Now Thanksgiving is out of the way we've nothing to focus on but the Christmas / Holiday season.
Do those of you in American schools get a big break over this period? It's our summer holidays so our schools break up for six weeks (universities for longer) over December and January though there's some talk of moving it along to February / March when the best summer weather is around.
In New Zealand Christmas Day is a public holiday and by law nearly everything is shut. (Boxing Day is a also a public holiday but nearly everything is open having sales!)
My husband and I will be going to my brother's place (a couple of minutes drive away) on Christmas Day and will be ringing the children and grandchildren sometime during the day. (My very staunch step-son will probably make do sending a txt / SMS!)
I have all my Christmas shopping done, except for the mad impulse stuff. (Is it still 'impulse' shopping if I deliberately go into the Sugar Plum Fairy dress shop and while I'm in there am struck by the impulse to buy my youngest granddaughter a fairy dress? I didn't think so, either.)
I have the little window-y Advent calendars on stand by for December 1st but I'm not really in favour of early starts to Christmas. No decorations go up here until after my birthday (17th December.) The old 'me first then Christmas' attitude I haven't outgrown!
What will be happening at your place? Are your plans all set? Shopping done / not yet started? What sort of decorations do you put up? Are you a non-Christmas household? Do you celebrate something else?
Do you watch sport on Christmas day? ;)
Chanukah in my house.
Xmas day... hmmm stay in bed late, eat lunch, watch the Queen's Speech at 3. Then settle down to watch the new Dr Who episode.
Footy is on on Boxing Day.
I've got that whole week off - because I'd loose the holiday otherwise.
Quote from: "emma"Xmas day... hmmm stay in bed late, eat lunch, watch the Queen's Speech at 3. Then settle down to watch the new Dr Who episode.
Hmm. I think I'll have your Christmas Day instead of mine!
We'll be starting Christmas early this year. The family got its way and buying a new tree this year meant one of those fibre optic trees. And they have decided its going up on Saturday morning while I'm out at Demo Day (scrapbooking.card making) so I can't object. It'll be fait accompli by the time I get home. *sighs*
Christmas Eve means Church. It used to be on Christmas morning, but since Cailee arrived, I've changed it to Christmas Eve so we can let her play with her toys for longer, before doing the rounds of the relatives.
Christmas morning is fun again having Cailee around. The other kids all knew who the real Santa was by the time Cailee arrived, so Christmas had become a little meh for everyone. But since madam arrived Christmas is for little children again. She has a ball not only with her own toys but with what everyone else gets as well.
While the family play, I'll be cooking Christmas dinner. This year a chicken and a leg of pork, roast spuds, pumpkin, broccoli, cauli, carrots, peas and corn. (We're big veggie eaters in this house LOL) And if Mel insists, then we'll be having Yorkshire puddings with it, too. Followed by Christmas Pudding and Custard.
And all of this probably cooked during 30C+ (86F+) degrees. Thank goodness for air-conditioning!!!
Then once dinner's over, we'll all probably fall asleep for a little while (well I know I will anyway. LOL)
The kids will all head out on Boxing Day for the sales to spend all of their Christmas vouchers. The older girls have specifically asked for vouchers for one particular store, so they'll go wild. Bobbie will get a $50 voucher for Target and then a separate voucher for the WoW upgrade which comes out in January.
I still don't know what I'll get Mark, and no, I haven't started Christmas shopping yet. I have bought Cailee's present which needs putting together on Christmas Eve, but that's it so far. LOL
Christmas decorataions came out last evening (Mon 26th), exactly 24 hours after I boxed up my Halloween decorations :loser: (no, they weren't still out, but were put in the laundry room to get them out of sight until I could pack them up).
We usually go to a Christmas tree farm and cut a tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but this year it rained all day. :crybaby: We plan to go this Saturday, but I couldn't wait, so I got out everything except the tree stuff.
