Take a look at this years Xmas cards.
Cut the front illustration page off, and trim as necessary.
Use as next years' labels on presents.

Now that Scooploop has gone international, members are receiving scam private messages from overseas. I see/hear that these are being reported by members in various groups, but if you are not a member of a group where it is being reported, you will be unaware of what is happening, until, perhaps you receive one. I am sending this to the groups I belong to, and have made a sticky post (one that stays at the top) in the Scams group: http://bit.ly/3rAX5Qc, in which you can post anything that you have received. You should, of course, report the personal message to Scooploop.

I can't remember if I mentioned this already - but here goes:

After 40 odd years of regularly making/baking rounds of scones, I've recently discovered that, if you soak the dried fruit first, it doesn't burn!

Good morning Michael, happy Christmas and welcome to our lovely group.

Wishing all my lovely Members of Handy Tips group a peaceful and healthy Christmas.

Not sure this is worth putting up but never knew what to do with masks after I'd rinsed them through with soap and water. Then remembered I had a metal mug stand which is ideal for drip-drying over the sink and then in the warmth to dry. Job done.

If you can obtain the 'keep fresh' bags from Lakeland you can actually buy your fruit and veg now, before the rush next week. They stay really fresh for 2 weeks or more!

Here are some funnies to write on paper to put inside the body of the crackers using toilet roll tubes.....

What is a Christmas tree's favorite candy? Orna-mints!

Why are Christmas trees so fond of the past? Because the present's beneath them.

What do you call cutting down a Christmas tree? Christmas chopping!

Why are Christmas trees so bad at knitting? They have too many needles.

What happens if you eat Christmas decorations? You get tinsel-it is.

Who is a Christmas tree's favorite singer? Spruce Springsteen.

What did the beaver say to the Christmas Tree? Nice gnawing you!

What do you get when you mix a Christmas tree and an iPad?A pineapple!

What did one Christmas tree say to another? Lighten up!

What month does a Christmas tree hate the most? Sep-timber!

Good evening Mohammed, we are so pleased you have joined us, welcome.

Looking for large indoor plant pot covers (for the ever growing houseplants) I was pretty horrified at the cost of them.

When I searched for 'waste bins', though, a very similar selection/size of metal, plastic or basket containers were miles cheaper. So, it seems, we're being ripped off, with costs 'adjusted' according to how much we're prepared to pay for different items.

My favourite bargain is from Homebase, £2 for a frosted plastic bin. Buckets make good garden pots when you just drill some drainage holes in them too

Why buy a crown of turkey when it only takes a few minutes to separate from whole turkey for a cheaper price and you have another meal.
Google how to separate for demonstration.

Good morning Rita, lovely to have you on board, enjoy.

Tomatoes, now a days, have very tough skins, pop them in a bowl of boiled water for 3 or 4 minutes, skinning them will be easy!

Good morning emergencyd, welcome to our group, glad to have you with us.

One of the best tips I ever had was for paint pots, after a major paint job there is usually a fair bit left over. So at the end of the job put the lid firmly back on the can ( I put a bit of wood over the lid then stand on it!) put a newspaper on the floor and place the can upside down on it. Now go and clean your brush, when you’ve done that up-turn the paint can and store.
Paint will have leaked into the gaps in the lid effectively sealing the can, now you can open the can years later without having that skin on the top. So when you need to touch up (after the kids doodles) it’s a doddle, I’ve done this after 5 years to avoid a complete repaint.

Why do they never make them square, so much easier to wrap. My tip is to buy a pretty square box to contain the tin, some stores sell them very cheaply, that way the recipient doesn't know it's a tin of sweeties plus they get a useful box to keep for other things!

Another reminder as we head towards Christmas.......wrap your presents on an ironing board, easier on the back!!

No need to get that sinking feeling when the level of tissues in a box means putting your fingers inside to get the next one. Open one end of the box, turn it upside-down, and put a bath sponge on top of the pile. Reseal, invert, and it's as good as new.

Just sorting out the items on a shelf in the larder, and thought, instead of in the future, finding out where the best before date is, and then perhaps get a magnifying glass to read it, just write it prominently on the item with a marker pen.

Welcome Tina, hope you enjoy our lovely Group.

Do you know how to get rid of cocoa stains off white trousers? I dropped the cocoa box and it all landed at me ;)

i have an old fashioned built in cupboard in my bedroom where i keep coats.
It is damp and the walls are now mouldy - what can i do ?

To make it easier to hold a hand of cards, glue two unwanted CDs together at the lower half so that the cards slide smoothly into the top half, makes them easier to hold!

Spotted these plastic chopsticks in Sainsbury's, and thought just right for removing hot/small items from toaster, and avoiding the risk of electrocution.

I drink lemon juice with a bit of olive oil for my gallbladder stones every morning. What I find annoying is that it seems there's plenty of juice left inside the fruit, no matter how much I try to squeeze it. Any tips for that?

Welcome Mary to our happy group on this dark Autumnal day.

When I have a bunch of Lilies the little tight green buds at the top never come out, thsy just wither and fall off.
Any tips that may help ?

As they are so very hard to peel and cut up I tried the microwave method and it works.
The recommended time was 15 minutes but mine took 25. It was a big one and my micro is only 700 so that could have made the difference.

Good morning Susan, welcome!

