Happy Holidays!
The ‘Season of Love’ is upon us and the Kingdom is filled with cheer as everyone prepares for this special time of year in their own unique way.
You might be celebrating with family and friends or having quiet time in your own company. However you choose to spend the holidays, enjoy yourself, tell those close to you how much you care and as we go into another year, remember how special you are and that even more memories are waiting to be made as we enter 2025!
Keep reading for a SWANtastic recipe and festive fun!
The Swan Princess: Christmas
Wrap up warm with a delicious cup of cocoa this holiday season and join Princess Odette and all of her friends in their very own SWANtastic festive adventure!
The Kingdom is busy preparing for the "Season of Love" but one infamous villain is about to make an unexpected return and plans to destroy Christmas!
Follow Odette and her friends as they brave new challenges to save the magical season and are reminded of the most powerful magic of all!
Celebrate the "Season of Love" with The Swan Princess and discover the spirit of Christmas together this holiday season!
Stream now for free on Amazon Prime or purchase a copy of the DVD here!
You can also sing along to your favorite songs from the movie on our YouTube channel!
30 Years of The Swan Princess
Magic of Love Celebration
The Swan Princess celebrated a very special anniversary last month - 30 years since the release of the original movie!
November was filled with plenty of memories and celebrations of the last three decades. The Swan Princess stories and characters always showed people the power of the wonderful magic of love which made it the perfect theme for the anniversary!
Our exclusive logo captured the beauty of The Swan Princess and the "magic of love" theme for this SWANtastic occasion!
We also released a SWANderful limited edition box set exclusively to commemorate the anniversary! This SWANtastic set contains all 12 movies from the series and a musical jewellery box!
"Season of Love" Yule Log
Odette and Alise love to try out recipes and Christmas is the perfect time to get baking! JeanBob enjoys it when his friends bake too - he doesn't help as much with the preparation but he certainly helps with the tasting!
This chocolate yule log captures the festive season in a delicious way and the beautiful decorations will add extra SWANderful cheer when you present it to your friends and family over the holidays!
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
- 125g light brown soft sugar
- 40g pure cocoa powder
- 5 eggs, separated
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- white caster sugar (for sprinkling)
For the filling:
- 250g icing sugar, sifted
- 100g soft butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
- 25g butter
- 100ml double cream
For the decoration:
- 75g white chocolate, chopped
- 10 fresh bay leaves, or organic rose leaves
- Icing sugar, for dusting
- Edible gold lustre, food spray or powder
Method:
1. Firstly, preheat the oven to 350F/180C/160C fan/gas 4.
2. Line a 35 x 25cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment.
3. In a bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric whisk until it forms peaks that just hold their shape.
4. Adding 1tbsp at a time, add half of the sugar to the egg whites, continuing to beat the mixture until the peaks hold.
5. Set the egg whites aside.
6. In another bowl, beat together the yolks and remaining sugar until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy.
7. Sift the cocoa, spices and a pinch of salt into the yolk mixture and carefully fold them in.
8. Now beat a third of the egg whites into the yolk mix before.
9. Gently fold in the remaining egg white mix until an airy mousse forms.
10. Pour the mixture into your tin and spread it out evenly. Use the back of a spoon to level out the top into an even layer.
11. Bake for 12-15 mins until it becomes springy.
12. Add a sprinkle of caster sugar over a large sheet of baking parchment.
13. Carefully turn the cake out onto the parchment.
14. Gently peel off the sheet (the one that you used to line the tin).
15. Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and allow it to cool completely.
16. Trim the edges to neaten them up and then score along the inside edge of one of the shorter sides.
17. Gently roll it up from the scored side, using the parchment the cake is on to help move it into a roll.
18. Now we can move on to the filling. Beat the icing sugar, butter and vanilla together with an electric whisk until your mixture becomes light and fluffy.