I have one daughter, 6 yrs old, and had her late in life, so I go completely insane with the shopping. She's a good girl, though, and deserves lots of presents from Santa. :santa:
I hope everyone has a great holiday, no matter what you choose to do with it!
Well, my family used to always start the baking at the begining of December. We'd make all kinds of cookies and our scandinavian Yule Kahka (I guess that's how its spelled) which is Christmas Bread with bits of fruit baked into it. And we always managed to find real Japanese oranges (they're called Mikan, but probably called tangerines elsewhere, though they aren't quite the same). The tree would go up on December 14th, my youngest brother's birthday.
If we were in Seattle Christmas Eve we'd have a big family party with all the aunts and uncles and cousins and then we'd go to church for the Christmas Eve service in masse. Otherwise, it would just be our family. And we often would sit around and sing Christmas Carols all night. We often can get at least a three, if not four part harmony going (I'm the alto).
Christmas morning (now that we're all older and like our sleep) we sleep in. When we wake up we open our Christmas socks, which used to be full of fun toys to keep us busy until the 'rents woke up but now are full of fun goodies like deoderant and lip balm and all those things we need but aren't fun enough to go under the tree. When we get up we pull out all the baking we've done and grab a cup of coffee and a plate of stuff, pass out all the presents and open them all. After the presents Dad would start on the Turkey dinner. It would be a very relaxed day.
This year, though, I'm not going home for Christmas :( I will probably take the day off from work though. My friend might come down from the big city since she's not going anywhere either so we might have a little Christmas together. And that evening we might have a little get together with some of my Japanese friends (after they get off work). I'm looking forward to a traditional Japanese dinner of a bucket of chicken from KFC (no joke!) And then Boxing Day I've been invited to some Australian friends home to celebrate. It would be my first boxing day so I'm looking forward to it! But yeah, Christmas will be low-key this year. But hey, at least this year I will get all the Japanese oranges I can eat!
Two of my kids work for KFC, and they found out this week it is one of the most popular take-aways in Japan. A Japanese friend said Christmas dinner was KFC for them and my two found that hilarious.
I've usually been the "put up the tree and start the decorations Thanksgiving weekend" type, but this year chose to wait and the Christmas season will probably start officially for me next Monday. That's the day when I'll need to drive to Dulles to pick up my daughter -- I haven't seen her since August 2006 due to her one-year contract in Korea and then several months of traipsing around Europe and northern Africa. The tree is an artificial one (tried real but too many allergies within our family) and since I'll be working, I'll probably leave that and any Christmas baking to my son. December 20th my son flies in and we'll do last minute shopping. Christmas day is spent at my parents' house (2-hour drive) and sometime during the next week they'll come to visit us. My kids will probably do the boxing day shopping by themselves since I'll be working.
Usually the kids don't accompany me to Christmas Eve services, but this year they might: my new church is quite international in flavor and has several world-class musicians, so special events are truly special.
Oh yeah -- I've also emailed the kids' dad and told when they'll be here, offering to meet him somewhere so they can spend time together -- as long as it's arranged ahead of time. He "didn't have time" to see his son last year and I've no idea where he's actually living.
Our christmas goes like this: I bought all the christmas present already in beginning of november.
Put up christmas decorations last week end. Will spend next tree-four weeks waiting and baking (into the fridge).
On christmas eve: pack kids and gifts into the car and start the chrismas-tour: first to my moms to have a christmas luch (and gifts). Stop by at my brothers to exchange gifs, visit semetary to light a candle at grandparent's grave. Continue to my dad's, stay there for a while, eat and gifts. Then drive to the in-law's, where we'll stay over night and santa will (hopefully) come by to give gifts. This year the Santa may be English.
And my daughter is scared of Santa, so we'll be sitting in the farthest corner.
Usually I just go over to my parents' house for Christmas eve. We eat tourtierre (meat pie) and listen to Fireside Al on CBC read 'The Shepherd' by Frederick Forsyth, which has become one of my favourite short stories and is my favourite Christmas story. Then we like to play boardgames. It's terribly 1950's. ;) Christmas day my mum or one of my aunts hosts a family get-together with turkey and whatnot.
