This year we went all out with Fairy Lights!
Christmas saw the house decorated to the max with fairy lights absolutely everywhere. They danced the nights away until Santa came down the Chimney. With a wide eyed 5 year old in the house, the lead up to the big day was full of baking and crafting, presents for everyone where built and painted with testpots in colours carefully selected according to the recipients favorite colours, and finished off with glitter (I am still finding it sparking away on unexpected surfaces) jewels and personalised as only a 5 year old can do. Baking consisted of meringues, beaten to within an inch of their lives, cookies for Santa cut into beautiful shapes and decorated with edible jewels and icing of course in all colours of the rainbow, for the big kids Christmas mince pies were made from scratch, even the pastry! Which was a bit hit and miss with the high humidity lurking around. A new recipe was carefully followed for an uncooked slice filled with pistachios and cranberries and topped with white chocolate.
Christmas eve saw cookies carefully placed out for Santa along with a can of low cal beer and water as an alternative.
The reindeer had carrots to munch on, reindeer food, courtesy of New World, and freshwater. All the fairy lights were turned on, the stage was set.
To everyone’s wonder and astonishment Santa arrived during the night, he left snowy footprints by the tree,he ate the cookie but left some crumbs, drank the beer, but to everyone delight left presents….. oh and the reindeers munched on the carrots, spilt the water and ate the reindeer food and just like that they were gone.
We had an absolutely delightful guest book with us for Christmas, just wanting some time out, I did warn her that a 5 year old was loose, but in true form Arlowe wanted to help serve breakfast which our beautiful guest just loved, fresh fruit, our homemade muesli, fresh bread, (homemade by Mr Panasonic ) and an assortment of jams and local honey.
This year Christmas lunch was a low key affair and consisted of salads and homemade pizzas. Each person built their own pizza and cooked it in the pizza oven which had been slowly heating for an hour or so, in between cooking and eating, present hunts were had, with the option of swapping their finds with others to end up with exactly the right present.
Our guest had ordered a platter and bottle of wine for her dinner which was created with care and love. Delicious little morsels were placed with particular attention. She loved it!
When everyone was resting up a little, a pair of Keraru, native wood pigeons landed on a palm frond in our garden and joined us. They stayed for quite awhile, were they sent by ones that had passed, were they checking on us. We will never know, but they had a power over us that was so strong, powerful and charismatic we were all speechless.
What is Christmas all about for us …… fun family, friends and food.
