Sharing my Day 16-20 pages today. I can't believe I am 20 days into this project again. Once I get to this point I feel like I'm on the home stretch. There is always lots happening in the days leading up to Christmas so I know I will have enough to finish (enough stories, enough thoughts, enough photos).
I have continued my book all the way through to 31 December before, but most of the time I stop at December 26th (Boxing Day holiday) and will probably use that as a good end point. I have enjoyed telling some deeper, more thoughtful stories this year but that is also hard work so I am looking forward to closing this one.
Days 11-15 are HERE
Days 6-10 are HERE
Days 1-5 are HERE
Day 16 is about the rain. We've had a wet week in Sydney (more forecast for next week) so I wanted to document my love for a rainy day. The rainbow is from Ali Edward's Play Story Kit and the Tis The Season Card is from last year's Paislee Press December Daily Mini Kit.
Day 17 is about choosing recipes and a menu for Christmas lunch. This year I'm delegating (kind of). Food pages are my favourite and always have a place in my December Daily. The Yum stamp is by Studio Calico and the I'm Here for the Food is an old one by One Little Bird.
You guys know food is my thing so I've put some links below to some of my favourite Christmas day recipes. Christmas means summer here so our menu has lots of chilled seafood, salads and cold desserts with some traditional British favourites thrown in.
Day 18 is documenting summer holidays - the kids finished school for the year last Wednesday. I just wanted to make a few notes about their school year. The Here We Go stamp is by Kerri Bradford and I recoloured it to match with the photo and the red theme.
Day 19 is about making a Christmas pudding. This is a family tradition and while it is a labour of love, I really love doing this every year. December rituals and routines are so important to me. For this page, I used a template from my 4x8 set (HERE).
Day 20 documents my favourite Christmas movies. I include this in every December Daily but they change over the years and I love how my fave-fave this year might be different next year. For this page, I used a template from my 4x8 set (HERE) with some Google images.
My next DD post will probably wrap up the final pages of my album - thank you for following along with me again this year!
SOME OF MY FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS RECIPES:
Nigella's Christmas book is my bible so there are a lot of her recipes in my arsenal, as well as Donna Hay. I learned years ago that making the same menu every Christmas created a really nice tradition and I could be confident that everything would work. It also meant I spent less time agonising over cookbooks. These are some of the things that mean Christmas day to us.
Nigella's Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova (HERE)
This one is a family favourite. It ticks all the boxes because it's naturally gluten free (we have some ceoaliacs in our family), you can make it the day before (I use strawberries if raspberries aren't available), it pairs perfectly with my homemade custard recipe because one needs the egg yolks and one needs the whites, and the leftovers are great.
Nigella's Lemon Polenta Cake (HERE)
You need something to have with coffee mid-morning on Christmas and this is what I like to make. Bonus because it's naturally gluten free.
Nigella's Cranberry and Soy Glazed Mini Sausages (HERE)
This is required as a pre dinner appetiser. You can mix the marinade and sausages in a ziploc bag the day before and just pour everything into a disposable foil tray to cook for no mess.
Nigella's Crab Crostini (HERE)
We always serve this alongside the sausages as an appetiser with drinks. It's delicious (and gluten free) on corn chips but also great with mini toasts. You can make this a day ahead as well and keep in the fridge.
Nigella's Honey Semifreddo (HERE)
Semifreddo is a set icecream dessert. It's pretty easy, make-ahead and great for a summer Christmas. Donna Hay also has a delicious Chocolate Hazelnut version (HERE).
Donna Hay Christmas Pudding (HERE)
As documented in my December Daily. A labour of love but worth it. Must be paired with homemade custard (HERE).
Martha Stewart's Curried Potato Salad (HERE)
This is a delicious and tasty spin on potato salad and its so easy. Makes great leftovers too, just don't store in a plastic container because of the yellow.
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