Boxing day, however, we usually have a big ol' skating party for all the friends and 'orphans' (people without family in the city) we know. There's skating, chili, wine and good times. :)
Yorkshire pudding? Oh man I miss Yorkshire- that's the one thing I can't make myself, so ever since I came to college, every time I go home I get my gran to make me good old Yorkshire. I'm going to miss it for Christmas.
I'm staying in New Jersey with the cold and the snow and the cold all Christmas, so I have no idea what I'll be doing. I don't know what Eric's family traditions are, so I'm going to be surprised this Christmas which is kind of exciting.
Quote from: "Yvonne"... and listen to Fireside Al on CBC read 'The Shepherd' by Frederick Forsyth, which has become one of my favourite short stories and is my favourite Christmas story.
It's a great story! One of my favourites, too.
Hmmm... I'm not sure I know "The Shepherd". My family has an audio tape of one of the Prarie Home Companion Christmas specials. We play that thing to death around Christmas! Of course we have the whole thing memorized, but that's part of the fun!
Quote from: "Avril"Yorkshire pudding? Oh man I miss Yorkshire- that's the one thing I can't make myself, so ever since I came to college, every time I go home I get my gran to make me good old Yorkshire. I'm going to miss it for Christmas.
I'm staying in New Jersey with the cold and the snow and the cold all Christmas, so I have no idea what I'll be doing. I don't know what Eric's family traditions are, so I'm going to be surprised this Christmas which is kind of exciting.
Yorkshire Puddings are very easy to make Avril.
Foolproof Yorkshire Pudding RecipeDrop 1/2 tspn of lard/grease in the bottom of each cupcake mould and place in oven for 10 minutes on 220C/428F to heat the oil.
Mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk and 1 egg, and 1 tablespoon of water in a bowl and beat/mix well. Then place mixture into cupcake moulds up to about half full in each mould. Bake in oven for approx 20 minutes and voila!
Cover with lashings of gravy.
YUM!!!**looks across at Emma the Yorkshire Lass** That sound okay to you?
I'd drop the lard and wipe the tin out with olive oil - healthier.
Make sure it's plain flour, not self raising. Oh, and for the lactose intolerant you can replace the milk with water.
Or.... Make a giant one and fill with sausages, peas etc
Quote from: "emma"Or.... Make a giant one and fill with sausages, peas etc
Ala Toad in the Hole?
Haven't had that for years! LOL
Quote from: "emma"I'd drop the lard and wipe the tin out with olive oil - healthier.
:(
I've always loved the name "Toad in the Hole" for a food. My mother used to make "Bubble and Squeek" when I was a kid. Isn't that from England?
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Bubble'n'Squeak certainly is a pommie dish.
Haven't had that in a while either. :(
It doesn't look too hard. I might try it with rice milk at some point only because I'm generally rather lactose-intolerant. I take 3 of the darn lactaid pills just to eat Yorkshire, and even then it isn't foolproof. I guess we'll see how well it works out!
I also like the toad in a hole variant. And I adore shepherd's pie. But I've never had bubble and squeak, what's that?
Quote from: "Kaysea"Quote from: "emma"Or.... Make a giant one and fill with sausages, peas etc
Ala Toad in the Hole?
Haven't had that for years! LOL
Toad in the hole is when you bake it with the sausages in it :)
Quote from: "Avril"It doesn't look too hard. I might try it with rice milk at some point only because I'm generally rather lactose-intolerant. I take 3 of the darn lactaid pills just to eat Yorkshire, and even then it isn't foolproof. I guess we'll see how well it works out!
I also like the toad in a hole variant. And I adore shepherd's pie. But I've never had bubble and squeak, what's that?
Mashed potatoes with leftover vegetables all combined in the mash and then fried. Usually served with lashings of HP sauce - but the Aussies cover it with ketchup/tomato sauce. *barfs*