Only a short time now until Christmas. What will you be doing?
Christmas for me will be a family occasion with children and grandchildren around us. We celebrate with a Christmas lunch. Its summer in Australia so we usually have a cold lunch but every few years we go for a hot one instead. We start with champagne cocktails, dips, chicken wings and nuts. This year the main meal will be cold meats, seafood and salads. Dessert will be chocolate dipped strawberries and pineapple cheesecake.
I don’t have a large house but we manage to seat 12 people for lunch with half of them staying over for dinner. No one is interested in eating that so they tend to just pick at the leftovers. We love the bonbons and the party hats and we have special Christmas ceramic serviette rings that I made about 10 years ago and they all like to get the same one each year.
We open presents after lunch that are under the Christmas tree. My Christmas tree is decorated with decorations I have collected on our travels over the years and the grandchildren love to help me set it up the week before Christmas. There is lots of noise and laughter and to me its one of the best times of the day, and a time for me to relax. We then serve coffee and Christmas cake and chocolates.
I love Christmas and I try and make it a personal one by cooking most of the food for the day. There is a lot of work involved but I just love it. Having my family around me is the most important part of Christmas for me.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I hope your day is filled with love.
