12.20.09
Christmas at ours…
I don’t know whether it’s a new house or the new occupant.. but a certain somebody else is actually not so bah humbug this year. The Christmas tree hasn’t even had one nasty word said to it. So it’s been fun planning and scheming Christmas treats with someone who is more on the enthusiastic side than last year. 
We’re having Haoran’s side of the family over for Christmas this weekend. Our first Christmas in our house. Our first Christmas with our precious boy. So we’re trying to figure out… what makes it Christmas for us?
Well, when it comes to us… or our family in general… food makes the atmosphere. And, face it, food is important at Christmas time. Haoran is making his famous turkey from last year – this may be a tradition in the making. I am making fabulous gluten free, dairy free desserts (it’s not that difficult!). One is an apple and rhubarb pudding. My mum taught me this pudding – it’s super easy. Make your pie filling i.e. boil apple and rhubarb with sugar cloves and cinnamon to oblivion, and pour a gluten free cake mix over the top. Bake and you’re done! I may sprinkle some icing sugar over the top so it looks a bit more complicated.
My other dessert is a lemon meringue pie. I admit I’ve only made the lemon filling so far… but it doesn’t seem too hard. Actually the hardest part will probably be making gluten free pastry. I’m trying a new recipe so we’ll see if it cuts it in the big time.
18 hours late – early on the morning of
Oh MAN!
Haoran and have finally succumbed to the colds that have been dancing around our glands for the last few days. We both feel like rubbish and we’re supposed to be hosting Christmas??? Thank you God for parents and brother and sister-in-law’s who will be here early to help!
The morning after…
Ohhhhhh that could have been alot worse than it actually was. But still, it was a struggle to get through it! My cold got worse and worse throughout the day. So the brunch was enjoyable (especially the Spelt and Maple museli G and M brought… YUM) and so was present opening. Well… Micah enjoyed the sound of ripping wrapping paper anyway.
But by the time people were arriving for dinner I was pretty useless. Haoran kept it together a little bit better because he was allowed to take decongestant. I tell you what… breast feeding can be a bum sometimes. Anyway I got through with a fire-engine-red dripping nose, weepy eyes and temporary deafness in one ear. I looked like a had been crying and, to be honest, I felt like it several times during the evening.
Yet the food was good and plentiful (so much so that our fridge is still full) the people enjoyed themselves, and my desserts turned out mostly ok! My easy pudding could have used a bit more time in the oven. But the lemon meringue was surprisingly hard to stuff up. The best part (well… for me anyway) was that Micah went to sleep at 7 without complaint and slept through all the noise and children screaming. So good…..
So… the evening was not as idilic as I had hoped. But perhaps it will become legendary. As in – If I can do it with a humongous disgusting cold then it’s going to be EASY on a healthy day!
I may be allowing myself to wallow in self-pity and curl up in a corner today (read: recovering) but I already have a flood of plans for Christmas proper (being spent with my side of the family). I still have 5 days to concoct plans of home made marshmallows and honeycomb and other lovely goodnesses. And maybe this time I might have the presence of mind to take photos!
One of the better moments of the day