Our Christmas this year has been an unusual one. There was none of the usual Christmas lead up social activities where you catch up with everyone you know before the big day. No work Christmas parties and not quite so much of the mad shopping frenzy that comes with the Season. Without all of those things it has felt a little less like Christmas, and highlighted how far away we are.
The part I have missed the most has been the happy gatherings that come with this time of year. The dinners, the champagne, the friends and family. That is my favourite part about Christmas.
Despite all that, we still had a pretty good Christmas. Last night Chi Wai, Brian and I went out for a special Christmas Eve dinner to a Japanese restaurant. It was very festive. Paper hats and all.
In the first photo, Chi Wai and I are showing off our haul from the posh Christmas crackers. Chi Wai's gift was a travel cork screw and mine was a retractable soft tape measure. It was like they knew we were coming!
On Christmas morning there were presents under the tree....
and my family was right there with me.
The far away family and friends were made to feel a little bit closer by the wonders of the World Wide Web.
For Christmas lunch we (Chi Wai, Brian and I) were invited to Zeina's house. Zeina is a colleague and it was so nice of her to invite us into her home for Christmas. Zeina and her family are originally from Syria and a traditional Christmas dinner consists of Arabic style food. This is the fantastic spread that she put on for us and her other guests.
Please note the dark brown football shaped morsels of goodness roughly in the centre of the photo. They are called Kebbeh (the spelling varies depending on the restaurant) but they are delicious and a particular favourite of mine. They are a bit difficult to describe but here goes. They outer crust made of similar ingredients to a falafel and the filling is spiced mince meat with pine nuts and the whole thing is deep fried until crisp. Yum!
Needless to say, we were well and truly stuffed and I had to have my traditional Christmas afternoon nap when we got home. Thank you Zeina and Joseph for having us!
Okay, so that's Christmas unwrapped. To all my friends old and new who read this, I hope your Christmas was a happy one.
xxxooo
5 comments:
Merry Christmas to you both.
Merry Christmas guys.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you both.
The presents in the bon bons really seem to just right, all i got this year (and i bought more expensive ones ) was a hat, joke and sitckers, not happy jan.
The presents are adorable, Kate and I were trying to figure out what they were on our Tuesday night Xmas party, of which you were greatly missed.
So far away - yet still stuffed to the gills - happens all around the world! Food looks LUSH!
Oh, the beautiful hummus, the borek, the gorgeous food! thanks for sharing a pic (I'm drooling!)
Post a Comment