Kitchen Garden Forum

I still remember marveling at how Father Christmas set up my Revell racetrack in the front room even putting the 13amp plug on the mains transformer

Would he be allowed to do 13 amp plug wiring these days.? Maybe he has PAT testing gear on the sleigh as his deliveries must be a lot more techno' now than my old racetrack....

Clive.

I'd never had a mince pie until I came to the UK. First taste was a cheap one & as a result I avoid them like the plague! They will turn up at every meeting from now until Xmas - & likely after, as everyone tries to get rid of them! Bit like bought cup cakes really, once you've licked the icing off it there isn't much to tempt in the dry cake that is left, unfortunately the mince pie doesn't have icing!

The Christmas I particularly remember was in 1945 - at last safe and warm, and food to eat. The family who had kindly taken us five in as refugees had a model railway in the attic and I remember singing Christmas carols whilst playing trains!
I was eight then and my older sister made a small doll for me from bent wires covered with cloth strips and a crib out of cardboard sewn together. But we did have a real Christmas tree with real candles!

Used to love my grandmothers mince pies, pastry to die for. She also made the best brandy butter. no one in the family has managed to replicate it although Poddington Pea comes close.

My mother in law used to make the nicest stuffing you ever tasted but my wife who can more than hold her own in the kitchen can't come near it but our eldest daughter is not far off with it

Well, I always say mince pies are good for you - they have fruit in them so it must be true.

Merry merry Christmas to all! Yesterday we were chatting with family remembering our childhood Christmas...Our grandparents lived in Greece and I mostly have greek memories: lots of fresh food, amazing chocolate cake my grandma used to bake, many children around (my mom has 3 sisters and a brother). Golden years! 2 of my cousins have moved to Greece recently, they are doing business together, bought property in Athens to rent on air bnb and it goes pretty well, Greece popularity among tourists grows more and more every year. Wish I could see my cousins and others more often! Now everybody has moved to different parts of Earth, which is great and sad at the same time.

Greetings all. I can remember the struggle to put up the Christmas tree. The lights would invariably never work first time and my dad somehow always forgot to test them first before draping them around the tree so that was always quite a performance.

Incidentally two things you can do with those mince pies if you can't face them on Christmas Day, Mash them up and freeze them and use the mixture as a base for a future cheesecake, or again mash them up and use them as a topping for a nice apple crumble.

Its raining here and dismal. Have just had an email from Canadian relatives showing a photo of them drinking their pre-Christmas fizz in a foot of snow in their garden. No Australian relatives to see the Barbie on the beach though!

I took delivery of another two dozen mince pies, from my Mum yesterday......just as well really, as nearly all the customers i work for, haven't been about in the week leading up to Christmas, so missed out on my usual coffee and cakes....

I do miss not having the Christmas Carol singers going round the village anymore, i used to love joining them as a child, Christmas Eve, just used to set Christmas day up a treat.

I missed the Sally Army band this year, always give to them at Christmas when they do door to door collection whilst playing carols.

But then, ..............

A Sally Army band is not just for Christmas