Yes. I have pretty much finished. The kids are done. I just have my mom and dad and MIL left. My feet are KILLING me!!
I think I must have surely burned off another 500 calories shopping. I think I also burned about 500 bucks.
I need a drink.

Please tell me what you're serving for Christmas dinner. I need inspiration. Last year I balked and made chicken in white wine crepes. I really don't want to cook a turkey... any wise words?

xoxo

Going to mothers for dinner. We usually have turkey and sometimes roast beef too. I think I will make sweet potatoes to take out, and maybe a low cal desert.
Virginia

We are making a Ham with scalloped potatoes and mixed veg for Christmas day. My parents aren't big turkey people. My Mum is making the sherry trifle-it ain't Christmas without the trifle!

We are making the turkey (DH gets a free one from work) on Boxing day with all the usual trimmings and pie for dessert as we are having a few friends over to help us eat it.

Cripes! That means that I am entertaining three days in a row Thank goodness DH is doing a lot of the cooking!

I have half my gifts bought, the liquor store run is done, a third of the groceries are done.

Could you tell an ignorant, non-Canadian what "Boxing Day" is all about?? Do I need gloves?

PS...I'm done shopping for what needs to be mailed, AND mailed them...whew! Kinda halfway done with kids...still need to shop for nieces/nephews, my parents, brothers and sister and their families, bake, get a tree, decorate it, finish house decorations, send cards...

...uh, yeah, I'm almost done!

I think it started in Britain or Europe. Boxing day was the day after Christmas and you were supposed to box up food and clothing and go about distributing it to the poor.

Don't quote me on this though

DH's stuff to get and doggie gifts and that will be IT! Wrapping and mailing is waaaaaay behind. It may be a Purolator Christmas!

I too am almost finished the dreaded christmas shopping. I would rather give gifts through the year when i find stuff for people rather than searching for something just for the sake of it but thats life.

AS for what we have for Christmas day, hmmmmm well cause its Summer here and gets really hot usually most of the time its all cold stuff like ham, salads, huge fruit platters. Some years we do large seafood platters, were not into the hot lunch or dinner mainly due to the heat but hey if it was winter there would be heaps of stuff to make.

As Im vegie I wouldn't make ham or seafood but would probalby make salads, maybe a nut loaf with gravy and other stuff.

Hope everyone understands what Ive written im not really with it today.

I am not done with shopping at all - you all are very impressive & well organized!

I have done the girlies' stockings (the 6 year old tells me she knows it isn't Santa, Santa isn't real - no one told her, she says, she just figured it out). I have got most of their presents but need to get them a few books too.

DH and I will probably give each other stockings too, and maybe buy each other some books together so we can get just what we like. I have not really done anything much towards this end. Nor have I shopped successfully for the rest of the family. I HAVE staggered around several stores in my usual amnesiac glazed state thinking "Now why the **** did I come in here anyway?" - very productive indeed!

Christmas cards are not done at all - we'll be lucky to have finished those in February!

We will get a tree in as soon as we manage to take down the balloons from last month's birthday revels (Two down, two to go!).

We are probably eating turkey, stuffing, veggies and pumpkin pie and plum pudding.

One child has requested Yorkshire pudding (I finally guessed after she said you know Mom, those brown things, from last year, they're really good! Darling, I can hardly remember what we ate last week, never mind last YEAR! I said cheerfully. But we sorted it out in the end!) so perhaps roast beast is in the offing.

I am not big on meat so I'd prefer turkey. So probably turkey and Yorkshire pudding, plus whatever else I said!

Lidian

I am done shopping. My dad needs help w/ one gift. Cards were all mailed out today. I will wrap sometime this week. Dinner on Xmas Eve is going to be Prime Rib. I will not be partaking. It makes my gall bladder hurt. I will enjoy the side dishes. I think Christmas day will be an easy kid friendly dinner. We will all be beat. Dad works that night, bf works first thing in the morning. Maybe a chicken in the crock pot with some baked potatos and green salad. Not festive, yummy and everyone will eat. Or maybe shredded chicken tacos with ff refried beans. Yum, that sounds even better. ~flower

Yum! I will be dropping 'round to each of your homes at Christmas. So don't be surprised if you see a pudgy woman on your doorstep with a big messy bun and a beam on her face.