Hello Dawn s, you are most welcome to our Group, enjoy!

Having mashed your potatoes in the saucepan, add hot milk and generous knob of butter AFTER you have mashed them and then give it a good whisk with a hand whisk. If they are to remain in the saucepan to keep warm always place a piece of kitchen paper over the pan before putting on the lid. A lot of water creates on the inside of the lid which then drops into the mash!

Welcome Jake, lovely to have you with us.

It is that time of year when the spiders try to sneak into our homes to mate and lay their eggs in our warm , dusty and cluttered spaces. Even if we don't think we have any. They will find a tiny gap in the corners of our skirting board or some dust under a corner table where the vacuum cleaner or duster rarely go . Especially in dark corners, under the stairs, the back of a little used larder and they love high ceilings. I'd rather they stay in out houses, garages and sheds though. The best way to keep them away is to keep windows and doors shut, fill up any gaps and be vigilant.
There are plenty of sprays meant to remove them, kill them or put them off but over the years we have tried several home recipes and ideas including Horse chestnuts, citrus , peppermint oil and white vinegar and have found some to assist to a degree. If you are going to use any of the liquids make sure you dilute them. You can mix put citrus peel in the diluted white vinegar to tone down the smell.

I'm aware I need to eat more fruit but often don't feel like it. My very lazy way - especially with soft fruit - is to chop it together (currently strawberries, nectarines, and grapes as the time they should be eaten is getting shorter) and mix with a couple of trifle sponges, leave in the fridge for it all to merge and then have some with custard/ice cream. Keeps a couple of days and the juices definitely start to mingle.

If you ever have to fill a form in online but do not want to give your phone number but the form will not be accepted without one try this.
Type in 0333 8888 888
Its called True Call and when the person phones it they will get a message to say that you do not want them to contact you by phone and to use your email address.
Ring it now to listen to the message it gives out. Hope this helps someone.

Just made a batch of my 'family favourite sausage rolls' for the freezer.
I've discovered that instead of using a knife to trim the pastry the best gadget is a pizza wheel. I never cut the rolls into individual pieces until I've forked the front of the sausage roll and then run the pizza wheel along the edge to remove excess pastry and keep them all neat then egg wash before cutting into the whole roll to make each sausage roll and placing them onto a baking tray. A Pizza cutter is great when making biscuits too, you get such a nice straight edge.

Welcome Robert, hope you enjoy our tips Group

For the last 50 years I've always had a gas cooker but as my current one is really showing its age I decided to try a portable induction hob. I'm now converted it's brilliant except for one thing - fried eggs. On the old gas cooker I used to angle the pan to get a triangular wedge shaped egg with a nice runny yolk. Is there anyway to get this effect on my new hob - I know there are silicon moulds you can use but am not keen on them

We have a dripping tap. Well it dripped for a few days but then started flowing rather than dripping - expensive and wasteful. I know we should sort it ourselves but decided to get a plumber in. He can’t come until Monday but suggested in meantime that we press down hard on the top of the tap and if that stops the drip (it did) to put an elastic band around it holding it in down position. Worked wonders!

Welcome MickiS, nice to have you with us.

Nowadays our washing line clothes pegs are so pretty, don't just save them for hanging out your washing.......they will seal bags of anything you have opened in your freezer, chips, veg, opened loaf bags, discarding those annoying sticky tabs! Useful too for clipping bills together....you name it, clip it together with a clothes peg! don't waste money on dearer bag clips, the humble cheaper clothes peg is so handy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olHw-8py9K0

I need to send these in the post as they were made as a gift but the current lockdown climate means I cannot take them in person.
Any handy tips on the best way to pack them for sending via post.
Are there are other methods that are better and safer to use.
I have a tray of 20 small pots.
I'm concerned the flowers will break in the postal system.

..as I'd like to reuse these to grow herbs on my narrow window sill.
Any handy tips on the easiest way to do this.
If possible, I'd like to save the wax to make outdoor firelighters as I have some other packaging material saved for this purpose.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/365393426816955/permalink/2960897337266538/

We have been painting everything that doesn't move, well it seems that way. lol
Instead of continually washing your brush, pop it inside a plastic bag, seal it in and the next day it's ready to continue!

Any handy tips on how to remove ingrained musty smell from small items of clothing, e.g. socks, etc.
For some reason, I left these in a bag in my shed and they got wet and now they smell. Likely I may have been dieting and they seemed a bit big (chance would be a fine thing!) but, in this current lockdown period, I could likely still use them.
After 2 repeat wash cycles, they still contain the smell.
Any tips if I can rescue them by restoring to a decent condition?

Does anyone have any idea on how I can do this quickly, easily and cheaply.

I have hundreds of plastic bottles to clean, so looking for speed, simplicity and savings of course.

Alcohol based hand gel works well for glass bottles but unfortunately not for plastic ones though, in this current climate, of course, hand gel should not be wasted for this purpose.

A warm welcome to you Miranda.

We once talked about different ways to tackle a Swede, I personally gave up on them BUT here is another tip for this 'difficult to prepare' Vegetable......

Peel it, prick it well with a fork then microwave it for 4 to 5 minutes. It will come out soft and ready to either mash, chop or put in a stew. Let it rest for a bit once taken out of the microwave.

Good morning Anjie, welcome to our group.