Christmas 2014 - What a cracker!

We have said for a long time that the first Christmas we are in our new house we’ll host the family do.  So we had less than a fortnight to prepare for the arrival of our families!  No problem!!!  Ahhhh!!!!  Actually, to be honest turned out not to be a problem at all... in fact it turned out to be a bloody ripper. 

This year marked the start of what I hope will become a tradition: The Uniting of the Clans.  We had Grammy, Nonna, Poppy, the Gurney-Calle-Akers Clan (Kristen, Bianca, Eva), the Calle-Service Clan (Benji, Gemma, Sebastian, Petra), the Calle-Davies Clan (Gillian and Richard) and the Davies Clan (Jane, John and Tim). 

It turned out to be a magical mix!  For a group of in-laws and out-laws (lame pun) I just can’t believe what a gorgeous time we spent together.

I decided to theme Christmas lunch – with so many people bringing a plate I thought it would be a way for the flavours to mesh in together.  So, having seen a Lebanese Christmas spread in Feast magazine that looked pretty tasty, suggested we go with Lebanese this year.  As it turned out we all sort of bastardised the theme and there were Turkish, Moroccan, Israeli, Lebanese and Greek dishes... but the general gist was Middle Eastern/Mediterranean/Arabesque and the food was absolutely delicious!   

So Christmas lunch, which turned out to be linner (yes Kristen! If you call the meal between breakfast and lunch brunch, then I am sure linner is the correct term for the meal between lunch and dinner) was created in a flurry of communal cooking and food preparation with everyone crowded around the kitchen island bench... and even some on the floor.  The result:  My ideal Christmas with everyone all in together, jostling for that last spare lemon, sharing recipes, tasting each other’s dishes, sharing (or fighting over!) the sharpest knife and chatting and laughing all the while.

And then we had board games (more laughing and paying out than actual playing I think!), muso jam sessions (ditto the laughing etc), rock-throwing competitions, bushwalking, swimming/kayaking at Lake Moogerah and even a synchronised swimming spectacular in the plunge pool!  I can’t stop buzzing at how everything went off so well.  Happy days.