The conversation thread

[gracie920101]

We usually take a drive and look at Christmas lights on the 24th followed by a cheese plate and wine or sometimes a toddy (depending on where we live).

We exchange gifts Christmas day although last year I got a driveway and this year the oven so no real gifting for a couple of years. LOL

We try to fix a new dish each year and we're discussing Beef Wellington for this year. I may just beg off with surf and turf instead.

I miss the get togethers of yesteryear also. On Christmas Eve, we gathered at the family farm, had a big ham dinner then the festivities started with each of the grandkids singing a carol either solo or in 2s or 3s. All 14 of us! Afterwards, we had a gift exchange and some years that meant a gift for each person and other years names were drawn. The volume of gifts under the tree each year was truly amazing and memorable as there were 5 kids and all their children.

Christmas Day was spent with the other side of the family (4 kids and their families) and pretty much the same thing but without the singing.

It was exhausting as a kid so I don't know how the parents did it year after year.

 

[cookiecat]

We have a tradition of celebrating Saint Lucia mid-December. My mom is Swedish and started this about 15 years ago. We "enjoy" pickled herring, lutefisk and the best - Aquavit!

 

[seela]

We have a tradition of celebrating Saint Lucia mid-December. My mom is Swedish and started this about 15 years ago. We "enjoy" pickled herring, lutefisk and the best - Aquavit!

We have the same tradition here, it's next Sunday!

Do you make or have lussekatter (lussebullar) too?

 

[Zionisacat]

General conversation question:

What's everybody's favorite holiday tradition and dish?

Our family does christmas and now there's parents plus kids plus grandkids and pets so that's a full table before the friends show up. I'm sure we'll make it work though. Friends can include up to another 20 people. Usually only 10 or so are in town in any given year. Just four of our closest family friends this year though. I suspect my parents neighbours might make an appearance though.
Either way christmas is a big social event for us only rivalled by grand final day or new years so there's always more food than needed and enough wine to float a battle ship.
A drunken swim happens once the oven is turned off for the last time.


The food :
Cheesecake. A friend of the family makes a cheese cake that is divine. Doesn't matter which one she pulls out her armoury, none can match her and best off all she always sets aside few extra pieces for me. Only downside is that it gets served at the end of the night after about 5 hours of eating so there's almost no room in my tummy but I struggle through.
Christmas trees. Egg whites and icing sugar blended together make an edible glue that attaches spearmint leaves or freckles to ice cream cones making a tree. They're left out on the table and each year you swear not to eat them and save your appetite for the 'better' stuff but each year they get picked at and picked at and picked at until there's nothing left.
Pudding. Dad makes one at the end of November then hangs it until christmas day where it gets boiled up and served with the commentary that it looks like placenta. It doesn't but it does taste amazing.
Rum balls and yo-yos are homemade.
Fish comes from an old neighbour.
Prawns, ham and turkey are all store bought.

Boxing day is spent on a couch watching the test, recovering and nursing hang overs. Occasionally the Sydney to Hobart will get a mention.


Keep in mind I'm half a world away from most of you and down here christmas is in summer.

 

[Primalex]

We have a tradition of celebrating Saint Lucia mid-December. My mom is Swedish and started this about 15 years ago. We "enjoy" pickled herring, lutefisk and the best - Aquavit!

Lutefisk seems to be a complete dish already...so...is the pickled herring served like an appetizer or what?

 

[seela]

Lutefisk seems to be a complete dish already...so...is the pickled herring served like an appetizer or what?

At least here, where lutefisk and pickled herrings are Christmas staples as well, everything's served buffet style and you pick what you want from the table.

They aren't eaten on St Lucia's day, though.

 

[ashkitten]

General conversation question:

What's everybody's favorite holiday tradition and dish?

Christmas is my favorite holiday. It's always just the four of us - me, my sister, our parents. In recent years, my sister's boyfriend usually shows up. We drive around looking at Christmas lights on the 24th, and then spend the morning on the 25th eating cinnamon rolls and opening presents, afternoon is for snack foods and movies and naps.

