Did you know that it is Grandparents Day on the 7th October? I didn’t know there was such a thing. Apparently the tradition was founded in America in the 1970’s by Marian McQuade who wanted to recognise the valuable contribution that the older generation make to the family and to society. Age Concern brought the tradition to the UK in the 1990′s for the same reasons. I think it is a great idea, Grandparents have time to spend with their Grandchildren and are a great source of valuable information. I know my son has learnt lots just from talking to his Grandparents, even if he is amazed at the way things were in their day. These days a lot of Grandparents provide childcare while parents work, often unpaid which saves a fortune. Grandparents deserve a treat and why not take the time to make them something nice for Grandparents Day.

Interflora had challenged me to bake something nice for Grandparents Day. I took up the challenge and my son and I decided we were going to make some gingerbread for Grandparents day. Strangely I have never made gingerbread before but I know my parents love it. I thought my son would enjoy decorating gingerbread men so we got everything ready. My son did most of the baking himself, as I know my parents would value that more than the gift. This is the recipe we used:

Gingerbread Men

Ingredients

• 350g (12 oz) plain flour
• 5ml (1 level tsp) bicarbonate of soda
• 10ml (2 level tsp) ground ginger
• 100g (4oz) butter
• 175g (6oz) light soft brown sugar
• 60ml (4 level tbsp) golden syrup
• 1 egg

Method

1. Grease a baking tray and preheat the oven to 190C, 375F, Gas Mark 5.
2. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a bowl.
3. Add the butter and rub in.
4. Add the sugar and mix together.
5. Pour in the golden syrup and the egg. Mix together and then knead until it forms a soft dough.
6. Roll out on a floured surface until its about 0.3 cm (⅛ inch) thick.
7. Cut out shapes and bake on the baking tray for 10-15 minutes until evenly coloured.

We did not have man shaped cutters. I even went to the shops to see if I could find some but they did not have any in. I decided to draw a gingerbread man shape on a piece of greaseproof paper and cut the shapes out using that. My son wanted to create the family, which would be me, my husband, him and the dog. This is the result:

This is apparently my son

Apparently you can tell by the large happy smile. Next we have me and I seem to have a deformed arm and no hair.

Finally my husband who definitely resembles a zombie

Then the dog, well you do need to use your imagination a little

Having managed to create the zombie family I was quite glad we had made some simple circles out of the remaining dough. We decorated these to look like flowers.

Even though they look odd I am sure that my son’s grandparents will appreciate them as he did make and decorate them himself. I will be searching the shops for proper gingerbread cutters before I try again. If you know where to get any let me know. Are you making anything for Grandparents Day?

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Rolling back the years