As Promised...

...our Christmas traditions

MOOSE MILK
Kevin has started the Moose Milk tradition with my family. After a couple of years of attempting sparkling burgandy (red wine with bubbles) and Moose Milk for breakfast drinks we saw fit to drop the burgandy and just go with the Moose Milk. This stuff is potent! I don't really drink so I just have a few drops at the bottom of a glass with icecream (which melts quickly in the Brisbane heat to form a nice thickshake) and HEAPS of nutmeg.

Don't search Moose Milk on Wikipedia - this isn't the stuff we drink. The whole moose milk thing is a military tradition - one in which I think my family is thankful for = )

SOMETHING EACH DAY FOR THE FEW DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
This is only a recent tradition. One year we had little treats each day leading up to Christmas. The last couple of years we have answered little questions like "What was your favourite Christmas?". I write the questions down on little strips of paper, roll them up and put them in a jar.

TOMATO, ONION AND SCONE BAKE
My parents (maybe just my Dad - I'm sure he will correct this if it's an error) make this EVERY year and we love it - even my brother that doesn't eat tomato! Most years we spend Christmas at my parents (except for 2006 which we spent in Canada with Kevin's family and two thousand and something spent at my brother and sister-in-laws place on the Gold Coast).

So at my parents place we usually have turkey (hot), ham (cold), roasted pumpkin, potato, parsnip, onions, tomato onion and scone bake and maybe something green. My Mum also makes her SUPER FAMOUS hedgehog slice (recipe is a family secret!). When this stuff is put on the table everyone in my family gobbles it down before anyone not related realises it was even there! We have pudding for dessert, and we even flame it.

FRUIT BREAKFAST
More recently Kevin and I have had a fruit breakfast at home before going to my parents place. We also open presents to each other at home first.

TRADITIONS I WANT TO START
- Brian's photo for Santa (thanks Darlene for reminding me of that)
- Ride the Christmas train with Brian in Myer and look at the Christmas windows (they are famous)
- Decorating the tree (we will get our first tree this year - I know!)
- Leaving out cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.
- Watching Polar Express in our PJs Christmas Eve (if we turn the air con. really cold we could even have a hot chocolate!)
- Doing something for someone less fortunate.
- Send handmade cards to my Nan so she can use them for her Christmas cards. I've done this for a couple of years but tend to slack off a little some years too.
- Adding a new decoration to the tree each year. Preferably with the year on it. I started this with Kevin but forget which decoration goes with which year - and we have never had a tree - unless 30cm counts.

AND THANKS TO OUR LITTLE TRIP TO MOUNT TAMBORINE WE WILL HAVE A GERMAN CHRISTMAS PYRAMID TO LIGHT EACH YEAR. Sorry, no pic, Kevin packed it away before I got one.

Still thinking of more to add to my list. Any ideas welcome.

In other news Kevin's Dad left for Canada on Saturday, his Mum is staying longer with us. We've had a great three weeks and will miss Aurelle especially on Tuesday nights (cheap pizza night!)