Knot a length of tinsel around the child’s waist to form a belt.
Wings can be made by cutting two large wing shapes from cardboard and stapling or gluing them together. Decorate the wings with glitter or tinsel.
To attach the wings, make two arm loops from white ribbon or elastic. Check that the angel can slip their arms through the loops before tying the loops off. Staple the loops to the wings.
Angels can have bare feet or wear ballet slippers.
Easy Christmas Elf Costume
Materials
green, red or stripy leggings or tights
oversized green t-shirt (try getting a cheap one from an op shop)
red Christmas elf hat (see the next activity)
red scarf or strip of material
gold bells to decorate (optional)
Note: If the weather is cool, the elf could wear a long-sleeved red or green t-shirt underneath.
Directions
Cut a zigzag across the bottom of the oversized green t-shirt.
You can also cut zigzags around the sleeves, or cut off the sleeves to create a tunic shape.
Tie the red scarf or strip of material around the elf’s waist to create a sash.
Gold bells can be sewn on the end of the hat or on the hem of the tunic for decoration.
Elves can wear riding boots, felt slippers, ballet slippers or bare feet.
Elf Hat
Materials
A3 paper to make a template
pencil
red or green fabric (felt is good for a stiff hat, or you can cut up old t-shirts or leggings to make a floppier hat.)
bells or buttons to decorate (optional)
contrasting coloured felt or fake fur to trim around base (optional)
Method
Draw a hat shape on paper (approximately 25 centimetres across the base and 30 centimetres high).
Use the paper template to trace and cut out two identical shapes from your fabric.
Sew the two fabric pieces together by hand or on the sewing machine.
Turn the hat inside out so that the seams are hidden inside.
Fold up the brim to form a cuff around the bottom.
Decorate your elf hat by sewing a bell onto the top.
You can also sew a contrasting fabric onto the base. The contrasting brim can be cut into a scalloped or zigzagged shape to make it more decorative.
Extra buttons or bells could also be added to the brim to make it unique.
LULU’S FAVOURITE RECIPES
Lots of families have special recipes they make every Christmas. Here are the Bell family’s favourite Christmas recipes.
Ask an adult to help you in the kitchen, and make cooking fun for the whole family, like Lulu, Rosie and Gus do.
Choc-Chunk Shortbread
Ingredients
125 grams butter
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 ¼ cups plain flour
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (bicarb)
100–150 grams milk chocolate bits
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Cream the butter and brown and white sugars with an electric mixer.
Add in the beaten egg and mix well.
Stir in the flour and bicarb soda.
Gently fold in the chocolate bits until they are evenly mixed through the dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic cling wrap and store in the fridge overnight (or for up to three days).
Teaspoon even amounts of cold dough onto baking trays. Press down lightly into rounded biscuit shapes. (Or you could use biscuit cutter shapes such as hearts or stars.)
Cook for 10–15 minutes until light golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack. When cool, place shortbread biscuits in cellophane bags and tie with ribbon.
Shortbread can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week.
Kerstkransjes – Traditional Dutch Wreath Biscuits
These biscuits can be hung on the Christmas tree as edible decorations.
Ingredients
grated zest of one lemon
160 grams butter
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg
2 ½ cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
To decorate
coloured ribbon
1 egg, beaten
almond slivers, glacé cherries or melted chocolate
Directions
Mix the lemon zest, butter, sugar and egg in a bowl.
Add the baking powder and flour gradually.
Knead the mixture into a dough. Wrap the dough with plastic cling wrap and place in the fridge for an hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Take the chilled dough and knead again on top of the cling wrap.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough out flat until it’s about five millimetres thick.
Use a round or star-shaped biscuit cutter to cut out the dough. Poke a small hole through the middle of each biscuit. Place biscuits on baking tray.
Brush the biscuits with the beaten egg and decorate with almond slivers or glacé cherries. If you want to drizzle the biscuits with melted chocolate, bake them plain and decorate them when cool.
Bake for 10–15 minutes until light golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack. When cool, thread and tie coloured ribbon through the hole in each biscuit.
Lemon Butter as made by Lulu and her mum
Ingredients
1 cup lemon juice
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
250 grams butter (chopped into cubes to melt faster)
Directions
Place ingredients in a small saucepan.
Stir constantly over low heat until butter melts and ingredients mix. Keep stirring frequently for approximately 10 minutes or until mixture thickens.
Pour into clean jars that have been sterilised in the dishwasher.
Lemon butter can be eaten on toast, muffins or scones. It can also be added to cakes or cupcakes. It keeps for about a month.
It is also great when cooked in a shortcake like this:
Shortcake base ingredients
125 grams butter
2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Shortcake base directions
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Grease a cake or tart tin.
