Sydney Shop Girl

Life This Week 18/12/2017: Christmas Plans.

I’m excited, in case you couldn’t tell.  It’s going to be Christmas Day this time next week and I’ve been big kid enthusiastic about this since December the first….

I’ve decided to keep things relatively simple for Christmas lunch this year but I’ve also gotten it into my head that I’d like to make some of the key things from scratch.  I’m usually packet and premade all the way for Christmas lunch but this year I’m going to challenge myself.  I have a gravy recipe in mind for later but I’ve already made my fruit mince for pies.  
My spendy but rarely used cast iron roasting tray has been unearthed, washed and is sitting out on my bench for making the gravy.  I hope this is gas cooker stove top safe.  Would be an expensive and potentially explosive error to make if it wasn’t.  Can you shed some light?
It was Sammy over at The Annoyed Thyroid who inspired me with her recent post and recipe for Easy Mince Puff Pies.

What attracted me to her recipe was that it didn’t require peel or suet.  Instead, the citrus taste comes from a combination of marmalade and Cointreau.

In another Christmas first, I sterilized a large preserving jar in the oven to store the mince.

All my favourites – glace cherries, dates, apricots and craisins.

It was not hard work at all chopping and mixing the fruit,  Especially when I had the scent of brandy and Cointreau wafting up towards me as I stirred.

Then it was off to find a hidey hole for both my jar of mince and the Cointreau.

It’s become a little evening routine to take the jar down from its shelf to give it a stir and a deep inhale. I can’t wait to see how it tastes in my pies this week.

Our advent calendars have been diligently opened first thing each morning by Preschooler SSG and his very capable hands.  He’s even attempted to streamline the process by rearranging the boxes in my Body Shop calendar into numerical order to make each day easier to find in the morning.
It was actually I who let the team down when I got a but flustered about how to assemble the Lego advent plane with two minutes to spare before we had to be out the door for work and preschool.  I googled for the answer

when all I had to do was just look behind the door of that particular date for detailed instructions.  Better late than never, I suppose.

Preschooler SSG’s gifts are mostly wrapped and hidden in my wardrobe.  

I’ve been self gifting on the regular and I’ve also been dropping hints about what Santa might like to have put out for a snack on Christmas Eve.  So far I’ve got a jar of marmalade, a couple of melting moment biscuits and a carrot for tradition.

In the fridge, Santa can expect to find a bottle of Chandon with Orange Bitters chilled and ready to go with a tray of ice in the freezer…

Speaking of Santa, here he is at work.  All over my office door, in fact.  It was the nicest surprise to greet me when I arrived at work on Friday.  We take Christmas very seriously at work.  Our clinical support officer assures me that she’ll make sure that Santa stays where he is all through next.  Preschooler SSG has been invited to Christmas lunch this week and I’ve promised him a tour of the Christmas decorations on each ward.

I don’t know if you can call it a plan but I have already actioned one of my favourite Christmas must-dos already.  The eating of various leftovers as snacks.  Cheesecake for afternoon tea, trifle for morning tea, fruit mince pies for that meal between breakfast and morning tea….

How are you plans going for Christmas?  Do yours involve braving the fish market or the shopping centres in that last minute rush this week where the all open for close to 24 hours a day?  Best of luck if you are.

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