Kat, are "ignorant" and "non-Canadian" synonymous? I think Mauvais is right about Boxing day. And something about emptying the church boxes to help the less fortunate. All I know is that it's DH's birthday, damnit. What a time to have a baby.

One of gifts we got the kids this year is an audio book each. I bought a Roald Dahl for our six year old, and .... I forget what I picked up for our 13 year old. She's still sleeping in her brother's room because of the "suicide thing", and they're both very comfortable in there. And they occasionally listen to audio tapes at night together when they're tucked into their beds.
Anyway, we usually borrow the tapes from the library. I had no idea how expensive they are to buy!! The one for my daughter was 60 bucks!!

I've convinced mom to make steak and kidney pie for their family dinner. She makes a wicked one! I wonder if I could convince her to make Yorkshire puddings on the side. Lidian, we make ours in muffin cups... do you make one big one?

Hi Ellis! We make our in muffin cups too - last time we used Jamie Oliver's recipe off the Food Network site (using mucho oil in muffin cups) but they did not turn out as high and spectacular as the ones on TV (of course he always makes it look so easy!).

I have also made toad in the hole (sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter, basically) in a single pan but it doesn't rise enough (when I make it!). I think the idea is getting the pan and drippings/oil really hot before you bung in the batter.

Toad in the hole, what a name! My DH (the Marmite-loving Brit) likes it but he doesn't get it too often cuz it has about a million grams of fat in it. I used to make steak and kidney pie for him long ago (a great idea for Christmas dinner, BTW) but that was when I was 15 years younger, less grey and had no children!

Lidian

You know, I've never had toad-in-the-hole. I wonder if it's a snob thing on my parents' part... must ask them. It sounds really good.
That reminds me... we have a tradition that I started several years ago. I'm always up first, and I make popovers for breakfast. We eat them with butter before opening our gifts. It just wouldn't be Xmas without my popovers! Oh... and they're low-fat, too! (sans butter)
Lidian... do you ever make Cornish pasties? Den? Mauvais? Ruth?
HEY!! Maybe THAT'S what I should make! I could even make them ahead of time and freeze them. Everyone loves them.

Hi Ellis, Nope, I've never made Cornish pasties though I used to offer to make em (when I was younger/kinder/childless!). DH does not like them for some reason. He does like Melton Mowbray pie (raised pork pie) but you can buy these. My MIL makes a pork and hard boiled egg pie that is brilliant but I can't do this sort of thing! If I cook at all I like baking (bread, cookies, muffins!) - North American stuff!

I will make mincemeat tarts though, at Christmas. DH eats them with brandy butter (i.e. hard sauce in my native language!)

Lidian

NOPE!! One of my relatives makes a ton at a time and freezes them. Wish she'd give ME some!! I love 'em!! We have a place locally that sells homemade Pasties, but it is expensive.

It is funny how you get used to cooking certain things and others seem difficult. My Grannie (English) LOVES my muffins, and they seem so easy to me, but some of the stuff SHE thinks is easy seems hard to me. Actually she can't really cook much anymore. Last time my Mom went I sent a bunch of muffins in her suitcase!!!!

I make my yorkshire pudding in a muffin tin too! I like them that way and everyone gets their own individual one. I think the trick is to put the oil in the muffin tin and then pop it into a preheated oven. Then you have to wait and watch carefully until the oil gets really hot, then you pull the rack out and drop the batter in and shove the tray back in.

My mum used to make cornish pasties before my dad became a vegetarian. She still occasionally makes steak and sausage pie and sausage rolls (which she is making for Christmas Eve )

I have only made cornish pasties once or twice. I should try to make a batch and freeze them-they would be great for lunches-better than frozen pizza pockets anyday!

One of my favorite dishes my Mum makes is "mince and doughballs" it is a stew made with hamburger meat, diced carrots and potatoes, onions and seasonings. The doughballs (made with flour, milk, butter and baking soda) are basically dumplings but you put them in the stew pot halfway through cooking so that they cook right in the gravy! Darn! Now I'm hungry, maybe I'll call my Mum....