Christmas Meme

It is strangely quiet now the little kids have gone. I have already seemed to run out of things to read on the internet. I found the Christmas Meme over at PC's... (Her trifle recipe ingredients could buy us a four stroke motor I am sure! Sounds wonderful... HAVE I BECAME MY FATHER AND THE SCROOGIEST PERSON ON EARTH?)

Anyway - on with the meme.

1) Do you have a tree, and if so what is hanging on it?

We have an old, cheap, plastic tree that has serviced us for the last five years. Before that we used to use real trees and spend the three months still vacuuming up the pine cones. And Australian “real trees” don’t look anything like our Northern Hemisphere friends tree. (Or on the tv – whateva)

The kids and I went to hang our stuff on the tree – but Anna (almost 16) was disgusted at their age, their lack of sparkle, the handmade pieces (INCLUDING the ones she had made for me) and in the end – I was only allowed to keep two. Anna said she would buy new ones – but then her trip to see Robbie Williams and her desire to be extravagant for family members (who deserve jack chit) – DELAYED this purchase. And – yep – this year the poor tree only had the tinsel and one green bauble that William made for me from pre-school (Will and I both begged for it to be saved) and the crocheted snow crystal my friend Carrie sent me years ago adorned our tree.

I didn’t sit the beautiful angel B sent me from Canada on the tree – deciding instead to show her off on the sideboard because she looked rather.. strange alone on top of a tree no one can see.

And I swear I looked for two days – and I couldn’t find our lights. And I KNOW we have heaps of them. Dotti the wonderdog managed to find old baubles and .. redecorate them.

This house is the same size as a postage stamp (I can use poetic license – I have scotch too!) and the tree is on a hall table not built for a hall this small. There is absolutely no other place it could of fit. Actually, too many of the things I have cant be used for what they are designed to be simply because of the space issue.

I suggested we string popcorn up at least… and my girls were horrified. Even when I told them we have done it many times before. I did tell them we wont eat the stuff… fly poop and all considered….

2) What's the most successful bit of Christmas cooking you've done so far?
I kept this year really simple and am so glad I did. No stress moments.

Christmas Eve we had oysters Kilpatrick and natural – and a cob loaf with banana prawns, smoked salmon, every cheese I found in the fridge, cream, garlic, coriander, cumin, parsley and onion (I was too mean to pay $4 for a bunch of shallots) and a few finely chopped left over vegetables. It was delicious and messy. No one – even William – even spotted the vegetables.

Christmas breakfast was French toast, leg ham grilled, the boys had eggs, mangoes and corn on the cob. My mother started the corn on the cob for Christmas breakfast years ago… and I just love being able to get all buttery and messy for breakfast.

And lunch was just roast turkey thigh fillet and leg of lamb – all the condiments and five roast veggies. I even forgot to put anything green on. No one complained. I didn’t even worry about an entrée this year either. Dessert was just parfait glasses with jelly, strawberry mousse and when I said I will make some banana custard… everyone said.. “Don’t bother with the custard – we will just eat the banana’s” (Good comes from bad – Cyclone Larry saved me a bit of cooking?)

3) And the least successful?
I am hoping this is just for this year – cause in past years I could go on forever. Like ditching my own idea of Christmas lunch for families – to find they served day or more old cold chicken, sliced ham from the deli and salads. Ex-sister in law and I once starved ourselves for three days thinking Christmas dinner was going to be the full roast thing – and arrived to find spinach leaves with lemon dressing with cold grilled fish. Fine for a lunch with your girlfriends.. but not Christmas day!

This year the lamb was too rare for Anna’s taste – but ok for mine. I didn’t put it on the table so it would offend her.

4) Which bit of your Christmas shopping are you happiest with?

It is so very hard shopping for teenagers. I felt like I should of provided more expensive presents in accordance with what they tell me their peers are receiving. But I simply couldn’t. And I also suspect that if I could – I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t buy myself an $800 phone. I do not have the $ and am not sure I want Will to have a $3k motor bike. IF he did we would need much more because Christian would need one too to go with him. And that sounds all like yet another worry for me.

