• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Xmas

Phil

Phil

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Kindly note that Rog is excluded from this thread! :ROFLMAO:

Well all you good people, only another 8 sleeps to the big day. :cool:

What have you got planned?

Ours will be at our house, son & family will be over for lunch.
Wife and son planning the meal.
It will be a cold lunch this year due to current temps pushing over 30c.
Before the feast we will go swimming at the clubhouse pool (indoors heated as the G-kids don't enjoy cold water. Wimps!)
Presents are opened after lunch.
 
:)

GLW's No 2 son staying for a few days then her No 2 daughter and partner coming Christmas morning and all going to hotel in the next village for lunch. (Costs me an arm and two legs to get out of washing up! :D )
 
Going for xmas dinner at our daughter's home, bringing the dogs so we can stay for longer than the usual two hours. It is a four hour return trip, other than that just going to relax.
 
Just the four Trimbles at home this year with no requirement to visit anyone. Sister and her fam going away to EuroDisney for the week over Christmas and we're seeing Mrs Trim's family on 20/21st, so Christmas at home with no need to do anything other than relax!
 
First one with a granddaughter - even though she won’t have a clue what is going on it does make it feel a bit more special. Everyone is coming “home” for Christmas and Boxing Day so it’s going to be mayhem!
 
No family, no grandkids, no religious beliefs. It's just another day.
I'm going to have a trad beef stew, Sheila wants some fancy salmon (after seeing Ginger Johnson doing it on Celebrity Masterchef).
Christmas pud from the cupboard (it came from the UK, so it is at least 3 years old and quite possibly considerably longer).
No presents, unless she tells me EXACTLY what she wants. I'm fed up of buying, or, indeed, making, things I think will appeal, only to find thay have not been used, or used just once, by the time the next Christmas comes along. She's just given me a set of Nordic socks. Very nice thank you. except that I can't get them on, they are far too small. And they weren't cheap. It's all just a huge waste of time and money.
I'm with Roger. Bah humbug, one and all!
🎅
S
 
Me and SWIMBO this year, so no mayhem as usual. No.1 son and partner + grandson Julian visited the weekend just gone, so we had a 'mock' Christmas as they're all flying to Victoria BC next Monday for a real one.

A question that's been bugging me and them....how do you keep a 'high octane' 13 month old 'entertained' on a 10 hr flight to Canada? - Rob

Edit- they have to change flights at Vancouver for a local hop over to Victoria
 
Woodbloke said:
Me and SWIMBO this year, so no mayhem as usual. No.1 son and partner + grandson Julian visited the weekend just gone, so we had a 'mock' Christmas as they're all flying to Victoria BC next Monday for a real one.

A question that's been bugging me and them....how do you keep a 'high octane' 13 month old 'entertained' on a 10 hr flight to Canada? - Rob

Edit- they have to change flights at Vancouver for a local hop over to Victoria
Click to expand...
Preferably they never get on the plane in the first place. What many parents fail to realise that the noise coming out of Dear Little Johnny is not to everyone's taste. I think young children should not be allowed to fly until they are older...say 10 years ?
 
No need to travel over the festive period this year which is nice and sad.
Just 7 for lunch at the parsonage on 25th. I’d be lynched if I didn’t do a full roast and trimmings with at least 6 veg. MIL coming so at least we will be allowed cheese (mature roquefort, her’s and my favourite).
Normal arguments ongoing as to which bouche de noel to order from the village boulangerie. Have yet to find any local here that likes christmas pudding. BIL was almost ill one year when I told him it was made with suet (and what suet was made from). Christmas pudding leftovers mixed in with porridge on Boxing day a real treat.
 
