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Christmas Card Competition – Greystones Studios

By | Christmas

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Help Greystones Studios to design a Christmas Card and you could win a socially distanced MAGICAL ELF VISIT plus printed cards with your design to send to your family and friends!

To celebrate the recent launch of their brand-new website, Greystones Studios have teamed up with Genie Mackers to offer a truly amazing prize – a magical elf visit, appearing right outside your house!

All you need to do is design and send us your Christmas Card based on the theme of “A Magical Greystones Christmas”. You can draw it on paper, design it on a computer or even get creative with seashells, glitter, leaves or whatever else you can think of!

You can send your finished card design by email to nikki@whaletheatre.ie or by post to Christmas Card Competition, Greystones Studios, Theatre Lane, Greystones Co. Wicklow. Don’t forget to include your name, age and a contact phone number on the back of your design so we can get in touch with the winner!

If your design is chosen as the winning Christmas Card, you can expect a very special visit from the Genie Mackers Magical Elves (we will call you to arrange this!) plus 50 printed copies of your very own Christmas Card to send Christmas wishes to your loved ones!

The closing date for entries is Monday 30th November and the winner will be announced on Thursday 3rd December!

Please visit www.greystonesstudios.ie for more information and check out www.geniemackers.com to see their incredible Elf Visits!

Think Local Shop Local

By | Christmas

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It’s all here locally!

Whether you are looking for gifts in store or on line there are a huge amount of businesses locally that have everything you might possibly want.

Check out the business listings area on this website Business List

There you will find everything from local stores to online local stores, gifts, etc.  Go into the category section and search for what you are looking for or view the drop down menu.

This Christmas more than ever, our local business’s deserve your support – Christmas would not be Christmas without them

#lightupgreystones   #greystones  #wicklow   #thinklocalbuylocal   #greystones2020   #christmaslights

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Halfway Up the Stairs Story Time

By | Christmas

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Trish Hennessy from Half Way Up the Stairs has two stories here from  Saturday 21st November

Mention the code LIGHTUPGREYSTONES – and get a 10% discount on the 2 books that Trish is reading in her story telling video’s below on www.halfwayupthestairs.ie

Dasher Landscape

 

The Christmas Eve Tree 

 

Halfway Up The Stairs is a children’s bookshop based at La Touche Place in Greystones. It stocks books for all children, from babies right up to young adults. They also stock a range of high quality toys and gifts. You will find that it stocks a lot of books by Irish authors and has a comprehensive Irish language section.

Christmas Cards & Felt Decorating Workshops

By | Christmas

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Facilitated by Shenda Burchell – Sew Shenda

Both workshops are available by clicking on the workshop name 

Christmas Card Making for toddlers to teenagers – 20 minutes

 

Felt Star Christmas Decoration for teens and younger with previous sewing/felting experience. – 30 mins

 

After many years of craft making Shenda took the plunge in 2020 and set up her own business Sew Shenda. The philosophy of Sew Shenda is to sell well made unique gifts which are sewn with  love here in Greystones.

Workshop No. 1 Christmas Card Making

A4 card (any colour though red is nice)

Glue stick

Paper Fairy/Cupcake bun cases

Crayons/Colouring pencils/markers

Child friendly scissors

Optional – stickers

Workshop No. 2 Felt Star Christmas Decoration

Clothes pegs/mini clips

An 4 Sheet of Felt (bought for 90c in Art & Hobby shop).

A Ruler.  Something circular so that you can draw a circle on the felt, about 10 cm in diameter

A Pen

A Needle

Thread

How to Make White Chocolate Snowmen

By | Christmas

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Host: Susan Behan from Children’s Chocolate Creations – 30 minute Duration

We are going to make beautiful, edible White Chocolate Snowmen for Christmas.  Susan is one of the leading lights in the world of all things chocolate.  A graduate of DIT Cathal Brugha St., she has worked with some of the most renowned names in the food industry including Paul Rankin, Conrad Gallagher and Michael Caine’s from the Clarence Hotel. In addition Susan also worked in the John Burton-Race’s restaurant ‘L’Ortolan’ for a year.

