Fionnuala was up at the crack of dawn this morning to hit the supermarket for the traditional pre-Christmas big food shop. At the mention of food, Adam leapt out of bed to accompany her. If only he could be roused so easily on a school morning. Rebecca also joined them, but I remained in bed due to my continuing illness. Even climbing the stairs is hard work at the minute, let alone battling through the festive hordes.
Next thing I knew, it was 10:30 a.m. and they back, laden down with bags of shopping. I can’t remember the last time I slept so late. I stumbled down the stairs to find the kitchen table, laden down with all manner of treats. Foods that we only ever get at Christmas. My favourites are always the various cheeses, crackers and pates. Last year the girls and I set up a cheese society to sample the various produce.
Have you done your Christmas food shopping yet? Or are you a last minute.com person? Perhaps you stick to the same foods all the year around and Christmas is no different? Share your comments below and I’ll read them later, while eating a mince pie or three.
Christmas shopping is so much simpler when you are forced to shop at the local village stores. Much simpler this year. Favourite Christmas food has to be mince pies or crispy roast potatoes.
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Yes, less crowds that’s for sure. I love mince pies!
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What we call Roast Beast…which is roast beef.
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Hard to beat 🙂
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I don’t have any money for Christmas food shopping. I barely have enough for food during the rest of the year as it is. I’m a great fan of roasts, but it’s been awhile since I’ve had one on Christmas day. I keep on fantasising about having roast beef and vegetables with a nice thick gravy and Yorkshire pud, but it’s way beyond my budget. I like Christmas but it’s usually a bit of a non-event for me.
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I’m sorry to hear this. I feel bad now. I shouldn’t have assumed that everyone could afford to go out and buy such luxuries.
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Don’t worry about it. If you can afford it go for it. I’m sure I’d do the same in your position 🙂
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Sounds horrible! 😢 Don’t you have any close ones who could invite you eat with them? I don’t have money either but I always eat with my family who will serve the dinner. I usually only cook ginger breds and give those to my family. I like it, specially the decorating is nice and those decorated ginger breds are so beautiful at Christmas table.
I’m feeling very sad for you. Hugs from Finland!
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Good morning, Stephen. I pray you recover completely before the actual day of Christmas. I admit I am not a great cook, though I enjoy good food. This year I will cook a turkey, make homemade stuffing (the way my grandma used to make), try a sweet potato casserole, and maybe try to make an apple pie with a store bought crust. YUM!
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Sounds like you are a decent cook, Julie. Thank you for your prayers.
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Our Christmas table looks a lot like our Thanksgiving one. There’s always a ham and sweet potato pies.
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Yes, very similar I’m sure.
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Like Jonetta said, our table at Christmas looks a lot like Thanksgiving.
Instead of of turkey we have ham. But I think my favorite food is the mashed potatoes. LOVE me some mashed potatoes! It’s such a comfort food! LOL
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Yes, I like them too. In fact I like all types of potato.
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Little of A, little of B.
I haven’t a favorite at Christmas, but enjoy trying everything.
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I’ll have to be careful as I can’t run at the minute. If I look at food, I put on weight.
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😀 I haven’t run since my surgery, so we’re in the same gravy boat.
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Sad times 😞
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Hope you get well soon. 😢 Well done Fionnuala! 😍 I am lastminute.com as I just don’t feel Christmassy!!
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Oh. Favourite food…my nut roast!!
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Thank you. I hope so as well.
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I don’t have favorite food or expectations. I hope you get well soon!!
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Thank you. I hope so too.
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I love the food we don’t normally have – like cranberry and orange salad, pecan pie. I also love the dish we have often – scalloped potatoes – but is great for any meal.
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The potatoes sound good, but I’m not a fan of cranberries lol.
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Looks scrumptious. Grandma did a wonderful mince pie (made with beef) topped with a shot of whiskey. And ‘schnitz und knep’, dried apples cooked with ham and topped with dumplings. Hope you feel better soon, I had the crud through November. Merry Christmas, Stephen, to you and your family.
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Thank you Larry. And the same to you.
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Well, I’ll be shopping on Sunday evening, or maybe Monday morning… after we decide what the main meat will be. Brisket? Steaks? Prime Rib? Probably something quicker as we are seeing a movie in the afternoon. With that will be stuffed mushrooms, brussels sprouts with bacon, sweet potatoes, and cookies for dessert. Good food is a gift from God, you know…
I have to finish my two sermons yet, so I can’t spend too much time on it right now (or online either!!)
My favorite Christmas treat are the homemade cream caramels my mother made and now I make. She also had the very best sugar cookie recipe that I now use as well. They pretty much define the taste of Christmas for me.
Merry Christmas.
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Happy Christmas Carla. I hope you get your sermons prepared and enjoy the day.
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For Christmas Eve- the holiday- in my husband’s S. American family we have roast pork with veggies of all kinds. This year I am making stuffed mushrooms and cheesy twice baked potatoes for that event. Christmas Day we have an open house and mix up the menu every year. This year is Italian themed with my Dad making “sauce” and rigatoni. I am making a white seafood lasagna. For nibbles, white pizza with clams and a charcuterie board. Dessert- I am trying a cannoli dip and a lemon-limencello cake.
