little different – particularly if you have money to burn – give Selfridges a try.

Whichever candles and fragrances you choose – enjoy. We hope you have a relaxing and cosy Christmas.

Christmas decoration ideas

Now that winter has officially arrived it’s time to start preparing your home for the coming Christmas festivities.

Here are some inspirational ideas to help get you into the Christmas spirit.

Christmas wreaths and Christmas centrepieces – You can buy these at good retailers. Better yet, why not create your own? It’s a good excuse to get out and about. Collect some holly with berries, ivy and pine cones. Get yourself a floral foam oasis ring from a florist. Cut sprigs of your favourite evergreens into short sprigs. Alternate them so you don’t get groupings of the same foliage. You can also add ribbons and baubles to mix it up a bit.

Christmas flowers – Fill you home with some traditional Christmas flowers. Poinsettia, amaryllis, cyclamen, hyacinth and bulbs all make beautiful floral displays that can last well beyond the festive season to give your home a cosy feeling all winter.

Trees – Fill your home with one of the most distinctive seasonal festive aromas by having a real tree. The top three for fragrance are;

• Norway Spruce
• Fraser Fir
• Douglas Fir

Baubles – Shop for bold statement baubles and match them with plain understated ones to match your colour schemes. Have a look at Pinterest for inspiration.

Traditional paper – Remember the old-fashioned paper chains and crepe paper hanging bells? Add some colour to your schemes with traditional folded designs and paper baubles.

Lights – Christmas lights can brighten up your home inside and out over the Christmas holidays. Choose understated single colour strings of LED lights to match your chosen colour schemes.

Candles – If you’re not having a real tree this year but still want to fill your home with the aromas of Christmas, light some festive candles. There are plenty out there and most of the major supermarkets have their own ranges.