Lovely, cosy 'cliched' European Christmas for Australians!

[SecretEscapesWannabe]

Sorry for long title.

This year, for the first time in 15 years my parents are coming to us for Christmas. They live in Australia,and are Jewish to boot, so Christmas is not a big thing for them, or indeed for me growing up. (obviously).

I ADORE Christmas, and want to go completely domestic-goddess mad this year.

I'd love some assistance and thoughts from people about Christmas themes and menus. Our dining room is painted dark red so I am thinking a red and gold theme with lots of fairy lights. Our kitchen is pale, so i wanted white and silver decorations.

For Christmas eve I wanted to have a christmas eve box for DS (aged 7)and adults with warm pjs, Christmas dvds (ideas welcome!) hot chocolate sachets and marshmallows and mulled wine for adults. We will be attending a church service early evening for carols etc. I am mulling over a Christmas eve menu- when we used to have my ILs over I would always do a ham, but that is clearly our of the question this year. I'd love some ideas.

Christmas day we are doing our usual;

smoked salmon, quails eggs and bread and butter
slow-roast goose with all trimmings
christmas pudding icecream with lots of brandy.

Boxing day we usually had leftover ham and cauliflower cheese so again I am looking for ideas. We usually go to the pub late afternoon with friends.

I'd love to know what family traditions you have, what meals etc for Christmas eve and Boxing day etc. We literally have no family traditions of our own (maybe we would do a Christmas day beach BBQ just for the fun of it, but Christmas was not a big thing what with being Jewish and all!) and I sort of absorbed my DH's family traditions which to be honest were relatively simple....a couple of meals and some fizz and that is it. I'm a total sucker for European snow and schmaltz at Christmas time!

My parents are thrilled to be joining us this year, and will really relish a European Christmas. So any ideas thoughts, just general sharing of excitement is very welcome. :)

Thanks!

(sorry for long post)

Ooh - how exciting!
First question - what are your parents' dietary restrictions - kosher, or just pig/shellfish avoiding?

A trip out to see everyone's window lights?
Trip to a nearby city to see the lights
A festival of 9 lessons and carols at 3pm radio
strictly at christmas

Chocolate log properly decorated
Christmas cake properly decorated
Christmas songs/radio

As an Australian living in the U.K. for the past 15 years, anything to do with the cold! So if you know of local carols outdoors (a local square does carols singing outside from house-to-house and mulled wine after. mulled wine is my very favourite because you don't have it in the hot summer!

Oh. You asked for themes and menus. Oops.

Oh well, I'm on a roll.

Outside ice skating.

Any mince pie based activities?

Got to be beamed country pubs with fireplace and a walk around an old city (i.e. York, Canterbury etc)
Food wise Pie is a good Xmas eve shout, we actually eat out on Christmas Eve (I'm not cooking every meal!) and it's lovely and festive. Baileys! Pickles and mash with cold meat on Boxing Day. Soup with crusty bread warm from oven. Stollen.

Are your mum and dad coming after Chanukah? It ends on the 20th this year. It'd be nice to throw some latkes and applesauce into your food fest (if you're Ashkenazi).

Personally I go mad baking over the holidays - linzer cookies with special cookie cutters to make a star or heart shaped window on the top & raspberry jam in the centre, a chocolate buche de noel with a cooked white icing (gone daft, can't recall the name) with crushed candy cane in the icing, a gingerbread cake w pears in the bottom (which then are on top when you turn it out) that have been sautéed in butter and brown sugar and brandy. That sort of thing.

I'm definitely after all ideas Enid!

ice skating could be a go-er. Deffo hot chestnuts also (pre-DS DH and I loved going to Vienna and going mad on chestnuts and cider at the street markets).

TheSpotted parents are only pig-avoiding. Shellfish is generally fine, and thankfully no meat/dairy combo issues. (Thankfully, so much easier! )

I've never done a Christmas log before so that will be fun. Ditto Christmas cake....... might try my hand at that this year!

imip hi [waves] . I love mulled wine too! Christmas seems 'right' here...DH doesn't believe me when I tell him about Christmas in JUly or the fake snow in windows in December! He will see though- We plan to be in Oz next year for Christmas!