19. Unroll the sponge and carefully turn it so that one long edge is facing you.
20. Spread the buttercream over the sponge, keeping the end furthest away from you clean.
21. Roll the sponge up again (using the parchment to help you) to form a roulade.
22. To make the frosting, firstly put the chocolate into a large bowl.
23. Now add the cream and butter into a saucepan and heat gently until all of the butter has melted and the cream is gently simmering.
24. Pour the cream mix into the bowl with the chocolate.
25. Stir until the mixture becomes smooth.
26. Allow the chocolate to cool, stirring occasionally so that it has a consistency that makes it easy to spread
27. Next, spread the chocolate over the sponge.
28. Use the prongs of a fork to gently glide along the log to make bark lines (they don't have to be straight).
29. Move your yule log to the fridge and allow it to chill for at least 30 minutes.
30. Now you can make some chocolate leaves. Fill a saucepan with water and place a bowl on the top, making sure the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Put the white chocolate in the bowl and bring the water to a simmer on the hob.
31. When the chocolate has melted, carefully use it to "paint" the underside of the bay leaves.
32. Put the leaves in the fridge for approximately 30 mins.
33. Gently peel away the bay leaves from the chocolate.
34. Arrange the leaves over the log.
35. Lightly dust the yule log with icing sugar and lustre
SWANtastic Snowflakes
These sparkly SWANtastic snowflakes are really easy to make and look beautiful!
Try them out this wintry season - whether you have snow where you live or not!
We used blue food coloring but you can use any color that you like! You could even make a rainbow display of different colored snowflakes! For an extra challenge, why not experiment with different shapes too, you could make a swan outline, circles or anything else that you can think of!
You Will Need:
- String
- Pipe cleaners
- Jar
- Pencil
- Borax
- Blue food coloring
- Scissors
- Boiling water
Instructions:
1. Trim your pipe cleaners so that you have three 5-inch pieces.
2. Twist them together to form a snowflake style shape.
3. Trim additional pipe cleaners to lengths of approx 1.5 inches.
4. Add one of the small pieces of pipe cleaner to each end of the longer pieces to finish creating the snowflake shape.
5. Use some string to tie one "end" of your snowflake to a pencil.
6. Now take your jar (big enough to easily put your snowflake in) and carefully place the snowflake in the jar, resting the pencil across the top of the jar to keep it suspended. Make sure the snowflake isn't touching the sides of the jar.
7. Work out how much water you will need to fully cover your snowflake in the jar and boil the amount accordingly. For every 1 cup of boiling water, add 3 tablespoons of borax and 1 or 2 drops of blue food coloring to the solution.
8. Carefully pour the solution into the jar.
9. Leave the snowflake to hang in the jar. Keep the jar in a place where it won't be disturbed and let it sit overnight.
10. Remove the snowflake from the jar and use the string to carefully hang it somewhere.
Its December and the birthday we are celebrating this month is none other than the brave and loyal Prince Derek! This makes Prince Derek a Sagittarius zodiac sign and a Blue Topaz birthstone
Sagittarius are known for being generous, curious, and energetic with a great sense of humor.
They love to be outdoors and are very adventurous.
They are also impatient and will say anything, even if its a bit tactless. 
They are honest and love to explore other places and cultures.
The Blue Topaz symbolizes wisdom and is used to find the perfect way to get success.
No wonder Prince Derek always knows just how to save the day!
Is your birthday in December or do you just love the color blue?
Purchase your Blue Topaz Gemstone Heart Locket here!
About The Swan Princess
The Swan Princess is based upon the folk tale and ballet, Swan Lake. The story is transformed into a playfully fun adventure with exciting music, lovable forest friends, and of course, the handsome Prince Derek. The Swan Princess, Odette, has stayed true to the original fairy tale princess with her kindness, grace, and loyalty.
Three reasons you should follow us on Facebook 1) Get a behind-the-scenes look as Princess Odette and Prince Derek continue their adventures 2) Be one of the first to be notified when new products are released and 3) Share your Swan Princess stories and tales with other die-hard fans.