AndyP said:
No need to travel over the festive period this year which is nice and sad.
Just 7 for lunch at the parsonage on 25th. I’d be lynched if I didn’t do a full roast and trimmings with at least 6 veg. MIL coming so at least we will be allowed cheese (mature roquefort, her’s and my favourite).
Normal arguments ongoing as to which bouche de noel to order from the village boulangerie. Have yet to find any local here that likes christmas pudding. BIL was almost ill one year when I told him it was made with suet (and what suet was made from). Christmas pudding leftovers mixed in with porridge on Boxing day a real treat.
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All round yours on Boxing day, then! :D
 
RogerS said:
Preferably they never get on the plane in the first place. What many parents fail to realise that the noise coming out of Dear Little Johnny is not to everyone's taste. I think young children should not be allowed to fly until they are older...say 10 years ?
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Unfortunately that isn't the case Rog; as you well know, children of all ages are allowed to fly and they're something that us grown ups just have to tolerate. I personally would like to see some of them stowed in the baggage hold, but that ain't going to happen any time soon. Even though he's only 13 months old, this will be his third or fourth flight to Canada but this time he's far more active, so my question remains...how to calm him down and keep him entertained for a ten hour flight? - Rob
 
A classic family bust up (involving SIL & BIL) and my 92 year old mum being too frail to travel, means we will only be 6 this christmas. That's fine, and we'll do it all over again 3 days later when the sons-in-law arrive. We love a traditional christmas dinner, and as always, I'll be in charge of timings, and the potatoes. However, you have to remember that "traditional" only goes back a few decades when it comes to turkey, so we'll be having duck. Duck is fatty, but the alternative.....goose........is FATTY. They both needs lots of attention and pouring off of the surplus. Christmas pudding, of course, and the cake is already a couple of months old, although I have a feeling the marzipan is a hair below the minimum acceptable depth (1/2") and if so I'll be tutting. :)
 
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Woodbloke said:
Unfortunately that isn't the case Rog; as you well know, children of all ages are allowed to fly……
Click to expand...
Unfortunately being the operative word. My experience is that many parents of young children on flights seem to think that everyone loves their offspring and that Little Johnny screaming his head off is OK.
 
On a more serious note, a few years ago, back in Blighty, I volunteered with a community christmass dinner, for local people who were elderly, alone or otherwise vulnerable.

There were 20 or 30 guests and almost as many volunteers. The lady who organised it used to run a pub, so she knew how to cater. The dinner itself was excellent, actually, if a little unimaginitive. Perfect for the occasion.

Starter was prawn cocktail. We served the guests first then went to sit down amonst them. A lady arrived late, her lift was late and she was in a wheelchair. I moved the chair next to me out of the way to make room for her and moved my place setting a little to make way. As I was sliding my prawn cocktail sdeways, the other lady sitting opposite me said,"That's mine!", and snatched it from me. Her own empty dish was in front of her, but she insisted she had not eten anything. Hey ho.

The man sitting two seats away from me smelled as if he had peed himself, but not recently.

After dinner we had the raffle. Everyone was GIVEN tickets and there was a big pile of prizes. #1 was one by a lady. #2 was won by the same lady.#3 was won - well you get the picture. Normal people would have said,"No it's alright, draw again for someone else". But no. She kept on winning, and keeping a very large percentage of the prizes. Astonishing, really. The rest of the gathering were making noises.

When everyone had gone home and we had cleared up, I walked home and thought to myself, "Is this what I have to look forwar dto in 20 years time?". Ye gods, I hope not. It might have been a worthy thing to do, but enjoyable and satisfying, it was not.
S
 
That’s a memory you should dump Steve, grasping people are one of the worst things.
This year we are doing the catering in the uk for son and family plus bil so 7 of us, Pam and I are pretty conventional and I won’t be too involved in the kitchen after preparing the veg. Pam is fairly convinced that a simple turkey meal is all that’s needed, so no Delia’s stuffing with chestnuts haha. Mind you I will be doing the gravy, Americans just have weird ideas as to what colour etc it should be.
My thoughts on Xmas pudding and cake are that who has room for any after a proper blowout meal? So our favourite Sicilian lemon tart from Waitrose and cream will be the offering.
 
