Did you know you can go stress-free this Christmas while still delighting your guests ? Four Seasons chefs are here to offer a helping hand by presenting the finest festive take-away dinners. A godsend!  Indulgent dishes from the Four Seasons Takeaway Box will leave your guests happily fulfilled while allowing you more time to join in the merrymaking. The four-course meal includes homemade foie gras terrine with truffle and bacon brioche, maple-braised green apples, Brittany lobster bisque with lobster dumpling, Chef Herve’s signature roasted turkey and Four Seasons bûche de Noël. Bear in mind that 72 hours advance order required.   
Speaking of the bûche de Noël (so dear to French people!), Caprice Pastry Chef Nicolas Lambert rolled up his sleeves to sculpt the most magical bûche de Noël. His limited edition design offers a beguiling twist on the traditional dessert, turning it into a milk chocolate and hazelnut flavoured pinecone forest. Simply amazing! The creation takes 48 hours to craft and everything is edible. Bon appétit!
 
A dinner for four people is priced at HKD 5,660 and while service for eight is priced at HKD 9,280. Guests can order the Four Seasons Takeaway Box via the Festive Desk with 72 hours advance order required.   
Priced at HKD 1,500, the Caprice Bûche de Noël is available to order at the Festive Desk until December 17, 2015. Perfect for an intimate Christmas party, it feeds six to eight people and is available for pick up on December 24 or 25, 2015 at Caprice.
 
Discover the Four Seasons Christmas e-catalogue here:
http://www.celebratinghongkong.com/
 

Top 5 sponsored by Hamilton Hill International Kindergarten*

By Delphine

Every week-end it's the same, your kids want to be entertained (and you don't want them to stay inside all day long watching “Frozen” for the 75th time or jumping on your brand new sofa) but you have enough of Play-Doh,  playroom or neighbourhood playground. So get out, get creative and try this top five Avant- garde activities Hamilton Hill has found for you.
 
1. Wetland Park: Well worth a trip out to Yuen Long for a jaunt into nature. Make a treasure-hunt list of things to spot before you go and promise rewards for a full complement of spotted things. Take a picnic, as the food on offer is from Café De Coral and we all know we’d sooner catch, gut and bbq a spoonbill than eat there.
www.wetlandpark.gov.hk
 
2. Yuen Po Bird market: Get proper creeped out in the Mong Kok bird market. Enjoy freaking yourselves out with copious amounts of bagged up insects and all manners of fowl. You can meet occasional grumpy, occasional friendly purveyors of all things feathered. Treat your kids to a bag of blue bottles.
www.bird-garden.hk
 
3. Kadoorie Farm: With wild boars, leopard cats and macaques on view Kadoorie farm makes an excellent day trip for you and your little ones. Lots of up close encounters with reasonably strange animals will delight the youngsters! There’s some goose bump inducing reptiles around too. I saw the snake ranger unloading a huge cobra he’d caught in someone’s back garden the last time I was there.
www.kfbg.org
 
4. Dusk in Hong Kong Park: Bats gather, circling and eagerly mopping up the evening mosquitoes. As night falls and the city lights twinkle all around, find serene moments in the heart of the metropolis. Saturday night is a good time to visit just as the sun goes down. The park goes quiet save for the chirp of crickets and the croaking chorus of lonely amphibians. Your kids will love this experience as you creep stealthily around the park enjoying the peace. www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/great-outdoors/city-parks/hong-kong-park.jsp
 
5. The Sha Tin Inn: Nestled on a secluded hillside just above Tai Wai MTR station is the old and not very famous Sha Tin Inn. A great little restaurant to take the kids for lunch. Take some bug spray as the garden is the best place to sit and enjoy the lovely selection of satay, rendang and assorted curries and noodles. Great food and a nice peaceful location! Just near the excellent Bruce Lee exhibition at the Sha Tin cultural museum.
 
Hamilton Hill International Kindergarten will be organizing a Christmas Fair on the 12 December 2015 (Saturday). Come and sample traditional British food, drinks and enjoy a Christmas concert.  Buy special Christmas gifts from  European style stalls.  Come and meet your favourite Christmas characters!
 
Date: 12 Dec 2015 (Saturday)
Time:  16:00-19:00
Venue: Hamilton Hill International Kindergarten
Address:  No. 1-3 Ching Wah Street, North Point, Hong Kong
 
*More information about Hamilton Hill International Kindergarten :
1-3 Ching Wah Street, North Point
Phone (+852) 3461 9750
Email: info@hhik.com
Website: www.hhik.co
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hhik.co
 

 

Super trendy scarves from the young French designer all Paris is raving about: Rue du Dragon. Perfect for the female side of the family and girlfriends.
Available online
 
A gold mine for Men - Mr Porter. Ultra selective merchandise, you can’t go wrong! In a few clicks your shopping is done, and the package arrives beautifully wrapped ready to be slipped under the tree.
 
If you’re having trouble finding something for your kids, try our usual favourite: Smallable. Latest fashion for babies or young teens, intelligent toys that aren’t ugly (which is rare), and great decorative items for their rooms. We love it! Our suggestion: try to make group purchases with friends, as shipping costs are not cheap.
 
An ultra design rice-cooker ! Brings a little  « je ne sais quoi » to the kitchen. Sold at Tang Tang Tang Tang. Go to the boutique or check it online, you’ll get a lot of great ideas from it.
 
Feeling like giving an arty gift this year? Try a photography piece from Yellow Korner, at the risk of probably wanting something for yourself! You’ll find Yellow Korner at the IFC, PMQ, Homesquare in Shatin or online.
 
Head to BoConcept (Wyndam Street Central) for great furniture and accessories that will definitely surprise your family and friends. The good news? A 20% discount on lamps and carpets!!
 
Go visit the newly re-opened Dyptique store at IFC, for their candles, room fragrances or beauty products that never fail to please. No doubt you’ll sort out gifts for your mom, sister or girlfriends.
 
A beauty treatment or products from our favourites in the Beauty section :
Caudalie, Flawless, Clarins, Four Seasons, and Gentlemen’s Tonic for our men.
 
Clothing, accessories or a gift box from Sezane, a favourite amongst fashionistas.

 
Happy Shopping and merry Christmas!
 
 

We like them, we even love them ! They smell good, they’re joyful, they’re fresh !
We can never get enough. Such a pity, they are such good mood boosters !
Smells and colours that warm your heart. There’s nothing better to give life to your house. We forget that certain small things can work wonders. So head over to Wellington Street and stop off at number 59, a little flower shop that’s full of surprises. It’s not huge but it sells wonderful flowers. The orchids are somptuous and the plants lush. We don’t know which way to turn, we hesitate, we’d like to walk off with the whole shop…. Note also that you can buy lovely christmas trees there at the end of the year. So if you’re not planning an instant visit, keep the address in mind for the future. Once again, long live flowers !
 
Alfa House
G/F, 59 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong.
(852) 2541 6286
Open from Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to 8:30pm , and 9:30am to 8:30pm on Sundays.
Delivery service