{Holiday Fun} An Almost Jack-O-Lantern

Here is an alternative for those of you not keen to spend QR150 on a pumpkin from Lulu - a Watermelon Jack-O-Lantern. A very cheap alternative to using a pumpkin when you are in the hotter climes. We bought 2 watermelons, one was QR10 and the other was QR13.  This was my first attempt to make any kind of Jack-O-Lantern and I was surprised at how easy it was. For our first attempt we drew our own design on the watermelon and for our second attempt we downloaded a stencil we found online. I just googles Jack-O-Lantern Stencil and came up with a number of web pages offering them. We used one from http://www.pumpkinlady.com/pattern.htm.  Once you find the stencil you want to use just print it and cut it out so you can then use it to draw the design onto the watermelon.  

All in all a successful afternoon of cheap and relatively easy fun that the kids thought was great. For a QR10 watermelon you can't really go wrong. 

Tools of the trade - a couple of knives along with a cheap
watermelon from Lulu

Cut the bottom off to make it nice and flat so it will stand up easily

Hollow out using a knife and spoon.  I used the watermelon
we dug out to make ice blocks (see previous post)

Draw your design on the watermelon

Cut out your patern

Our first attempt!

This was our second attempt made with a stencil

{Easy Treats} Ice Blocks

Traditional Ice Block Mould

It is still hot enough to make a batch of ice blocks! They are super easy to make and the kids love to both help you make them and eat them. You can take the straight forward route and just pour a bottle of juice into your mould or you can make your own mix. The hardest part is finding a mould in Qatar! 

I use two types of moulds. The first is just the traditional old fashioned ice block mould. My one is one I bought back with me from NZ. 

Twist Up Ice Block Mould

The Second type is the twist up type. I got mine from Lakekland in City Center. These are great for little children as you wind them up as you go so you don't end up with sticky melted ice block         everywhere. 

For those of you who have a Aramex account you can easily find these online and they are pretty light so can't be too expensive to ship. You can get all sorts of funky moulds shaped like rockets and umbrellas. If you are looking on overseas web sites they might be called iced lollys. 

If you are using juice you will be suprised at how little you need. Usually a small bottle (one cup) will fill up all your moulds. If you are following a recipe it should tell you how much you need. 

The most popular recipe in our house is Lemonade! It is very easy - mix 1/4 cup lemon juice with 1/2 cup of icing sugar until all the sugar is disolved. Add one cup of soda water and pour mixture into your moulds. It will fill 6 - 8 moulds depending on the size of your moulds. Put the lid on the moulds and put in the frezzer. They will freeze in a couple of hours. 

Enjoy!