The competitiveness is so awful – and yet I still cringed when I heard any of the kids asked what they received for Christmas and felt a bit like a “loser” (I hang around teenagers sorry) as I cringed as they replied.

I bought my mother a digital camera that I think she will love. But I am so used to our cameras – the camera thing is something I will blog about later. I KNOW my mother will get a kick out of being able to show me her latest rose bloom or bird visitor in her garden. But I bought it off eBay and it arrived to late to get to her on time….

The boat motor is KINDA Christians’ present. And that – at least – I know he not only deserves but will use to the best of its.. usefulness. And he loves.

5) Have you opened any of your presents yet? What was it / were they?

The BBQ was my present to me, and Anna bought me the oysters and prawns. My mother has been making me a patchwork quilt and that will arrive soonish. My closest two friends gave me wine – and I gave them exactly the same thing. Shades of my life – I actually didn’t receive any gifts. But I also spend 365 days a year telling anyone and everyone not to give me things.

6) Do you have any bad Christmas associations that will have to be tackled?
None that I want to tackle again. My own ISSUE over Christmas in a divorced family situation is that children should be able to have access to both sets of families. I can’t change the past – all I can do is make sure I don’t make those mistakes. And hell – sometimes being nice/civil to the “other side” is so damn hard. I bit my tongue every single time my three children purchased lovely gifts for their family. (Usually with my money – excepting Anna who has her own money)

Bloody wonder I managed to eat so much at all really.

7) What's your favourite carol? Why?
I am always a crier. But “The Little Drummer Boy” just chokes me up no end.

As a kid we sang this at the Opera House – and I felt like a bit of an orphan the night that should have been a wonderful night…

I love listening to carols. I always think the malls are so lucky they play them because otherwise I would get in a worse temper.

8) Which part of your Christmas plans is most likely to go awry?

I am so glad I kept this year simple. There was nothing that could go wrong this year. I didn’t expect my mothers present to take so long to get here. That certainly went awry. I have always had easy transactions on eBay.

9) What's your most favourite thing about Christmas?
Wow – it is family and friends. Even though this year I deliberately kept it at just my kids and us. Although I didn’t put myself threw the huge paces of being nice to the ex’s and visiting friends etc… I did spend many moments remembering the NICE times about when we have done this. I guess there wont be all that many times left I will have just the kids home …and heaven knows some of my girlfriends are simply better at celebrating for 24 hours plus than me…. (Yes Robyn you!) I love the big feast – but hell I can make any excuse for one of them if I want to.

10) What's your least favourite thing about it?Being so far away from family and friends so that I can’t just rock up and visit them when I do have my little nostalgic moments about them. I also hate mince pies and fruit cake.

11) What Christmassy thing have you seen or heard in the street or on the teeve or in the blogosphere that has
(a) touched your heartI got all teary at the front page of Saturdays “The Courier Mail” with the picture of Terry, Bindy and Bob Irwin. But it doesn’t take a lot to get tears from me.

And last week on the Christmas Harbour Cruise when I finally met people Christian knows from work who foster up to 12 children at a time and the two beautiful girls they had with them that night.

(b) hit a nerve

My nerves were hit raw with my kids desire to purchase their “other family” wonderful presents. Ten hours of shopping for people that do jack chit for them.. seemed senseless to me.

or (c) made you want to barf?

William walked past Anna’s plate after eating his breakfast mostly with his hands (corn cobs require this – but eggs and ham do not) and pulled pieces from her mango off…. I felt her pain at that.

12) Who do you wish you had contacted to say Happy Christmas but haven't so far?
We were pretty slack and didn’t do cards or many calls. Tough – I love so many people it would of taken me too damn long. And lets face it.. it is such a hectic time of year. I don’t like to bother people. Or I hate to be bothered myself.