Happy whatever day it is now!

The big Christmas catch up

I’m not sure what this post is really about but having received multiple signs off from various near and dear in the following vain: have a fab Christmas break and I can’t wait to hear ALL about it on TWP / omg looking forward to the full menu breakdown on Substack / I’ll check my emails over Christmas for your big round-up, I felt it was only fair to interrupt my week-long quest to find out what day it is and write to you. Read on for what I’ve been up to this Christmas including the notable things I’ve cooked and eaten, the prezzies I’ve given and received and would recommend searching out in your downtime/the sales, and the telly we’ve watched (in most cases so you can avoid it, Christmas TV ain’t what it used to be).

I love Christmas. The OTT decs, an excuse to have a Snowball (half Advocaat, half lemonade, a good glug of lime, handful of ice and as many cocktail cherries as you can handle) at 4pm, a choc-a-bloc diary of dinners and the nation’s collective reliance on pastry and potatoes. It was our first one in our first house too, so that felt extra exciting, despite not getting a Christmas tree (in favour of all the other budget-busting bits we currently need for said new house). As mentioned and pictured here, there was a roster of handmade paper stars and a stand-out faux stair garland and if you’re in a similar penny-pinching predicament, I’d suggest doing the same. It doesn’t look anywhere near as fake as you’d think once tangled up with fairy lights and held up high and it made me feel festive every time I took to the hall, which is often at as busy a time as Christmas. All the tree decorations we’ve collected over the years were hung on door handles and unless yours are soft, I wouldn’t recommend doing this, it’s very annoying and noisy, still it was nice to get annual eyes on The Elephant with One Tusk (purchased for an extortionate amount from Selfridges as is because I felt sorry for him) and the now paint-less wooden badger. In between being stuck in bed with one or other of the various ailments I’ve been contending with (we worked out that I’ve been poorly in some way, entirely unrelated to any of the previous or future ways since September this year) I managed to squeeze in a tip to our town’s Christmas market for bratwurst and churros and handmade felt things that make you coo, go to the garden centre for a turkey dinner and attend a pub crawl. Next year I want to go to one of the advent events at Salisbury Cathedral and go around one of the National Trust houses all done up Dickens-style.

As for the main shindig, on Christmas Eve my family descended on our make-shift dining room (why yes that is our garden table and chairs dragged inside and jazzed up with a too-small table cloth) and I set myself the challenge of laying on a spread of five courses. The theme - imposed by myself thinking that everyone would be going traditional/roast vibes the next day - was Italian Feast and the menu was as follows:

Aperitvo & Antipasti
Prosecco / Festive G&T / Port & Lemon / Schlouer / negroni

Focaccia / Prosciutto Crudo / Milano & Spianata Salamis / Nocerello Olives / Artichoke Hearts / Sun-dried Tomatoes / Gran Padano

Primi
Butternut Squash & Ricotta Ravioli in Sage Butter

Secondi