Just the 4 of us, which hasn’t happened since COVID as my parents aren’t coming to stay. It’ll be really nice with two teenagers as it won’t be long before they probably won’t want to be here with just us. Boxing Day will be at my parents with my brother and his family. Something we didn’t expect to be able to do. My Dad had a serious bike injury mid July and wasn’t expected to make it home but his progress in physio means he made it home a week or so ago. It’ll be extra special all being together this year
 
RogerS said:
Unfortunately being the operative word. My experience is that many parents of young children on flights seem to think that everyone loves their offspring and that Little Johnny screaming his head off is OK.
Click to expand...
I agree, hence my tongue in cheek comment about the screamers being stowed in the baggage hold; alas not to be. However, Julian, as far as I'm aware isn't one them but is just very lively. As he's less than two, he doesn't get his own seat, so his parents will of necessity have to hold him for the entire flight which I can't envisage as a whole lot of fun - Rob
 
Will have completed the family stuff after the weekend then its Just the two of us plus a sproodle in a converted Edwardian railway carriage on the Ceredigion cliff top (Aberporth)
Stop off in Cardigan en route at a butchers for a nice shoulder of Welsh lamb then its runs and walks along the coast path, two pubs, one in Aberporth one in Tresaith, rather looking forward to it.
 
Having been responsible for the family Christmas dinner for over 35 years with up to 14 people for dinner and 25 for tea. This year we are going on a cruise so someone else can look after us. Our adult daughters and families are taking over the house and doing dinner for themselves.

Over the years I have come to really dislike Christmas due to the commercialisation of it and the wife's melt downs trying to make everything perfect for the day. While it's great to see everyone it is such a large amount of work for one day and two weeks of eating leftovers.
 
Woodbloke said:
I agree, hence my tongue in cheek comment about the screamers being stowed in the baggage hold; alas not to be. However, Julian, as far as I'm aware isn't one them but is just very lively. As he's less than two, he doesn't get his own seat, so his parents will of necessity have to hold him for the entire flight which I can't envisage as a whole lot of fun - Rob
Click to expand...

Rob, when my g-kids travelled with parents by air, a bag of toys were taken for each one, and something to chew on.
 
RogerS said:
Unfortunately being the operative word. My experience is that many parents of young children on flights seem to think that everyone loves their offspring and that Little Johnny screaming his head off is OK.
Click to expand...
Anytime we travelled when my son was young we I always booked the front extra legroom (they had ones not at a door that way he could at least sit and play with his dinosaurs etc and not be tied to a chair for hours. making sure they are well fed, watered and changed tended to help too. Someone did tell me to dose him with calpol if it got too much.
 
Phil said:
Rob, when my g-kids travelled with parents by air, a bag of toys were taken for each one, and something to chew on.
Click to expand...
Alasdair said:
Anytime we travelled when my son was young we I always booked the front extra legroom (they had ones not at a door that way he could at least sit and play with his dinosaurs etc and not be tied to a chair for hours. making sure they are well fed, watered and changed tended to help too. Someone did tell me to dose him with calpol if it got too much.
Click to expand...
Many thanks for those helpful replies; I'll pass that info onto No.1 son. At the weekend he did also mention that infant medicine for Hayfever was also handy as it's makes them slightly drowsy. He cited an example of a lady passenger who flew from somewhere in India via Heathrow to Vancouver (15hrs?) with a 15 month old baby who was virtually comatose (perhaps a slight exaggeration, but you get the drift) the whole way. I seem to recollect that he and his partner were unwilling to give their baby unnecessary medication but as a last resort, they may have to. As to seating, they've got a pair closest to the toilets in the aircraft, which may, or may not be a disadvantage - Rob
 
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Breakfast and presents at my gaff, then up the road to the kids' mum's house for Christmas lunch. The deal is, I supply the turkey and pork (our lad doesn't like turkey, apparently it's dry and tasteless) and their mum and her partner cook and, best of all, do the dishes. Then I have to walk home as nobody can drive, light the fire and enjoy the peace and quiet.

I was talking with the kids a few days ago about Christmas during the Covid lock downs, driving two hours to my mum's house to deliver her Christmas dinner and standing outside the back door for a quick chat and Christmas wishes, then a two-hour drive straight home. We miss Nanny/ Mum, but I don't miss the drive every Christmas day.
 
Well we are open as a restaurant for Christmas Day lunch and were fully booked three or four months ago.

