Christmas

Take a walk in the woods to collect foliage for your Christmas wreath. You can use all kinds of branches, twigs with berries and dried flowers—nature has an abundance of beautiful plants on offer. If it’s a little too green for your liking, add color and depth with dried flowers such as hydrangeas or gypsophila.

You will also need:

- Straw wreath. Available in supermarkets or at florists.

- Steel wire. For binding the wreath together. Opt for green if possible.

- Ribbon. To hang the wreath or as extra decoration.

Now you are ready to create your wreath. If you can and it’s not too cold, sit outside. You could even light a small bonfire to keep you warm.

How to:

Make small bouquets of spruce, berries, flowers and whatever else you want your wreath to consist of. Attach them one by one to the straw wreath with wire. Continue all the way around, adding greenery underneath to fill out any holes. Make sure each bouquet is securely attached yet appears loosely tied. If hanging on a door or wall, leave the back bare but attach a length of ribbon around the top of the wreath.

When the Christmas spirit arrives at the Rudolph Care house, our indispensable all-rounder and Office Manager Annette Lund Mikkelsen serves her very special white Christmas mulled wine. The recipe is from Claus Meyer's cookbook, Almanac, but Annette has adjusted the Danish chef’s formula to become Rudolph Care's signature Christmas mulled wine.

"I always add a little extra of everything — a dash here and there. I add spices liberally, especially fresh ginger. If you want to make it without alcohol, simply leave out the fruit brandy."

White mulled wine: (6-8 glasses)

- 500 ml. cold-pressed natural apple juice
- 300 ml. water
- 200 ml. concentrated elderflower cordial
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tbsp. cane sugar
- 1 star anise
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1 cardamom pod
- 1 piece of ginger – 1cm juiced; the remainder finely grated to taste
- 1 apple, cubed
- 50-100 ml. pear or apple brandy
- Flaked almonds or pine nuts
- 30 g. raisins or cranberries

Add all the ingredients except the brandy, raisins/cranberries and apple to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mulled wine steep for an hour to draw out the flavors.

Sift out the spices and reheat the mixture gently. Do not boil. Season with lemon juice and fresh ginger (grate finely then press between two spoons to extract the juice). Take the mulled wine off the heat and add brandy to taste. Pour into glasses – Annette serves hers in champagne coupes — add the raisins/cranberries and apple cubes and top each glass with star anise.