This year, I'm skipping going to my parents' because I would have to travel and I think it would be low-risk for me to rent a car and drive, but I also don't feel okay taking that risk when I don't have to given how much public health officials are begging folks to stay home. I sent my mom and dad a nice flower arrangement with a candle to maybe brighten up their living room. Yesterday, put a rush order on some books so I can curl up in my comfy bathrobe and Zoom with my family and then do some cozy reading.

 

[seela]

Most years I spend the holidays with my partner, just the two of us. Some years we've hosted a few friends, some years we've visited family, but usually it's just us. Here the main event is the 24th rather than the 25th.

My favorite part of Christmas is the declaration of Christmas Peace, because that marks the beginning of Christmas for me. It's at noon on the 24th and we make mulled wine to sip on while the declaration is read. The declaration is the only thing in my Christmas that involves Jesus. To be fair, I'm not in it for the Jesus, but because I enjoy being a part of the tradition that's hundreds of years old and because it's just always been something my family has appreciated. When I lived with my parents, and even now when I visit them for Christmas, after we've enjoyed the declaration and the mulled wine, we always take some apples, carrots and nuts in the forest and leave them for the animals to enjoy.

For food, my Christmas favorite is archipelago bread which I bake myself. The slices are topped with smetana, roe and red onion and/or chives and a squeeze of lemon. Another version is to have gravlax instead of roe. I usually make a few different kinds of gravlax. This year I'm planning on making at least gin and beet, maybe I'll make a traditional salt-sugar one, as well.

In general Christmas doesn't differ from a regular weekend for me all that much, except that I listen to the declaration of Christmas Peace and I have rice porridge for breakfast. I also put a little more effort into cooking. I don't cook traditional Christmas dishes, though, except for gravlax and some years I make mushroom salad.

 

[MeekMe]

What do you do to make a head cold more bearable? I’m currently in the middle of the Great Sinus Purge of 2020.
_: (´ཀ`」 ∠):

 

[midwestyankee]

What do you do to make a head cold more bearable? I’m currently in the middle of the Great Sinus Purge of 2020.
_: (´ཀ`」 ∠):

Lots and lots and lots of water. Both in a glass and as steam that you breathe in for several minutes at a time several times each day.

 

[MeekMe]

Lots and lots and lots of water. Both in a glass and as steam that you breathe in for several minutes at a time several times each day.

On it! d(^_^o) Thanks!

 

[cookiecat]

We have the same tradition here, it's next Sunday!

Do you make or have lussekatter (lussebullar) too?

Lutefisk seems to be a complete dish already...so...is the pickled herring served like an appetizer or what?

No to the saffron buns - I had to google. I'd like to try making - I think my mom would get a kick out of doing it together.

The herring is an appetizer.

 

[ultramarineblue]

Our family does christmas and now there's parents plus kids plus grandkids and pets so that's a full table before the friends show up. I'm sure we'll make it work though. Friends can include up to another 20 people. Usually only 10 or so are in town in any given year. Just four of our closest family friends this year though. I suspect my parents neighbours might make an appearance though.
Either way christmas is a big social event for us only rivalled by grand final day or new years so there's always more food than needed and enough wine to float a battle ship.
A drunken swim happens once the oven is turned off for the last time.


The food :
Cheesecake. A friend of the family makes a cheese cake that is divine. Doesn't matter which one she pulls out her armoury, none can match her and best off all she always sets aside few extra pieces for me. Only downside is that it gets served at the end of the night after about 5 hours of eating so there's almost no room in my tummy but I struggle through.
Christmas trees. Egg whites and icing sugar blended together make an edible glue that attaches spearmint leaves or freckles to ice cream cones making a tree. They're left out on the table and each year you swear not to eat them and save your appetite for the 'better' stuff but each year they get picked at and picked at and picked at until there's nothing left.
Pudding. Dad makes one at the end of November then hangs it until christmas day where it gets boiled up and served with the commentary that it looks like placenta. It doesn't but it does taste amazing.
Rum balls and yo-yos are homemade.
Fish comes from an old neighbour.
Prawns, ham and turkey are all store bought.

Boxing day is spent on a couch watching the test, recovering and nursing hang overs. Occasionally the Sydney to Hobart will get a mention.


Keep in mind I'm half a world away from most of you and down here christmas is in summer.

I'm curious about the pudding. What kind of flavor does it have?

