A Very Aldi Christmas

How cute is this gingerbread house, available at Aldi at the moment for £3.99. We have bought kits to make them in the past, but these ones were ready made, packaged in cellophane and tied with ribbon. They would make lovely presents. The thing is I never let the kids touch them until after Christmas by which time the gingerbread is inedible. 

Added;
Sorry, I noted the wrong price for the gingerbread house. They were £5.99, but are now down to £4.99


Like most people I find cooking Christmas dinner very stressful, and by the time I sit down to eat, I could be eating anything. I have had the pleasure of being entertained the last couple of Christmas's, but when we have had Christmas at home I have usually cooked turkey. I remember quite a few years ago now ordering a Kelly Bronze turkey and nearly passing out at the butchers counter when I saw the price. I overcooked it, was disappointed in the flavour and just wondered if it was worth all the effort. It is difficult to judge how long to cook the turkey for, there are so many varying recipes. I have usually followed Delias instructions, but found that the meat is rather dry. Saying all that it's a tradition and most people will be cooking turkey anyway. This year I am making it easy on myself. I want to enjoy the day, I don't want to be in the kitchen for the majority of it, so I am cooking two Aldi, Four Bird Roasts (for 10 people). They comprise of turkey, chicken, goose and duck with a pork and onion stuffing. They are bought frozen and cooked from frozen in 2½ hours. I have tried them twice to make sure they are special enough for a Christmas meal and the whole family has really enthused about them. I'll do all the trimmings, pigs in blankets, stuffing, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, roast vegetables and of course sprouts, but the main part of the meal will be so much easier. I found that there were enough juices from the roast after cooking to make gravy, or the gravy could be made in advance to make things even easier. It doesn't quite carve like the photo on the box, but it is extremely moist and full of flavour. I cook so much all year round and although I want Christmas dinner to be special, I don't want it all to be all about the meal and miss out on the day with my family. So if you feel the same about turkeys and want a stress free option maybe give this dish a try this year. 
Oh and incase you are wondering I'm not on commission from Aldi.