A Very English Christmas (Early)

Today we celebrated Christmas a little early and in true English form - how fun! Some how Simon and Sarah were able to find a turkey this early so they took on the task of preparing all the food for our event. A traditional English Christmas meal includes turkey, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, parsnips, stuffing, bacon wrapped sausages, carrots, brussels sprouts, and cranberry sauce - very similar to an American Thanksgiving dinner with a few different twists.

The next tradition is Christmas Crackers!!! No, you don't eat these. They are little tube like things that you pull apart with someone and they pop (they have a tiny explosive in them). Inside the crackers are usually some type of gift or party favor depending on how much you want to spend on them. We had really nice ones that had paper crowns in them which everyone had to wear at dinner, also a riddle and a little something else. I got a top and Danny Wong got a pink bath sponge!!! Check out everyone in their party hats....

Addison enjoyed a Flake ice cream cone for dessert....

The adults got to enjoy a traditional Christmas pudding drenched in rum, lit on fire and then served with custard - yummy!!!!!

After dinner and pudding, we retired in the living room where we happily exchanged some very fun gifts. We got our friends the Breast Cancer Awareness Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks brought all the way here from the US via my mom and dad. Both families have lost friends and loved ones to Breast Cancer so we wanted to show our support for them. We also gave them both a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese which some of you may think is really corny but they don't have this wonderful American food here and they have been quite curious to why we like it so much, so we had to let them try for themselves.

The Gorman/ Claytons got us a wonderful array of English goodies including biscuits, cheese, a bottle of port, lemon curd and jam. We also got a family organizer calendar to keep our busy schedules straight - it is just like the one that Simon comes around with about once a month to sort out our schedules with theirs. The Wong's gave me a new wok so I can make proper Chinese food now that I have the right recipes from Min. Addison got Shrek ears and Shrek the Halls DVD from the Wong's which suited her very well. Harrison got Christmasy outfits from both families which I can't wait to have him wear.

After fighting with a dry erase marker, Addison entertained us all with some singing in Yi Xuen's new High School Musical microphone. She had a ball!!!

The final treat of the evening were some very nice mince pies from Waitrose!!! Sarah and Min cut open the tops so we could lather the insides with butter and eat them up. Mince pies are actually very, very good. They are loaded with raisans, sultanas, and other dried fruits with a great short crust pastry!!!

English Christmas's are very fun and I can't wait to carry on some of these traditions in our family throughout the years!!!