What do you do to make a head cold more bearable? I’m currently in the middle of the Great Sinus Purge of 2020.
_: (´ཀ`」 ∠):

Definitely lots of steam like yank said. I usually drink a lot of hot tea with honey and lemon to soothe throat. I think the last one I had I used Vicks vapor rub too. When mine settled into a cough, I have a shot of bourbon, especially before bed. It numbs your throat and stops the cough long enough to go to sleep.

 

[seela]

What do you do to make a head cold more bearable? I’m currently in the middle of the Great Sinus Purge of 2020.
_: (´ཀ`」 ∠):

Get well soon!

 

[MeekMe]

Definitely lots of steam like yank said. I usually drink a lot of hot tea with honey and lemon to soothe throat. I think the last one I had I used Vicks vapor rub too. When mine settled into a cough, I have a shot of bourbon, especially before bed. It numbs your throat and stops the cough long enough to go to sleep.

Get well soon!

Thank you.

 

[TANSTAAFL58]

General conversation question:

What's everybody's favorite holiday tradition and dish?

I read "The Stupidest Angel" by Chris Moore (started yesterday).

On Christmas Eve I listen to a reading of "The Shepherd" by Frederick Forsythe on CBC Radio (Read by the Late Alan Maitland).

After I make a stiff drink, sit through "White Christmas" (Not a fan) waiting to get the TV so I can watch either Alister Simm or George C. Scott tear up scenery as Scrooge. By the end of the movie I'm on drink number three and its time to wrap presents (gift bags for all).

Christmas Day breakfast is Eggs Benedict. The Turkey, by tradition of over 40 years is cooked by the men in the family (I guess I'm on my own this year). Dessert is a flaming Pudding. (We go through a lot of rum between Halloween and Boxing Day).

I'm curious: with all the cultures and locations here, does anyone else practice "First Footing" on New Years' Day? A tradition from the Scottish side of my family that the first person across your threshold on New Years' Day should be a dark haired man carrying a coin, a wee dram and a piece of fruitcake or shortbread. On no account should it be a redhead. My Dad and I were banished to the basement until my Uncle showed up. (It is supposed to mean plenty of food, money and drink for the year).

Does it appear in anyone else's New Year?

 

[TANSTAAFL58]

What do you do to make a head cold more bearable? I’m currently in the middle of the Great Sinus Purge of 2020.
_: (´ཀ`」 ∠):

Whisky is the answer.

A hot toddy in a hot bath or hot tub (do not do this alone) then dry off and straight to bed. You'll sleep like a log. Usually only takes two nights, but I usually milk it for a couple of extra days...

 

[gracie920101]

Whisky is the answer.

A hot toddy in a hot bath or hot tub (do not do this alone) then dry off and straight to bed. You'll sleep like a log. Usually only takes two nights, but I usually milk it for a couple of extra days...

Definitely a hot toddy.

Hot tea of your choice, honey, lemon, with a healthy shot of whiskey. It will make you sweat (which I swear kills the infection) and helps clear the sinuses. Repeat as necessary to maintain clear sinuses.

Definitely makes you feel better.

 

[seela]

Is hot toddy the solution also when you feel like staying in bed all day and not working despite really having to get a truck load of work done by 2 PM today?

I should have gone to the office. No bed there.

 

[MeekMe]

Yeah... I’m not drinking alcohol right now. (>_>) Just going to stick to chamomile steam, hot tea, and slathering my face in petroleum jelly.

 

[twister947]

Yeah... I’m not drinking alcohol right now. (>_>) Just going to stick to chamomile steam, hot tea, and slathering my face in petroleum jelly.

That image may live forever...

 

[MeekMe]

That image may live forever...

Yeah, not pretty but my skin is thanking me today. Everything was raw so I had to put it around my nose just to hold a tissue to it. The good news is, I’ve made it to the other side and I’m feeling much better today.

 

[seela]

No to the saffron buns - I had to google. I'd like to try making - I think my mom would get a kick out of doing it together.

The herring is an appetizer.

Did you make the buns? I made way too many.

 

[cookiecat]

Did you make the buns? I made way too many.

No not yet - we're going to give them a try for Christmas Day.

 

[seela]

No not yet - we're going to give them a try for Christmas Day.

That sounds fun! I hope they turn out good and you like them! Saffron is a bit divisive flavor.