Christmas in July 2019 - Day Twenty-Six

Christmas Traditions today - do you have things you do year after year?

We always have the Barnes and Noble shopping trip on Christmas Eve.  We go out to breakfast and then head to Barnes and Noble.  We browse through the books and magazines and everyone has a gift card, usually $25 to spend.  We make our selections, pay for them, and then take the shopping bags home and put them under the tree.  No peeking until Christmas Day, usually in the afternoon when we are winding down and just feel like lounging on the couch with a good book or magazine.

A couple of my favorite British Christmas magazines

I start prepping the Christmas Eve buffet when we get home from Barnes and Noble.  The ham is readied for the oven, all of the side dishes are put on or in their serving dishes, covered with Saran Wrap, and popped into the fridge, ready for the table when we get home from the Christmas Eve service at church.  I pop the ham into the oven in time for it to be cooked right before we leave so I can turn the oven off and leave it in there to stay warm.

There's always a Christmas Eve box (it's a young adult version of the Christmas pajamas she always opened - one gift - on Christmas Eve).  It still has a pair of pajamas but it also has a movie, some hot cocoa, and other treats.  There will be something for Spectra in the box too.

Vic and I have Christmas pajamas to wear on Christmas morning - it's about the only time I can get him to wear something red!

On Christmas Day, our stockings always have an orange and some nuts in the toe.  The orange is usually the Terry's chocolate variety and one year, I found the most amazing chocolates at the Lindt store that were shaped like nuts, even the foil wrapping looked like the real thing.  I haven't been able to find them again.

Just as the Christmas Eve buffet features the same savory items each year, the sideboard groans with the British sweets - Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, a selection box or two, shortbread, Cadbury's chocolate biscuits, and any other festive treats that I've been able to find at our local British food store, our gourmet grocery store, or online.

Just typing this makes me long for Christmas - it's only five months from today!