A Very British Christmas Feast

   I think I will always remember our Christmas Feast in Cambridge. It was a massive feat of deliciousness. 

   We began with a "starter" of shrimp with Rose Marie sauce. Oh my word. I don't even like shrimp but this was delicious! And even better, it's extremely easy. The fancy Rose Marie sauce is really just ketchup and mayonnaise! Mix. Serve. Impress. (You don't have to tell them it's just ketchup & mayonnaise if you don't want to.)

   Then dad cut our bird (or birds, depending on how you look at it). Since we were in England we knew we had to do something special for our Christmas feast, so we got a three-in-one bird. Basically there are three birds (we choose chicken, pheasant, & duck) stuffed inside each other! And then there's bacon on top. Anna approves.

   Right before the meal we all stood in a circle & popped our Christmas crackers! We don't have crackers in America which is a real shame because they are so fun! If you have never heard of a cracker, they are little circular packages with treats & (very often) a paper crown inside. You pull them apart and they open with a loud crack! We donned our paper crowns and sat down to enjoy our feast.

   Mum really is spectacular. We had our three-in-one bird (chicken, pheasant, & duck), sweet potato casserole, bacon wrapped sausages, bread sauce (so British), & cheesy Brussels sprouts. The bread sauce was (unfortunately) only enjoyed by mum, but everything else was a winner! My favorite? The Brussels sprouts. Who would have thought. They were amazing! 

   We feasted. We laughed. We told the (endearingly lame) jokes from our crackers. We talked. We acted out the charades from our crackers. We laughed some more. We reminisced. We toasted mums amazing cooking. It was a good night.

P.S. Just as a disclaimer, that's Raspberry cordial, not wine. =)

P.P.S. After our feast, Joshua & I rushed off to watch the Doctor Who Christmas special! Goodbye 11th Doctor!

Christmas in Cambridge!

   About a week before Christmas it was time to decorate the flat! We got our adorable little tree at the market. As many of you know, I'm a firm believer in Christmas lights, so mum got a string of lights that's 20 meters long (almost 22 yards)! Joshua and I hung them all around our flat.

   On Joshua's first Sunday here we had a lavish Sabbath Tea. Scones with clotted cream & jam, several kinds of cheese, salami & ham with crackers, a meat pie, fruit, & (of course) tea.

   A few days before Christmas we received our Abel & Cole Christmas box! Complete with tangerines, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, brussels sprouts, cabbage, herbs, & complementary mistletoe.

Christmas Day!

   Christmas morning dawned and we all gathered in the living room anticipating the day's delights! We ate Night Before French Toast & sausage for breakfast while the potpourri on the stove made the room smell live cinnamon and cloves. Then it was time to open gifts!

  This year we did something a little different with our stockings. Normally Joshua and I would be the only ones with stockings, but this year we decided that everyone would have one. Dad gave everyone a certain amount of money to spend on everyone else's stuffers. It was the funnest thing to go around Cambridge searching for the perfect little gifts! 

   On Christmas eve we tried to fill our stockings, but mum and dad's were too narrow and mine and Joshua's were too small. So we got creative and used backpacks for dad & Joshua, a bag for mum, & a pillowcase for me. 

   It was the best thing opening our "stockings"! We went around in a circle pulling out one gift at a time and guessing who gave each thing. Gift giving is my love language, so I was almost more excited for everyone to see what I got them than to see what they got me. 

   After our gifts were opened we had a lovely relaxing day reading, resting, eating, enjoying each others company, & remembering how our savior came to earth as a little baby. It was a very blessed day. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . . .

   Hello everyone! Sorry about No Blog November. And December. Oops. Not much happened around here until a week ago when my awesome big brother arrived! It's been lovely having Joshua here. It feels strange and normal at the same time though, which is confusing. But I've managed to deal. We've filled up this first week with Christmas shopping, eating, and just hanging out. I'm very content. 

   I also finished my first semester as a Senior in high school! I'll be posting again now that I'm on break. Yay for space to read, knit, blog, & watch Netflix!

   I can't believe it's almost Christmas! We've got our little flat decorated with lots of lights and there are buskers on every street playing Christmas carols. I'm this close to being done with my Christmas shopping and I've made some brilliant buys (if I do say so myself). I can't wait for Wednesday! Eek!

  I also can't wait to tell you what Christmas in Cambridge is like, but for now I just want to say thanks for sticking with me through my no-post season. I'm glad to be back.

   What are you most excited about this Christmas? Baking favorite cookies? Watching old Christmas movies? Shopping for presents? Let me know, I'd so love to hear from you!