The good and bad of the Christmas season

Yesterday I drove up to Taree and did the dreaded drop off of my three kids. I really shouldn’t complain, I was lucky enough to have the kids all over the actual Christmas days until the 27th and then they’ll be coming back on the 30th. Everyone has said, relax, enjoy some you time, make the most of it etc etc. But it’s Christmas and everywhere you turn are smiling happy families and little children off having fun. The last thing you feel like doing is having some ‘me time’ at this time of year. The kids on the other hand, were absolutely thrilled at the realisation that they would be getting two Christmases and potentially two separate Santa gift deliveries. What kid wouldn’t be excited at that?! So they literally jumped into Dad’s car after a quick kiss to me. I’m happy for them and I’m happy that he finally gets to see them because I know it was hard on him not having them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

So this holiday season, appreciate your beautiful family and spare a thought for a friend who may be a little bit lonely for a few days or even longer. Call them round for a Christmas drink now, my friend did last night and it was so appreciated.

Bec

xxx

Bec and Sarge's Christmas Meal Plans

Our next Podcast release is a special on Christmas meals and we were lucky enough to get some expert tips! So in the spirit of giving, I thought we should share our own meal plans. Now, we are certainly not experts in this but we have family traditions, tried and true so here goes!

BEC

Mum’s Famous Ham:

No matter where the ham is from, it hasn’t failed yet! Grab a half ham, score it and put cloves into the join, rub american mustard all over. Then on the stove top combine orange juice, bitter orange marmalade, brown sugar, five spice powder and baste this on your ham. Pop it in the oven until it’s cooked and keep some of your sauce to pour over later. AMAZING!

My Layered Salad:

Ok, so this isn’t my recipe but I’m famous for it in my family, and it looks sensational on the table. You can prepare it the day before and just polish it up on the day.

Bottom layer: shredded iceberg lettuce.

Next layer: Frozen peas

Next layer: Boiled eggs, pushed through a sieve, combined with chopped mushrooms

Next layer: Grated cheese

Next layer: Combined sour cream, french mustard, lemon juice, shallots and mayonnaise.

Then I would leave it and pop covered in the fridge overnight.

Next layer: Crisp, fried bacon

Next layer: Tomato wedges, sprinkle over parsley

Wolah! And so pretty!

This year, we are also doing a roast pork with crackling, because well, crackling. I’m also considering grabbing a turkey and stuffing it with a herb and pancetta homemade stuffing. Someone else is bringing dessert this year but I’m super keen to try out a peanut butter trifle I saw in the latest Coles magazine.

SARGE

Sarge plans on serving up sticks of haloumi and watermelon. I’m keen to see how these work so expecting a message on Chrissy day! She’s also on cheese platter duties and is leaving the rest up to her mum! She says she feels guilty but in true mum style, says she wants to do it!

So ladies, put the diets on hold over Christmas, the food doesn’t get much better does it!? Also, feel free to share your own meal plans, we’d love to see them!

Teacher Gifts

With Christmas just around the corner (actually 70 days to be exact), I’ve just begun the teacher gift brainstorm. There are so many cool ideas out there. If you type ‘teacher gifts’ into google there are 426 MILLION results! Each year I have tried to do something different and tried to be really inventive but it’s getting harder and harder!

It’s particularly hard for daycares and preschools because they have multiple teachers. Personally hampers have always worked for this and been well received. They can feast as they celebrate not having to see our kids everyday for a little while!

So let’s help each other out. What have you done in the past? Or are you a teacher that has received an unforgettable gift and want to share what it was?