It was during her time at the Four Seasons, Dublin, that Susan found her passion for all things chocolate.  This passion led to a chocolatier course under the French chef, Benoit Lorge. Based in Co. Wicklow, Susan runs fabulous and fun children’s chocolate workshops and  cooking classes. She also makes amazing desserts to order.

Ingredients to make 5 snowmen:

300g white chocolate
50g dark chocolate
1 pk jam & cream biscuits,
5 lollipop sticks
1 pk Smarties
1 pk Rolos.
1pk fizzy belts
Notebook, pen
1 pot
2 stainless steel bowls
2 trays
1 tall container
1 scissors
Cling film
Parchment paper

Christmas Biscuit Making and Decorating for Children

By | Christmas

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Kate Fogarty of Babs Buns

Kate worked in brand development, design and marketing before setting up Babs Buns a few years ago. Kate started out making cakes for children’s birthdays and special occasion parties.  Kate soon expanded into making cupcakes, biscuits and cakes for all types of occasions including corporate events.  Kate has lived in Greystones for over 16 years and now makes and decorates cakes for all occasions – no order is too big or small!

Kate will be demonstrating how to make and decorate Christmas biscuits for children, using an easy to make biscuit recipe and decorations without too much fuss or expense.  Nothing feels like Christmas more than the smell of baking in the air! Make Kates biscuits for family and friends over the festive season or use them as Christmas tree decorations and hand made gifts for grannies and teachers like.

List of ingredients for biscuits (makes about 15-20 biscuits):
380g Plain Flour (and a little for dusting worktop)
200g Butter
280g Caster Sugar
1 large egg
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For decoration:
Fondant icing, in white and/or pre-coloured
Food colour gel (to colour white icing if not using pre coloured icing)
A little icing sugar for dusting worktop
Sprinkles to decorate – silver balls, Smarties etc
Pastry cutters in shapes, e.g star, heart, Christmas tree are useful to have or make shapes to cut round using thick card

To package biscuits up for gifts etc: cellophane bags, ribbon

Christmas Entertaining at Home Workshop

By | Christmas

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Ciara Fennessy  of Ciara’s Kitchen – 30 minutes

Ciara trained as a chef in Ballymaloe in 2004. She established Ciara’s Kitchen over 10 years ago. Ciara’s Kitchen is a small but busy cooking school, in Delgany, where Ciara runs cooking demonstrations all year round covering a wide range of topics. The main goal is to teach people of all levels how to cook different dishes and to inspire them to try and taste new ingredients. Since March, Ciara has moved her cooking demonstrations on line.

Download the order of work and much more from Ciara Here Ciaras-Kitchen-Order-of-work-for-the-Workshop.pdf (728 downloads )

Ciara will be demonstrating how to make:

Canapés – all ingredients are sourced locally

  • -Hoisin Duck & Cranberry Blinis
  • -Beetroot Hummus Crostini with Smoked Mackerel
  • -Chocolate Mendiants with some Seasonal Toppings

Materials Required:

Traditional Mulled Wine – serves 4-6

1 bottle of red wine

2 cinnamon sticks

4 star anise

12 cloves

1 orange, halved & sliced

1 lemon, halved & sliced

6 tablespoons honey

Essential Equipment:

Knife & chopping board, Pot, Heat proof glasses to serve


Hoisin Duck & Cranberry Blinis – Makes 16

2 slow cooked confit of Duck legs (I used Silver Hill Farm – available in Des Doyle butchers

and most supermarkets)

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

4 tablespoons cranberry sauce

16 ready made cocktail blinis (available in most supermarkets in the lead up to Christmas –

or you could use the same crostini bases from the hummus recipe)

Parsley leaves to garnish

Essential Equipment:

Knife &chopping board, Wire rack that fits into a baking tray, 2 x Baking trays, Fork, Medium sized bowl, Small sized bowl, Spoon & Serving platter


Beetroot Hummus Crostini with Smoked Mackerel – makes about 30

Crostini:

1 small baguette, sliced into thin slices and placed on a baking tray

4 tablespoons olive oil

Essential Equipment:

Chopping board & knife

Baking tray

Small bowl

Pastry brush


Beetroot Hummus – so tasty all year round!

