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Family Christmas traditions

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Elaine (U531229) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  Sun, 30 Oct 2005 20:20:22 GMT
  
  Mustardland help asked for please ( very nicely - large tankers of mulled wine - alcoholic and non - pulling up outside The Bull as we speak )
  
  I know it's only just November, but these things take time, and I'm just putting together the Christmas webpages for the restaurant website - I usually do food and drink from either other countries or from other ages, with recipes etc and links to other sites. This year I've decided to include some Christmas traditions and though there are lots of general 'traditional' traditions ( if you see what I mean ) I've discovered, talking to friends, that many people and families have their own traditions that are peculiar to them - so I thought I'd include some traditions of this ilk.
  
  Do any of you have a Christmas or New Year custom that's special to you and yours ( please note - 'you and yours' with lower case first letters - not the R4 type ). I'd love to hear about them and if poss include them on the website - I won't identify anyone - just 'The Regulars' .....as ever.
  
  Elaine

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by aminam (U2277964) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  Yeah . . .
  
  We have stress, anxiety, guilt, desire to run away . . .
  
  Sorry, that's unkind. We have all of those but we also have:
  
  Christmas day: Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon (or good cured ham) for breakfast
  
  Boxing day: lobster boiled in seawater (we're lucky enough to be near enough to the sea and to decent suppliers to do this . . . it's a shocking expense at that time of year but it beats turkey-lurkey any day)
  
  During the holiday period there will usually be a smidgeon of Black Velvet at some stage (made with good stout and good champagne). Last year we also cooked our own foie gras (yes, I told you guilt and anxiety were involved) and it was so fabulous we may do so again . . .
  
  Is this the sort of thing you have in mind?
  
  Am x

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Bearhug (U2258283) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  It's not even November yet!

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by aminam (U2277964) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  Reply to [#3]
  
  And you mean to say you haven't made your Christmas pudding yet? Oh, my dear . . .
  
  Am

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by RosieT (U2224719) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  Do you mean like:
  
  a xmas stocking MUST HAVE -
  
  ~ a coin in the toe
  
  ~ a tangerine
  
  ~ a sugar mouse
  
  ~ something that makes a noise (eg toy drum whistle, party blower)
  
  ~ something to read
  
  ~ something to make you smell nice
  
  ~ a long parcel, such as giant pencil, ruler etc.
  
  ~ magic plastic, to make balloons
  
  ~ something to wear (socks/scarf/tights/etc)
  
  ~ toy
  
  or would the customers prefer rea foodie traditions?

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Ell Kaye (U2222944) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  Sun, 30 Oct 2005 20:20:22 GMT
  
  Mustardland help asked for please ( very nicely - large tankers of mulled wine - alcoholic and non - pulling up outside The Bull as we speak )
  
  I know it's only just November, but these things take time, and I'm just putting together the Christmas webpages for the restaurant website - I usually do food and drink from either other countries or from other ages, with recipes etc and links to other sites. This year I've decided to include some Christmas traditions and though there are lots of general 'traditional' traditions ( if you see what I mean ) I've discovered, talking to friends, that many people and families have their own traditions that are peculiar to them - so I thought I'd include some traditions of this ilk.
  
  Do any of you have a Christmas or New Year custom that's special to you and yours ( please note - 'you and yours' with lower case first letters - not the R4 type ). I'd love to hear about them and if poss include them on the website - I won't identify anyone - just 'The Regulars' .....as ever.
  
  Elaine  
  
  
  We, O/H and I, spend christmas alone, family is not welcome. (Not meant in a nasty way but non of us DO Xmas)
  
  We get up and have srambled eggs on toast & proper coffee, open presents, go to the pub and meet friends. Come home and have smoked Salmon, & hot buttered toast, Champagne (well tesburies Cava actually). Snooze.
  
  
  At 6ish I set the dining table and we have our best china, glass, and posh crackers, and I serve Homemade soup, Potroast Pheasant in red wine with chestnuts, or individual Beef Wellington, Roast pots, asparagus and seasonal other veg, good Red wine,(Chateau Neurf), if we have a Christmas pud we have a very sweet chilled white wine who's name I cannot remember, and then a cheese board, Brie, Dolecelatte, Stilton, and Berkswell with Port, and then an Irish Coffee.
  
  Stack dishwasher at about 11pm and fall into bed.
  
  Happy Humbug!

