Forging New Tradtions. An Oxymoron?

Christmas has always been a favourite time of year for me. As a child I loved the feeling of excitement in the air as the big day approached, I loved seeing decorations everywhere, I loved the buying & decorating of the family Christmas tree, & of course I loved seeing what Santa had left for my sister & I on Christmas morning. Christmas day itself was a cramped, hot, barely contained argument of 4 generations & a traditional hot roast squashed around the Parker dining table in our tiny kitchen.

Flash forward a few decades & Christmas was a time of The Santa Wake up (Santa would only come to you at my parents house if you believed in him, so I was a believer until I was 26), a huge christmassy fry up breakfast, travelling over an hour in 40 degree heat to my Auntie & Uncles up in the Blue Mountains, where much cold seafood & champagne was consumed. Driving home one year we had to go through a bushfire, & then pull over so Teenage Daughter (not so teenage then) could violently vomit all over the tarmac of a Servo. We went to close friends for Christmas evening, which was a relief of non argumentative civilisation. I was often in tears by the time we got there.

So now. NOW. We live in Brisbane, too far for the Christmas Day commute. As mentioned earlier, we are buying out of the whole family drama & not travelling to Sydney. We are staying put, to forge our own Christmas Traditions. After much thought, our family traditions include;

Having a real tree. We haven't always done this, & might not this year, but it doesn't feel like Christmas unless the smell of pine is in the house.

Cold Seafood for lunch Starters always include smoked salmon. I'm hoping for oysters, but prawns alone would be acceptable. Also cold turkey, cold ham on the bone, & some salads. One year I baked a whole salmon, which might be a wonderful tradition to continue. One year I made reindeer pies out of venison. Pudding with custard &/or vanilla ice cream, Pavlova.

Christmas Drink. As much as I carry on about wine, I don't really drink too much. I do appreciate a cold bubbly at Christmas though.

Crackers. Also known as Bonbons. I must have them. I force everyone to wear those stupid hats, too.

Decorations. I have my own little rituals of decorating at Christmas. There is the Santa collection that is expanded every year. There are always new decorations to add to the tree, every year. I have some deer candle holders that need to be put out &, the most important of all, a pair of candlesticks I hand painted as a new mum, to celebrate our first Christmas as a family.  Mr BC won't be happy to know that this year, my Christmas decorating will also include painting the dining room wall.

Christmas Baking. Baking is something I do at all times of the year, because I am a glutton love it. I love giving people what I have baked, as a way of showing my love for them. I love that my family eats every crumb of everything I bake, it makes me feel very appreciated. For a while, my Christmas baking tradition was gingerbread cookies as tree decorations, inspired by Martha Stewart. Beautiful, but not so suited to an Australian Christmas. Every year I bake many many traditional ginger breads, something I still do. The recipe is here. Also, every year, my mum bakes a delicious Christmas cake, which I try & ration out to at least the second week of January.

Because we are not going to spend Christmas with the extended family this year, I am a bit sad to miss out on my mums Christmas cake - but that is OK, because the point I am making is that traditions don't have to stay the same. Sounds like an oxymoron, but I think traditions need to change to adapt to different circumstances - especially family, especially Christmas. I don't have to go without a bloody Christmas cake! I'm a pretty good cook, I could make one myself. OR...

I can buy one from Bakers Delight.

And while I am there, I could grab some of those Lemon Tarts, just as a change from all that ginger & cinnamon & dried fruit going around.

And, I've never been a fan of Mince Pies, but my sister swears that Bakers Delight make the best Mince Pies in the world, so I should at least try them.

Oh, look what just arrived at the front door!

Personally delivered by the cheery lady from Bakers Delight Margate.