1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

300g vacuum packed beetroots, drained & roughly chopped

½ teaspoon salt

Juice of ½ lemon

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons light tahini

2 teaspoons ground cumin

100ml extra virgin olive oil

To serve:

250g smoked mackerel fillets, skin removed & flaked

Dill or parsley sprigs to serve

Essential Equipment:

Chopping board & knife, Food processor, Colendar, Weighing scales – you can guess if you don’t have one, Spoons, Serving platter


Chocolate Mendiants with some Seasonal Toppings

100g chocolate (dark, milk or white)

Toppings: Dried fruit & nuts, popping candy, dried rose petals, gold leaf etc

Essential Equipment:

Pot, Pyrex bowl, Spoon, Baking parchment paper

 

Santa’s Post Box

By | Christmas

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All your letters for Santa can be posted in this festive Christmas  letterbox directly to the North Pole!

Light Up Greystones brings the magic of Christmas to outside Jokers on Church Road with this wonderful letter box., that will be appearing from the 21st November

All letters will be read and noted and that is a big promise and if the children want to post a letter that will get a reply, Put a €1 stamp on the envelope & we will make sure it is delivered via An Post.

An Post have told us that the chief elves, Ruth & Feargal say “We are very busy here in the workshop. We have received so many of your letters and all the elves are working hard, helping Santa and packing toys and gifts”.

Be sure to write early. In your letter clearly write your (child’s) name and address. Post your letter to: Santa Claus, North Pole (using a €1 stamp). Santa’s helpers in Greystones 2020 will make sure it goes to An Post & they will make sure you receive a personal reply from the great man himself, just before Christmas.Some lovely templates here

Twelve Days of Christmas

By | Christmas

Search for the Twelve Days of Christmas

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Greystones 2020  commissioned local artist Mary-Kate Hardy (after an open call) to paint Twelve of the Shop Windows in Greystones  with the twelve images from the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ Song.  An important aspect of the Light Up Greystones project to support Local Business and the Arts,

Mary Kate is an exceptionally well known local artist and she is known for her painting services that provide local businesses with unique, customised windows displays which showcase their promotional deals; as well as creating colourful holiday scenes for occasions such as Easter, St.Patricks Day, Halloween & Christmas.
In addition she creates murals for home owners who seek a more colourful setting for their indoor walls.
Mary Kate can be found here https://www.facebook.com/marykatehardyart/
There will be competitions  to find specific windows on Light Up Greystones Facebook Page 

Competitions

By | Christmas

Enter our Christmas Competitions and Join in the Fun

Take a family Photo with your best Christmas (or funniest) Gear on and send the photo to info@greystones.ie or post direct to  our Facebook Page 

Be part of the pre switch on streaming by sending in a video with a message to loved ones abroad for Christmas to info@greystoes.ie   or upload to our Facebook Page

Be part of the pre switch on streaming by sending in a video from Loved ones abroad to family and friends in Greystones via e mail or FaceBook

Watch out for colouring competitions on the Facebook page.  Download the image, colour in and take a pic and return it to us via e mail or Facebook

Watch out for daily find the Elf in one of the shops competitions (Hint: Normally placed in a window!) and send your answer up to Facebook – win prizes

Watch out for our daily find where each day is for the twelve days of competition in various shop windows – win prizes on Facebook

Take a picture at Santa’s Post Box (Will be in situ by the 21st November), beside the Train Station and win prizes for the best – send by mail  or Facebook

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