The holidays are creeping in as quickly as the cold weather, and it seems November is the month when everyone panics and realises Christmas is on their doorstep. Stay a step ahead of everyone and getting planning with these recipes for some pretty Christmas party canapes. You can add something special to a Christmas buffet in no time, and some of these recipes can be made in advance and stored. When making biscuits a top tip is to make the dough and then freeze it; dough keeps very well frozen. Also chocolate bark is great to keep in your fridge for ages, and can be quickly wrapped up in cellophane for a gift for an impromptu guest.

These Christmas tree meringues are perfect bite-size nibbles from Penguin Says Feed Me, piping is difficult but if you get shiny peaks from your meringue you can easily get the right shape with the right piping tip, just remember to allow room for the mixture to settle and spread out a little. It really helps if you draw 2cm circles on your baking paper as a guide. The sprinkles may sometimes be difficult to source but eBay is an excellent place to find baking decorations.

If you're literally a sucker for cute things, these Snow Man Cake Pops from We Choose Organic are perfect. A great treat for kids on chirsmas day, these pops are filled with an oreo and cream cheese mixture and dipped in white chocolate. Remember that when you form the snowmen shapes out of the mixture you need to pop them in the fridge for ten minutes so they don't fall apart when you cover them in chocolate. You need a delicate hand with this recipe as well to paint on the little eyes and mouth!

These Christmas Tree Cupcakes featured on Babble.com look extremely technical but they're actually quite simple! The snowy tree peaks are frosting covered tips from ice cream cones. You can use any cupcake recipe but for something Christmas use a red velvet cupcake recipe.

Finally make some Christmas Bark, as featured on Feasts and Fotos. Chocolate bark screams Christmas, especially with the flavours of fruits and nuts and dark chocolate. It's perfect served with a cup of hot chocolate on Christmas eve night.

Buying a holiday home in a sunny location is so exciting, though finding the right cover for it can be difficult.  Many brokers don’t want to offer protection to holiday homes because they are considered a high risk due to them only being occupied a short period each year, but specialist property insurance will protect your new holiday home in any country you want.

The great thing about this type of cover is that you are not restricted to within the UK, you can get cover for your new Spanish Villa or your secret hideaway in the French Alps and even if you only intend visiting a couple of weeks each year, you can enjoy the stress free knowledge that your new holiday home and contents is protected.

This type of cover is not only restricted to holiday homes, but can cover expensive homes as well.  Some homes are so extravagantly priced that average home insurance doesn’t do it justice.  So you know that if people are getting this type of cover for their expensive mansions, your holiday home in Spain is in good hands.

Why is holiday home cover so difficult to find?

Holiday homes are considered high risk and if they’re not occupied for a certain amount of time each year, many brokers will refuse to cover them and if they do they will charge outrageous prices.

This specialized cover is designed for these types of properties, so you are not considered such a high risk after all.  The premiums may be slightly higher than an average home policy, but that is understandable seeing it’s not going to be lived in for six months or more of each year.

Placing security alarms and gates and having someone keep an eye on the property can reduce your premiums.  Though you don’t want your new holiday home looking like a jail cell with bars all over the windows, doing this can greatly reduce your premiums so you need to weigh up how important protection cover costs are to you and your family.

Once you find a company the protection will be put in place very quickly, these are specialist agents who are used to dealing with these properties.  They will be able to offer you advice on how to reduce your premiums and will probably need to know how often you intend visiting your holiday home.  There may be a minimum amount of time you have to spend there, but will you be complaining?  Specialist property insurance is the best way to ensure your holiday home is safe and sound.

Your big day is a once in a lifetime chance for you to give a big thank you to your friends and family for supporting you your whole life. One of the best ways you can do that is by getting the best function band Liverpool can offer to entertain them. You therefore need to look for a band that is capable of playing a variety of genres very well. A band that will give the wedding classics a new breath of life and be able to play swing, jazz, blues and other danceable styles flawlessly. The good news is that Liverpool is host to a good number of accomplished wedding bands.

Take for instance Merseyside’s very own Cover Cats, born at the renowned Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. This six-piece wedding and party band will play you party classics from all the way back in the sixties to current hits. This group even comes with their own public address system and lighting. This is just one of several bands in Liverpool; you can get a bigger band if you want something more elaborate or a duo if you don’t mind less. And if none of those based in Liverpool are to your liking, you are still sure to find one within the UK that will suit your tastes. You will however have to foot the cost of transporting them and their equipment from outside Liverpool.

So, what should you look for in a wedding band? You need to first of all consider if the music you want them to play falls inside their repertoire. If you want to regale your guests with jazz or swing music from the 1930s, you need to find a band that specializes in this kind of music. Don’t just hire a band because they can play your songs, choose a band that is completely at home with your preferred genre. This means that you need to find out how long they have been playing at functions.

Perhaps the most important consideration is how much the band will charge. While you may want a 10 piece band complete with violinists, you may not be able to afford what they will charge you. Some of the more accomplished and sizeable bands will charge over £1,000 for their time and expertise. Those that are just starting out and smaller groups can charge less than £400. This is the range within which you can expect quotations from any function band Liverpool has to offer.

When people holiday, they tend to fall into the traps of choosing the hotel over the overall experience of the country and its culture. Next time you're thinking of booking a getaway, why not find a budget flight, a budget hotel and spend your savings going somewhere truly unforgettable with just a camera for company? Here's our top five recommendations.

1. Four Seasons Bora Bora

The image you have of paradise in your head, it looks just like this doesn't it? Clear turquoise waters and soft white sands, with nothing around you for miles. If you want to get away from it all and escape to somewhere beautiful, this is the place to do it. Not only that, but it's also the Four Seasons, so not only will you be somewhere luxurious, you'll be treated like a king too.

2. Crystalline Turquoise Lake, Jiuzhaigou National Park, China

If you're looking for something more serene and surreal, or maybe you want to get lost in the wilderness, travel to this national park in China and gaze out on the waters which are so crystal clear they seem to reflect the wild mountains around them. If you're looking for a photo opp, this is it.

3. Riomaggiore, Italy

Riomaggiore is a little village dating from the 13th Century which is famous for it's great wine and beautiful culture. It is one of the five Cinque Terre, five villages connected on a mountain trail flowing through the national park.

4. Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands

If your paradise is more fairytale, Keukenhof is a historical garden brimming with hundreds of thousands of blooms. Tulips, hyacinths and daffodils carpet the forests, there's steams and open meadows painted with coloured flowers. It's a bit like a scene out of a children's book.

5. Seychelles

It tends to be at the top of most people's dream travel destinations, and it it any surprise? White beaches and crystalline seas hugging lush green forest. The beaches are consistently ranked top among the world and the great news is there are still some off the trail places untouched by tourists.

So where are you booking your next trip to?