I am so thrilled they are coming. I might even have gone out to buy a christmas decorating magazine and sat in the pub with it and a glass of wine....

They are coming 22nd lizzie. Latkes could be a great idea for Christmas eve!

Oh- stollen. Yes. Lidly do great ones, and they have never had it before. Stollen and baileys!

(We are Ashkenazi, btw.:) )

I love latkes, though spending 8 days with the house stinking of oil wears a bit thin. I grab any Chanukah party going to get away from the cooker! (My teenage son is extremely pro-latke, but terrified of hot oil).

It's such a pretty holiday! I don't like in the UK anymore but loved Christmas there. The shops are so pretty, the telly is so good, the food is amazing, and the countryside smells amazing.

Live in the U.K., not like. Bloody phone.

I love Christmas too, here lizzie. I am a bit of 'lets celebrate everything' person, and I love the snuggling down at home, with the fireplace, christmas tv (I discovered The Snowman at the same time as DS)!

A few years ago on MN I read about the concept of the Christmas eve box with new pjs and dvds. I love that idea very much.

Me too. I also love Halloween! I wouldn't go to church, but the seasonal aspects of Christmas are wonderful.

I always made my kids new pyjamas and hat was what they got to open Christmas Eve.

Panto!!!!!

Our Christmas tradition is loaded nachos for Boxing Day lunch. I am veggie - Christmas dinner doesn't do much for me - but nachos.....

You'll need a sherry trifle on Boxing Day!

Sherry trifle!

I am making notes.

Panto, that could be fun!

Things is... growing up in Australia, the thought of cold wintry Christmas- it seemed so exotic!

I still feel that sort of wonder and excitement! I know my parents will love it.

Panto? I thought you were after good ideas?

A real tree. Tinsel. Get them making paper chains.

A German market if they're still open? I know they're not British, but they're not Australian either are they?

How lovely! Love a good cosy Christmas thread

We usually have ham on Christmas Eve too, which isn't much help to you, but my husband made a game pie one year which was very well received (if a bit time consuming to make). We also get lots of cheese (especially Stilton), nice chutneys and preserves, dried figs and a big cracker selection box. I think fish is traditional on Christmas Eve too, so a fish pie might be an idea? Or a salmon? And I completely agree with the poster who recommended cold cuts of meat, chutney etc on Boxing Day. We usually make up sandwiches with leftover meat and stuffing and go for a long walk. In terms of snacks, you can't go wrong with a tin of Quality Street, and lots of satsumas and nuts, IMO We're planning on trying a gingerbread house kit with lots of icing and sweets this year. I'm not sure they taste great, but fun for your DS to put together.

Drinks-wise, I would add sloe gin to the mix (still time to make your own - the sloes are out and there are masses of recipes online - or shop-bought ones are lovely too), either neat or in prosecco to make cocktails. We have German relations who do an amazing thing that translates as 'Fire-Tongs Punch' (I think), which involves warming a pan of mulled wine and bringing it to the table, then piling up sugar cubes in a pyramid in a metal sieve which rests on the pan, pouring brandy over the sugar cubes and setting fire to the brandy / sugar. The sugar caramelises and drips down into the wine, and you keep adding brandy and relighting each time it goes out. It's completely lethal, but tastes amazing and looks really pretty: we do it with most of the lights out so that we can see the blue flames.

Lots of National Trust properties do lovely things over the Christmas period and are decorated really beautifully - maybe see if there's anywhere locally that looks good? And Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is always really special, I think, though you / your parents may not fancy such a late night. We always try and listen to the '9 Lessons and Carols from King's' on the radio / BBC, and we put a bag of porridge oats and glitter in our DCs' Christmas box as sparkly 'reindeer food' for them to scatter in the garden - your parents might enjoy doing that with your DS? (So might you!)

Have a lovely time

Drinks must include the traditional Snowball, there is a tinned version which is OK, Sherry to go with a mince pie and carrot on Christmas Eve for Father Christmas, hot whiskey with lemon and cloves and sugar is good after a walk in the cold, Bucks Fizz for breakfast on Christmas morning!!

Hey OP I’m coming to yours!!