Family, feasting, fun and festivities

 Merry Christmas everyone.  I write this in a Boxing Day haze after a lovely, chilled Christmas Day.  I celebrated with just my immediate family - the lovely bloke and the three lummoxes.  My family are mostly situated in Melbourne these days and the Harrison clan are well spread - with the main base still in Dunedin.  We chose to stay home with all three boys at home and juggling holiday work it just made sense.  It did mean we missed out on the fabulous, craziness that sometimes accompanies large family celebrations.  We all managed a great day full of excesses none the less.
Mrs Harrison - Christmas faces - check out the new sunnies
Christmas with teenagers and young adults is a weird thing after the years of early morning visits from little boys, leaping into our bed with news of Santa's visit and hauling rustling Santa sacks on top of the covers; once one was in we had all three, our bed filled to capacity with boys, paper and little gifts chosen carefully to provide enough entertainment and calories to afford us another couple of minutes in bed.  These days we are up first, drinking coffee, twiddling our thumbs and looking at the presents under the tree.  Lummox number 2 is an early riser and he rallies the troops for us to get Christmas underway.

We always start our day by exchanging gifts.  My name is Mum, so that means I pretty much know the contents of every parcel under the tree.  The boys think carefully about what to give, they like to play a couple of tricks - but the thought in their presents comes through.  I wrap some special stuff for myself from Santa.  He knows me so well, my dress and shoe size, my favourite perfume...  

Food is of course one of the main features of Christmas Day.  It takes some time to develop your own traditions around Christmas food - we all have experiences of close and extended family Christmas celebrations that feed into our expectations of Christmas Day feasting.  Christmas Eve is often the first moment we all get together, so we sit down to glazed ham and salads to reconnect and to build anticipation for Christmas.  

On Christmas Day we have three meals - Brunch, Christmas Dinner and Dessert - some may consider the last two part of the same meal - but we like to pace ourselves and usually get to dessert around 8pm.  

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and bacon is always the request for Christmas Brunch - washed down with bubbles - it sets us up for the day.
Eggs Benny for brunch - yummo!
In year's gone past I have juggled cooking Christmas Dinner with building complex lego sets and assembling and unpackaging (the packaging on children's toys is insane) all sorts of things.  I miss taking new bikes out for a ride and getting down on the floor to play with the latest and greatest toys of the season.  Gifts for young adults are much more practical or personal in nature and not nearly so much fun.

I love preparing a Christmas feast for my family.  We go for traditional fare, an enormous turkey stuffed with a festive stuffing made from pure pork sausages, pistachio and hazelnuts, herbs from the garden and cranberries, prunes and dried apricots.  The bird is topped with smoky bacon.  The giblets and turkey neck are roasted off and put to simmer with all the trimmings from the stuffing and vegie prep to make a rich stock for the gravy to be made much later.
Free range turkey - stuffed and ready to roast
We also have new potatoes, fresh peas and baby carrots.  I love sitting outside and podding the peas (I know it is really called shucking).  This is always a team effort.
Fresh peas - which is tastier the pea or the pod?
I also love getting out the special table linen - the beautiful table cloth and napkins given to me by my grandmother as a wedding present.  I love dressing the table ready for the feast - only 5 places set this year but the table cloth plus the another smaller but equally special one will cover table space for about 20 people if needed.
Table set for our Christmas feast
One of the great joys of a Christmas in our lovely part of the world is being able to be outside.  We enjoyed our Christmas Dinner on the patio under the shade sail.  Lummox no.2 has been working on a vineyard and kindly shared his Christmas bonus wine with us for Christmas Dinner.
Feasting fun!
More feasting!
The best thing about celebrations like Christmas has to be having the family home.  We really missed being with our extended families this year - but absolutely cherish the time with our own kids all at home with us.  We missed being around little children - but enjoyed the company of the young men in our lives.
Pavlova, strawberry cheesecake and a bowl of berries for dessert
So, today is all about relaxation and reflection on the great day we had yesterday.  We have a boy who turns 19 this Thursday and our attention will turn to that celebration before New Year.  For most of us this week brings holiday respite from our busy lives - of course our little town is buzzing with visitors and for so many they are in the busiest and most productive part of the working year - so enjoy what Cromwell has to offer - visit our restaurants, bars and cafes; take time to swim in the lake and browse Old Cromwell.  The challenge for those of us who live here is to see the town with fresh eyes this time of year - through the eyes of all our visitors and to make sure we make the most of all that our amazing wee town has to offer.

Have a great week - I'll be in touch in the New Year...



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