What's your quirky Christmas Day Tradition?

[Kali]

Ok, in the spirit of getting to know everyone a little better (or at least your odd side!) I'd like to know what your special Christmas Day tradition is! 😛resent0:


Personally, I think Christmas Day should be a 'Free Pass' day - so you get to eat tea at breakfast, wear your pants on your head and lounge in jimjams all day (which I do with great ease, particularly the pants on head) but for the last 12 years or so my boyf now husband and I have a different Christmas meal to most people in the UK. We eat a CURRY!

Don't get me wrong - I can cook. I'm a real little Nigella - bread, jams, chutneys, biscuits, cakes - I even made my own marzipan last year for the home made christmas cake, to go with the home made mince meat and mince pies, home made christmas pud and even, home made Baileys. And I like it all rich, chock with cream, butter, booze, sugar - hey, you think I keep this curvy physique with salad? Which is exactly why we eat curry. To me roast turkey is just a glorified sunday roast, and as I spend about 4 hours on a sunday and 2 hours every other day of the week cooking, I would need to be in the kitchen all day on Christmas day to make it stand out from the rest of the year.

So, every Christmas Eve we go to our favourite curry house, order about £40 of curry - 3 or 4 main currys, 10 side dishes, bhajis, samosas, naans etc - more than you would ever spend if you went out to eat there, less than you would spend on a Christmas dinner, and we bring it all home and whack it in the fridge. Christmas day, we reheat what we want, when we want. No washing up, no standing over a stove, and a damned fine currytastic treat to boot!:santa2:

So what's your quirky Christmas tradition?:raindeer:

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Mmm...Christmas curry...drool. Sounds good to me...nothing quirky there 🙂 Actually, I reckon I could knock up a perfectly servicable curry themed Christmas dinner...Turkey Jalfrezi, Parsnip and Sprout Balti plus multi-coloured Pilau Rice (v festive, trust me 🙂)

We don't do anything unusual over Christmas...unless you count never having spent Christmas Day in our own house. We always go down to my Mum's for a few days and Christmas Dinner is always eaten in a local pub, so no-one has to do any of the Christmas grunt work while everyone else chills out 😉

 

[Kali]

Parsnip and sprout balti? A windy christmas for you then!

Pub dinner - now THAT sounds like a plan! It always seems really expensive to eat out on christmas day - hadn't thought of a pub 🙂

 

[kitty-cat]

My family stays at home and as every year we will eat potato salad with wieners or meatballs. That's a saxon tradition (my Grandma was from Saxony) and after dinner we get our presents...

 

[Kali]

ahhh someone said to me recently I should have been German 'cos their big day is Christmas eve and Christmas day is potato salad and sausage!

Might have to add potato salad to my boxing day feast (just can't resist the ham, mash and pickles!)

 

[zombie.apparatus]

My family get together for a xmas breakfast, lunch and dinner. Because we dont have a white christmas where I am... in Australia.. yes it does snow SOME places in oz.. just not here.. or snow at this time.. we usuaully have my mums awesome trifle.. and i think every year we have mananged to do something to the turkey.. like back in 2000, my pop tried to put out the turkey that he tried to cook on teh BBQ and caught fire.. so put it out with the tongs and t-towel.. yah.. like that worked.. a few years later my aunty put the turkey in the oven and we were staying at the beach.. and we were at my mums room, outside... and we saw smoke come from my aunties unit.. and we thought OMG the turkey .. so we rushed over.. but it wasnt on fire.. just ALOT of smoke.. and the fire alaram went off.. and my pop was asleep upstairs and didnt wake up.. if there was a fire and it burnt down.. the alarm wouldnt have done much!

anyways back to my xmas traditions.. my mums trifle.. vollyball in the pool... charades... catch phrase.. yes we play it. its so fun.. does anyone have the board game? thisyear we are going to the beach at a beach front resort which should be fun 🙂

 

[Joamna]

We don't really have that many traditions in my family, we almost always celebrate on different places and with different people, at least not the same two years in a row, usually. The only thing that we do every christmas is that my parents wake me and my brother up, singing a christmas carol, and they bring us breakfast in bed and a little present. We still do this, even if I'm now 21 and my brother is 25, heh, wouldn't be christmas if we didn't. My brother and I did however talk about maybe doing this for our parents this year instead..

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

OK. I never work from December 21-28th.
The reason for this is because the 21st is shopping day.
I spend the entire day buying absolutely everything I need(unless it's a Sunday then I split it over the 20th and 21st).
The 22nd is the day I totally gut my Kitchen. I clean absolutely everything. My kitchen is not dirty BUT it gets cluttered with stuff.
This I start around 9am and because of my high standards I'm generally finished for 2pm.
I then have myself a nice long relaxing bath(with Christmas Essence in the water). By now its around 4pm, so I start making pastry.
I make alot because I REALLY like baking.
This takes me to about 10/11pm when I get an early night because the 23rd is the day of baking.
I get up at 7am and make myself a Cup of Coffee. By 8am, I'm ready.
I start.
First is the Gingerbread. I make enough Gingerbread to feed the 5000.
This is the hardest thing on my list of things to make simply because it takes up time.
While that is setting, I'll start on Mince Pies, Sausage Rolls and Jam/Lemon Curd tarts.
Generally by now, i'm a lil tipsy because i've been drinking the sweet sherry that is supposed to be for the Mince Pies😉.
I'm also singing Christmas Carols/Songs. Probably Fairytale in New York or the ONLY Chris De Burgh song that I like, 'A Spaceman came Travelling'.
The first lot of baking has now been done, so I begin on the biscuits and cookies.
This year my list is:
Choco Pretzels
Mocha Meringue
Almond Shortbread
Chocolate Fingers
Lady Fingers
Macaroons
Apricot Macaroons

