It’s almost Christmas Eve. When I was a child, my parents put up the Christmas tree and lights around a week before Christmas but left the tree otherwise unadorned. In the custom of my father’s german mother, we were told that Santa not only brought the gifts but decorated the tree as well. There was something magical about waking up to a fully decked-out tree with presents underneath. But it wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized how insane it was for my parents to put us to bed before putting up the ornaments, not to mention assembling large toys like bikes and doll houses. They couldn’t have gotten much sleep before we woke early to open presents before going to church. I’m sure they were relieved when we stopped believing in Santa Claus and were finished with that tradition. How do you celebrate, Deadsplinters? Do you have any fun or interesting customs? Why do other people’s rituals always seem more exciting than ours? Most of them anyway. Yes to Krampus, and roller skating.
No thank you to fried caterpillars and KFC.
nothing too interesting here….dutch christmas doesnt normally even involve presents…tho we do have the tree and all the decorations…and typically a fancy meal with the extended family and spend the day all getting drunk and by the end of it we all hope to not see eachother again till next christmas
you know…normal christmas shit
then theres boxing day…where you attempt to cure the hangover and hurt feefees by binging on leftovers and attempt to watch a hallmark movie till you remember you dont hate yourself that much…and go back to just binging leftovers and drinking
but you know…that said…english christmas is much the same….just with presents
Sounds nice. I’m not sure if my daughter is going to be able to come tomorrow. There have been so many accidents today the road from her place to here has been closed down. I hope she can af least get her Sunday.
i hope she can make it over to you in time
i’ll be having a quiet christmas at me mums with my brother
missus is having a quiet christmas at home with the daughter and her boyfriend
(the boyfriend wont come over if im home….i kinda lost my temper at him once…i’d apolegize…but i believe that bridge is quite thoroughly burnt)
I hope you have a nice time with your mum and brother.
My 19 year old just made me go buy stuff to make candy cane Jell-O shots. She is also making blood Orange & cranberry mojitos for Xmas. We decorate ginger bread houses every year. Usually before now but it got delayed until tonight. We also usually have tacos on Xmas eve but this year we are going to the neighbors for surf & turf.
https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/candy-cane-jello-shots/2d3e4599-23cb-470e-b58b-3f4928f44d62
https://heatherchristo.com/2019/11/27/blood-orange-ginger-cranberry-mojitos/
Damn those mojitos sound good. So does surf snd turf. I wanna do Christmas at your place.
Come on over, we are well known for taking in stray friends this time of year.
Only if Fanny can come too. I don’t go anywhere without my pup!
All of our recent visitors have had their dogs, we still have lots of Jake’s balls hidden around the house and they have all found them. We all love dogs.
I want to go out to view some over-the-top neighborhood lights, but I may have take a
raincold check.Too damn cold here too. I may as well start drinking, I won’t be driving anywhere for a couple of days.
Usually Christmas meant me hosting Mom & Dad, buuuuut with the weather being this cold, Mom & I already talked about just hanging out after it warms up!
Before things blew sideways in October, I was planning to make Plum Pudding, since I got all the ingredients last year.
Yes, there are no plums in the recipe!😉😄🤣
And yes, *English* “Plum Pudding” is not the runny pudding we think of, as “pudding” here in the US!😉
Basically, it’s similar to a Fruit Cake in texture.
*Also,* the “Sauce for Plum Pudding” recipe should include a good glug or two of BRANDY!!!
(And BUTTER, not Margarine, y’all!!!)
This version of the recipe was published in my Grandma’s oldest sister’s “church cookbook.” They were (Converted) Baptists from Texas, so teetotalers…. the REST OF THE FAMILY is most assuredly not a bunch of teetotalers–and the real “gravy” ought to be an actual “Hard Sauce”…
Wikipedia says “Hard Sauce should be a cold thing, and is basically a brandy-butter…
That’s WRONG y’all, for literally hundreds of years in our family? Hard Sauce is basically Brandy-Gravy, served WARM, over warm slices of pudding…. if you don’t like the Brandy gravy, cold cream or half & half over the pudding is acceptable, too.
It’s a BIG undertaking to make (literally HOURS of chopping & boiling!!! Although the rest is pretty easy if you have a gigantic bowl to mix it in!), but it’s sooooooo good!
If I can lay my hands on some decent suet (LEAF suet–*not* that “refined junk mentioned in a few of the online recipes!), I may make anyway, and we can have it for Epiphany/12th Night😉😁💖
As for the other recipes I’d usually do?
Wasabi Roast is typically the main on Christmas.. buuut this year, it’s going to be Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguingnonon instead, because I got everything to make it–aside from the meat–at right around Thanksgiving, and just have to chop & sear the meat, add the frozen ingredients, and put it all together😁
It’s EASY, just “futzy” and tasty once it’s done🤗😃💖
Other years, I’ve definitely done more… but this year, I’m taking it easy, and just making this, the Splartichoke** dip, and calling it a day😉
Spinach Artichoke dip–a can or two of chopped artichoke hearts, a couple good-sized “blorps” of jarred garlic (and some juice from the jar!), a block or two of chopped spinach, thawed & thoroughly drained, 8-16 ounces of pre-grated parm (or Parmigiano- Reggiano), 2/3c sour cream,** 2/3c mayo,** and a block (or two) of cream cheese/neufchatel… you just mix everything & put it into a greased pan, then bake it at 350°-ish, until everything is “warmed through” and all melty…
Then you eat it either with “scoops” style tortilla chips or with a GOOD, crusty bread!😉😁🤗🤤🤤🤤
(**if you’re doing 2 cans of artichoke hearts, you use the “doubled” amounts, and 1 1/3c each of sour cream & mayo! For a single batch, it’s 1 of everything, with 2/3c of those two!)
Forgot the other links!
Wasabi-Crusted roast (it doesn’t have to be ribeye!😉)
And the Julia Recipe;
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/julia-childs-beef-bourguignon-50159695/amp
I do Salt Pork, because that’s what she recommended in the original video.
I used to make plum puddings and fruitcakes with my Nonna. I loved all the time spent in the kitchen with her.
We decorate the tree over Thanksgiving break and take it down during New Year’s break. The ornaments are the tradition, collected over the years or made by hand, and reminiscing is part of the process.
I made a cranberry orange cinnamon brown sugar simple syrup today. I ‘ll use in champagne flute as the base instead of Chamboard for a kir royal, or use it with a spiced pear liqueur and the guest’s choice of booze for a festive cocktail.
My ornaments are all very personal too. They’re my go to vacation souvenirs. I have some that had been my mother’s that were on our tree growing up. And some were gifts from friends including a wonderful new one I got this year! And among my most prized possessions are a pair of lace angels my Nonna tatted.
That syrup sounds delicious.