Merry Christmas!

Jedi Santa

Well, my lovely bloggy friends, that time is almost upon us; the time when we let the big red fella down our chimneys to eat the cookies we left him. To look out at the snow covered roofs and watch the kids laugh and giggle as they open and enjoy the gifts they received; we'll stuff our faces with beautiful birds and tasty treats, roasted ham and Brussel sprouts; we'll nap on the sofa and play board games, maybe do a jigsaw and listen to Christmas tunes.

View from our window

Grandpa has settled in, mum, sis, brother in law and baby came to visit, we ate cake, opened gifts and toasted Christmas with a wee gin and tonic. The Christmas movies are playing, the braising steak is in the oven, all the gifts are wrapped and new pyjamas are donned by little 'uns, who snuggle under blankets as we speak, happy and excited about tomorrow.

Kelly fell in love with the turkey foil, stuck eyes and a mouth onto it and let it sleep in her bed last night. Her confused brother took a picture, trying to make sense of what was going on. We gave up a long time ago.

Our Christmas feast usually consists of Christmas morning muffins with cinnamon and jam followed by bacon rolls but this year, we'll who is this 'we'll'; me, I mean...who else.... be having schnecken. Oh, and the bacon rolls of course. My twin sis and her lovely offspring will be coming to join us for this, much to the kids delight and for the first time in 12 years, I will be hosting Christmas dinner with no extra guests. We usually have all my family and Brian's dad at least but we decided that this year, we'd keep it small. I'll miss them though.

The dinner itself will be:

Scotch Broth

Honey Roasted Side of Salmon with Prawn Salad
with
Parmesan Bread or Blinis

Roast Turkey, Gingerbread Stuffing,
Ham joint,
lemon and wine flavoured gravy
and
pigs in blankets,
baby boiled potatoes, roast potatoes,
mashed potatoes

Accompanied by
Brussel Sprouts with pancetta and toasted flaked almonds,
Honey and maple syrup glazed parsnips and carrots,
Broccoli, peas and onion confit
with
Redcurrant and Cranberry sauce.

The kids will have some chocolate cake and we'll just about manage a mince pie but later...much later! We're all excited about watching Dr. Who as the master returns, much to the excitement of the kids...ok, me...Brian.... and having a lovely, relaxed time.

Lunch; lentil and vegetable soup with freshly baked bread

Merry Christmas to you all, wherever you may be.