In a medium-sized bowl, rub butter into flour and sugar. Mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the centre, and add eggs. Mix to form stiff dough.
Press two-thirds of the mixture into the cake or tart tin.
Pour hot lemon butter over the top, then crumble the remaining dough over the lemon filling.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden.
Cool in tin then dust with icing sugar before serving.
Chunky Home-Made Apple Sauce
Ingredients
½ lemon
6 Granny Smith apples
½ cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
ground cinnamon and nutmeg
Directions
Juice the lemon and finely zest the lemon skin.
Peel and core the apples, then chop them into pieces.
Place the apple pieces in a large saucepan with water and lemon juice.
Bring to boil over medium heat.
Allow to simmer, stirring frequently for 10–15 minutes until the apples are soft.
Stir in sugar and lemon zest.
Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg. Additional sugar can be added if you prefer a sweeter sauce.
Apple sauce is perfect served hot with Christmas roast pork. It can also be served cold with leftovers.
Bell Family Saturday Breakfast Omelette
Ingredients
8 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
6 flat mushrooms
red (Spanish) onion
250 grams feta cheese (or you could use grated cheddar or parmesan)
approximately two teaspoons of fresh green herbs, e.g. chives, parsley, thyme or basil
olive oil
baby spinach leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat grill.
Whisk eggs in a bowl with a splash of milk until well mixed and frothy.
Slice up mushrooms and red onion. Chop feta into cubes. Snip fresh herbs.
Fry mushrooms and onion in a splash of olive oil for about five minutes until cooked.
Add feta and baby spinach leaves. Pour egg mixture over the top of the mixture. Sprinkle fresh herbs on top.
Allow to cook on the stovetop for 5–10 minutes, until the base is set but the top is still runny.
Put the omelette pan under the hot grill to cook the top half for approximately 5 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Serve on toast.
Note: You can also vary the recipe by adding chopped bacon, chopped tomato or sliced capsicum at the frying stage.
Dad’s Famous Home-Made Burgers
Ingredients
Patties
1 kilogram beef or pork mince (or mixture of two)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly whisked
fresh basil, snipped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
To serve
hamburger buns, bread rolls or Turkish bread
sliced tomato
sliced cheese
pineapple slices (optional)
beetroot slices (optional)
iceberg lettuce, shredded
Directions
In a large bowl, place mince, onion, whisked eggs, basil and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix ingredients together with clean hands.
Shape mixture with your hands to create patties.
Ask Mum or Dad to barbecue the patties until cooked. Top with a slice of cheese until slightly melted.
Lightly warm or toast your bread.
Serve meat patties on warm bread with your choice of salad. Lulu loves her burger with the works!
Read all the Lulu Bell books
Lulu Bell and the Birthday Unicorn
Lulu Bell and the Fairy Penguin
Lulu Bell and the Cubby Fort
Lulu Bell and the Moon Dragon
Lulu Bell and the Circus Pup
Lulu Bell and the Sea Turtle
Lulu Bell and the Tiger Cub
Lulu Bell and the Pyjama Party
Lulu Bell and the Christmas Elf
Plus more to come!
About the Author
Belinda Murrell grew up in a vet hospital and Lulu Bell is based on some of the adventures she shared with her own animals. After studying Literature at Macquarie University, Belinda worked as a travel journalist, editor and technical writer. A few years ago, she began to write stories for her own three children – Nick, Emily and Lachlan. Belinda’s books include the Sun Sword fantasy trilogy and her children’s novels The Locket of Dreams, The Ruby Talisman, The Ivory Rose, The Forgotten Pearl, The River Charm and The Sequin Star.
www.belindamurrell.com.au
About the Illustrator
Serena Geddes spent six years working with a fabulously mad group of talented artists at Walt Disney Studios in Sydney before embarking on the path of picture book illustration in 2009. She works both traditionally and digitally and has illustrated more than twenty books, ranging from picture books to board books to junior novels.
www.serenageddes.com.au
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Lulu Bell and the Christmas Elf
9780857985040
Copyright © Belinda Murrell 2014
Illustrations copyright © Serena Geddes 2014
The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted.
A Random House Australia book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060
www.randomhouse.com.au
Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices
First published by Random House Australia in 2014
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Murrell, Belinda
Title: Lulu Bell and the Christmas Elf/Belinda Murrell; illustrated by Serena Geddes
ISBN: 978 0 85798 504 0 (ebook)
Series: Murrell, Belinda. Lulu Bell; 9
Target audience: For primary school age
Subjects: Christmas – Juvenile fiction
Cats – Juvenile fiction
Other authors/contributors: Geddes, Serena, illustrator
Dewey number: A823.4
Cover design by Christabella Designs
Internal design and typesetting by Ingo Voss, Voss Design, based on a series design by Anna Warren, Warren Ventures
eBook production by First Source
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