My mom used to make chocolates for the Christmas holiday and they were wonderful. She would open her “candy shop” and make all different types of chocolates then give them as gifts. She tried to teach my brother and I but we were poor students. I wish I would’ve listened better so that I could continue the tradition.
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It sounds like you are doing a pretty good job and creating your own traditions. I hope you all have a great Christmas.
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I hope you do as well!
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Other than some different baking, shortbread, etc… it’s all the same food for us. Hope you’re in the mend!
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Thank you. I’m feeling pretty lousy but hopefully will improve.
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My mom likes getting a lot of different cheese around Christmas too. Baking galore of cookies. Almost every day it is something new.
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Sounds like my kind of Christmas 😊
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We do an altered version of a Polish traditional Christmas on Xmas eve with my dad’s family. No meat (only fish) and 12 dishes (as opposed to 12 courses). On Xmas day I see my mum’s family and we have traditional English Xmas dinner/lunch with roast veg, Turkey and pork.
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That sounds like a great blend. Enjoy your Christmas.
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Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear you’re poorly … is this a flu type of thing? You did say you were very tired 🙁. As for Christmas food, I can’t specify a favourite; I love all the turkey, stuffing, bread sauce, potatoes and Brussels sprouts … all covered with masses of gravy! I could eat it over and over again. But NOT the Christmas pudding or mince pies or Christmas cake … utterly revolting! Get better very soon and have a very happy Christmas.
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I had the same problem 18 months ago. Blood tests showed up a folic acid deficiency. I’ve exactly the same anaemia type symptoms now. Exhausted. Just want to sleep all the time. It’s pretty demoralising.
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Strange … this is what I had a few weeks ago, folic acid deficiency. Right, well I can totally empathise, you must be feeling completely exhausted. Take it easy and yes, this is the time to be kind to yourself. Hope you feel better quickly and have a lovely family time over the next week with lots of scrummy food, gorgeous trashy telly and fun games around the table with the children. 😊😊
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That is weird. I’m going to try and get an emergency appointment at the doctors tomorrow morning. See what they say.
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Definitely … I’m sorry you’re feeling rough. Keep us posted yes?
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Foods that speak to me of Christmas are typically those things I grew up enjoying at this time of year. Peppernuts, Mandarin oranges, turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, Brussels sprouts, Turtles, ham, pumpkin pie, shortbread, gingerbread, mixed nuts…
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I’ve never heard of a peppernut. What are they?
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do I have to pick just one? I love it all – the meats, cheeses, cookies, candy, chocolates Mmmmm ! Merry Christmas and happy feasting!
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Thank you Carol. I’m hungry now lol.
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Your fault – you started it hahaha Enjoy every morsel!
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When I was a child, I was very fond of Christmas pudding, which my English grandmother sent us from England (they’re now available in the United States, but weren’t was I young).
In college I generally had lentil soup for Christmas—a deliberately anti-festive meal.
My wife has occasionally roasted a duck for Christmas, but now that my son is vegetarian, we’ll probably have something tofu based. She does do a bit more baking at this time of year, so there may be a cake sometime, and we had shortbread solstice cookies.
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Yes, I love Christmas pudding as well. With custard!
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I always make “Christmas Cut-outs” … cookies which are an heirloom recipe, from my mother’s side of the family … her family came from lower Alsace-Lorraine & were as much French as German & this is reflected in the cooking, as well as the dialect they spoke (as I found out when I took German).
These cookies are more butter cookies than sugar cookies. They are like little cakes, incredibly rich and crumbly. They are decorated with a thick butter-cream frosting and colored sugars.
I used to make giant platters of cookies … at least half-a-dozen or more different kinds & the Cut-Outs were always the jewels of the platter. I would give platters to friends & neighbors at the holidays. I would start planning these platters around the end of October.
This year … the losses have so racked up … I am so horribly depressed … that I have not made a single cookie. Yesterday I did make banana bread because I had two bananas that needed to be processed. But I can’t bring myself to make cookies this year. I don’t want to eat them & my son informed me that he doesn’t want to eat any cookies either. He wants to rejoin his gym & get buffed again.
I should bake something. Perhaps I will. Maybe some spritz. At three in the morning, anything is possible … by noon, forget about it.
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I’m sorry to hear you are so depressed. I’ve been in that dark place as well but I crawled back out. I hope you can as well.
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mince pies is my all time fav of course….a delightful blog…thank you for sharing
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I love them too. Thank you very much.
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Russian New Year table 🙂 – my fav food
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What type of foods are there?
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Mostly I love salad with salty herring ;))
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I love the entrees like rosolli salad and lax, potato casserole is the best casserole on Christmas. I like also turkey, not so much ham which is more common here in Finland and that’s what I usually get. Also I love ginger breads and riseporridge.
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It’s so interesting to learn how people dine at Christmas in other countries. I’ve always wanted to visit Scandinavia 🙂
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Well then…Wellcome to Finland!
If you don’t know what’s rosolli salad, you can check it here…
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Here is the link…
https://tanssitytto.wordpress.com/2018/12/20/advent-calendar-20-12-rosolli-salad/
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Thank you very much 😊
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Reblogged this on Exploring.
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Thank you for the reblog 😊
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Gummy candies in the shape of Rudolph!
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Interesting choice lol
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Lol… ya 😊 🎄
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