They are getting P4s of scallop lollipops, beetroot cured trout (which I started yesterday - we had two whole 4kg chalk streamers delivered) and frozen cucumber croustades, twice fermented black treacle and pecan bakery with home cured salami and ham, thimble of red pepper soup, a small fish course of poached turbot in lobster sauce, a pick me up of some sort I've yet to decide on, venison loin with pickled blackberries and caramel mashed potatoes and some roasties, superfine shredded red cabbage with Bramleys, glass parsnip, sautéed sprouts with bacon and toasted almonds, then a cheese course, then puddings which will be burnt basque cheesecake with preserved cherries and a top notch trifle (no jelly) pinched from Simon Hopkinson shamelessly (As Adam Byatt has done too), then some bon bons which will be madeleines and filled (not sure with what yet) chocolate spheres. Should be good. Picked up the freshly roasted coffee from Bean Smitten today - 5kg.

We are doing our family Christmas, as is German tradition, on Christmas Eve. That will either be roast rib of beef (70 day dry aged) with home made horseradish or Chateaubriand (same age) with lots of bearnaise, roast Koffmann spuds in rendered beef fat, and whatever veg I feel like making. I'm opening a magnum of Sugrue Ex-Machina 2016 (amazing), and a bottle of 2001 d'Yquem. Maybe some Palmer if I'm feeling extra generous.

We are open on 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th, 31st and 3rd 2026 as well so by Monday the chillers will need to be loaded. I will need some serious drugs :cool:. I don't do drugs. It's all got a bit out of hand.

I hope everyone here has a fantastic Christmas meal, that the tables don't collapse, and posts some photos here. I have not cooked one single turkey, goose or duck this year, but have done a shed load of coq au vin.
 
Steve Maskery said:
Adrian, I've said it before, you are too posh for words. That sounds like a herculean task to get that lot ready for a full house of diners. I don't envy you (but I do envy the diners!)
:)
Joyeux Noël
S
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Zero poshness Steve :D, just a cook. The workload is not as bad as you think because I'm now totally used to doing shed loads of prep in advance and have commercial kit. We would not do it if we didn't enjoy it, so it is totally a choice. And it pays for my fine wine habit :cool:
 
Just a cook. Yeah, right! :)

BTW, I cooked my beef stew last night. The flavour is excellent, but the gravy is a bit thin. I can fix that. The trouble is I've now gone off the idea :(
S
 
Steve Maskery said:
Just a cook. Yeah, right! :)

BTW, I cooked my beef stew last night. The flavour is excellent, but the gravy is a bit thin. I can fix that. The trouble is I've now gone off the idea :(
S
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What I've learned is that "gravy" is what wows diners. Getting well beyond what the typical home cook can do takes a lot of work, but is almost free. It's not difficult but home made stocks are really key. We aim for near zero waste so we have 5 base stocks used for sauces, all using "waste". Veal jus, pork stock, light and dark chicken stock, fish/shellfish stock, vegetable stock. Ok, that is six but two are similar. Pressure cooking is the secret weapon as it is fast, cheap and near zero oxidation.
 
Pressure cooking is the secret weapon as it is fast, cheap and near zero oxidation

Funnily enough, I’ve just bought a 7 litre pressure cooker for batch cooking. My previous experiences with pressure cookers have not been successful but this Tower model is a revelation. I completely agree about the importance of homemade stocks and I use my pan to make them. I’m still trying to work out how to get a consistent thickness to my gravy, though. No doubt I’ll get there with practice. :)
 
I live with someone who doesn't eat meat, so getting a load of beef bones, or even a chicken carcase is a rare event. I do, however always make my own fish stock. Prawn shells and heads, and, if I can get one, the head off a salmon or catfish or some such. Celery, onion, bay, peppercorns. It's good.
S
 
AJB Temple said:
What I've learned is that "gravy" is what wows diners. Getting well beyond what the typical home cook can do takes a lot of work, but is almost free. It's not difficult but home made stocks are really key. We aim for near zero waste so we have 5 base stocks used for sauces, all using "waste". Veal jus, pork stock, light and dark chicken stock, fish/shellfish stock, vegetable stock. Ok, that is six but two are similar. Pressure cooking is the secret weapon as it is fast, cheap and near zero oxidation.
Click to expand...
I don’t know anything about the science or methodology but a good gravy definitely makes a big difference.
 
does anyone ever make the christmas pudding? I might attempt to make one from scratch this year, could be a fun project.
 
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