This is the end of my day.
Christmas Eve, I wake up at 6am because of the baking I still have to do.
I still have Cakes and Buns to make as well as other miscellaneous treats.
My list this year:
White Chocolate Muffins
Chocolate Log with Butter cream
Fairy Cakes
Strawberry Mousse
Chocolate Mouse
Mascapone Trifle

This usually takes me to about 3pm. When i'm done I take half of what i've made to the Community Center because every Christmas Eve, they have a function for the local people to come and have fun.

I don't stay for the function because I spend the eve with my family at my grans who has made a lavish feast.
Because of our families origins in Austria, we celebrate the giving of the gifts on Christmas Eve at 9pm. We then all go home and watch whatever movies are on TV.

We wake up on the BIG day bright and early. We have a special full English cooked Breakfast.
After that, as a family we go to my Grans to help in preparation for the Christmas Feast that we eat at precisely 3.15pm because there is no way we will miss the Queen.

Then for the rest of the day we sit around watching TV, drinking copious amounts of alcohol and just enjoying the wonders of life.

The left over food from Christmas Day is served on Boxing Day in a salad stylee.

My favourite food day, however, is the 27th. Curried Turkey day. We have a Turkey that is so big it takes three days to eat, so on the 3rd day we simply curry it.

 

[Kali]

That's not quirky BotD, that's plain BONKERS! What are you, a pastry chef?

Seriously - pass me the recipies for the chocolate pretzels and white choc muffins.....

 

[Nix]

this is our xmas day menu so far lol (depending on if im in hospital lol)

 

[Edmund Blackadder]

White Chocolate Muffin:
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup butter, melted but not hot
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3/4 cup white choco-chips
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

for that extra special treat, Kali, add a 1/4 cup of diced fruit of choice(I prefer Strawberry)
This makes 12🙂

Chocolate Pretzels:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 7 tablespoons superfine sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
CP Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (semisweet)
- Powdered sugar for dusting

Yummy🙂

I trained in a Kitchen in the pastry section when I was in University, but i'm not one now. I just love Christmas and treats and it's the ONLY time of the year I can REALLY let myself go🙂

 

[Mr. Pointy]

BotD - For those of us who don't know much about baking, how do you combine the above ingredients to create the muffins and pretzels? I probably won't make them, just interested but Kali and others might want to know oven temps etc. However, if anyone wants to send me a muffin basket for Christmas...🙂

 

[Wicked]

I shouldnt have read this thread. I was already hungry. This thread didnt help 🙁

 

[eponinethen]

We don't really have that many traditions in my family, we almost always celebrate on different places and with different people, at least not the same two years in a row, usually. The only thing that we do every christmas is that my parents wake me and my brother up, singing a christmas carol, and they bring us breakfast in bed and a little present. We still do this, even if I'm now 21 and my brother is 25, heh, wouldn't be christmas if we didn't. My brother and I did however talk about maybe doing this for our parents this year instead..

I didn't know you did that, that's awesome 🙂

Anyways, we celebrate Christmas Eve in Sweden, so Christmas Day is nothing special (except for people who go to church I guess, which I've never done).

But on Christmas Eve, we have our own tradition in my family. We don't really do the whole Swedish Christmas food deal, we just make everyone's favourite foods, and eat from like all afternoon/night. And open presents of course. And play board games. Mostly it's just about all the food though. Mm. Gotta love food..

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

Can you count clearing up sick after kids who are too excited to sleep a tradition? :looking:

If not, then considering we have 5 kids I wouldn't say we have any quirky traditions at all.......... just the usual stuff I'm afraid. 😉

 

[Dancing man]

Im boring I chill out and watch Dvds all day really.

 

[Kali]

Dullsville! Not even crackers and a tub of malteasers whilst watching It's a Wonderful Life'?!?!?

 

[killerdwarf]

For the last couple of years, we've had Christmas at Chez Dwarf...30+ lb turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and all that stuff. We've had an assortment of friends and family, all of whom eat too much (that's OK, though, less to clean up after). Lotsa talk, then everyone goes home and I get to do 3 hour's worth of dishes. The only special thing we do is buy some Kona coffee (from Hawaii). It's about 45 bucks a pound, so we buy half a pound and make some good strong brew for after dinner...only problem is, I don't get to sleep until 3am...which is OK...I get to try out all the new video games after the kids have passed out...😉

 

[Kali]

And you get to do the dishes buzzing your bits off.... .a fair trade.

My husband came back with the Boxing Day ham on Sunday. I have pointed out to him we now need to buy a bigger pan, as it's larger than our son was when he was born. Sod the turkey - I'm going to eat ham for a month!

 

[killerdwarf]

And you get to do the dishes buzzing your bits off.... .a fair trade.

Yeah, I'm like a hummingbird on crack after a cup or two of that stuff...it tastes wonderful, though...and the dishes get cleaned up so fast...😉