Christmas ?

So it’s almost Christmas

“France says” asks how we all celebrate this – see http://francesays.com/

I have only just got the tree up (don’t ask) and the gifts wrapped (nearly) so am less organised than  ever this year.

One likely reason for this casual attitude is that , for the first time ever since I left my parent’s home, I am not feeding or entertaining lots of people.

Now I am no Scrooge, and I love feeding people and the highlights of Christmas over the years have included a three course feast in Cornwall when my flatmate & I fed 21 people ( including 15 omnivores,  5 vegetarians & a vegan) with a degree of both success & panache.

Then there was the year that, due to the fact that the visitors couldn’t all make it on the one day, I did five serious feasts between Christmas Eve & New Year’s Day.

Our family rituals include decorating the tree with almost forty years of decorations including the children’s vintage baby wooden ones ( of course decorations have to be hung so they work visually for me & my artistic sensibilities & stress-witch tendencies) watching the “family film” ( the only year my mother in law was silent for three hours was when we endured “Titanic”, though my dad was utterly enthralled by “Moulin Rouge”the following year) playing board games and Scrabble ( something my son-in-law & other incomers have had to learn to love) quizzes, charades and highly competitive little corner card games between my daughter & Trevor.

We usually host on Christmas Eve & open our presents the minute everyone is awake on Christmas day & if I don’t see my children on the day, I am out of sorts for weeks. Crazy, I know…

So, this year, it is just me and the old guy until later when we go over to K&G’s for nibbles and drinks and a family film – the grandson has selected  Julia Donaldson & Axel Sheffler’s “Stick man” a bedtime story favourite.

We will have dinner in our favourite Italian restaurant with my son and his new wife on Boxing Day. Apart from those, no commitments for once.

So, if I don’t have to feed hordes and we can eat what we like , what will it be?

Well, the feast that we set before some foodie friends a couple of weeks ago, and our most successful dinner party menu ever, will be recreated. This time I will remember to photograph and share the damn thing before it is demolished in a feeding frenzy………..