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by aminam (U2277964) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  {Reply to Ell Kaye, #6}
  
  We too are great fans of very cold dessert wine with Christmas pud. Last year we had a Sauternes called Chateau Filhot - the perfect companion to gooey pud.
  
  When we're on our owns, sounds like our Christmas routine - and even our dinner - is very similar to yours! I only wish I didn't feel so guilty about having the day to myself and opting out of all the other stuff that I know I wouldn't enjoy as much . . .
  
  Am

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Elaine (U531229) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  Sun, 30 Oct 2005 21:14:00 GMT, In reply to: Bearhug [
  
  < It's not even November yet!>
  
  Sorry Bearhug - I know I said it was but I must have lost a couple of days due to the dark evenings and thought November had started. And even though it's the time it is, sadly, in the restaurant business we have to start thinking about Christmas very very early. We hold off as long as we decently can...but......just to illustrate the point, we're almost booked up for December - and this isn't because we send out menus unsolicited or hang banners out advertising our 'festive fayre' ( actually we'd NEVER do that ! ) - but, because customers start asking for the menu in early Autumn, it has to be there for those who ask. The first request for Christmas menu this year was in May ! And because I do the website as a 'sideline' to my everyday work in the restaurant, it does take time to put it together. It won't be published until December, but I need to collect things for it and put it together now.
  Hence the request.
  
  Elaine
  
  PS Thanks for the replies already - I'm interested in any tradion - foody, drinky or otherwise though of course the foody/drinky ones are specific to the site

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Ell Kaye (U2222944) on Sunday, 30th October 2005

  Aminam, Boxing day is for family.
  
  
  I always cook a non Christmas food, for example Steak and Kidney pud, mashed swede, carrots, pots and cabbage, with lashings of gravy and mustard.
  
  I feel that those who have to travel round will get fed up with endless cold turkey, mince pies etc, so I do not do them.

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Dragonfly (U2223700) on Monday, 31st October 2005

  Hi, Elaine, it may still be October but I am also starting to think about Christmas. I intend to mix the pudding tonight so I can use the last of the apples from our tree, as I always do. I use Delia Smith's recipe, which is excellent.
  
  In contrast to some other respondents, we go for a very traditional Christmas indeed. We don't decorate the tree until after son's birthday in the middle of December. We put the presents under it on Christmas Eve and open them after breakfast on Christmas Day. Stockings are not used for 'main' presents - only the children get stockings (we use two (clean) pairs of my daughter's woolly tights) and the standard contents are pretty similar to Rosie's list - small soft citrus fruit in one toe and shiny apple in other, some nice socks somewhere in there, chocolate coins, unusual pen etc etc.
  
  Food: I make the mince pies with home-made mincemeat on Christmas Eve during the service of nine lessons and carols from King's. I always use shortcrust pastry - I find puff pastry far too rich - and I don't sweeten it or sprinkle icing sugar on them. The pastry should be very crisp and short as a contrast to the wonderfully soft, spicy, sweet, fruity, boozy filling. Every last bit of this 'tradition' comes from The Blessed Delia, including the recipe!
  
  On Christmas Eve I also boil a bit of ham with some veg and lentils and that gives me a bit of cooked ham to have with the cold turkey later in the week and the makings of a delicious lentil soup. This is a habit I picked up from my mum, although I don't think she does it at Christmas.
  
  Christmas Eve evening meal: a meatless meal. We have either something veggy or salmon. This is picked up from the Polish tradition, which I read about in The Vegetarian Epicure many years ago, and it seems a very sensible one given the meaty excesses to come.
  
  Christmas Day: bacon, eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms for breakfast. Coffee, toast and marmalade and we are set up for the long wait till the big meal. At lunchtime we go for drinks to a friend's house where she serves prosecco and canapes. Lovely! Back at the ranch, probably very late afternoon, we have turkey with pork, sage and onion stuffing and chipolatas, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, brussels sprouts, carrots, peas (because the younger members of the family tragically don't like sprouts), gravy and cranberry sauce (guess whose recipe). Then my beautiful pudding with Green & Black's vanilla ice cream &/or thick cold cream. I like it with cream, Mr D prefers ice cream, daughter likes both. Son [aka Mr Faddy] doesn't like Christmas pudding at all so just has ice cream.
  
  Other Christmas food traditions: we have lots of salady stuff around to eat with the leftover turkey and the ham - a big bean salad, potato salad, coleslaw etc.
  
  Gosh, I'm looking forward to it already.
  
  

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