I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, if they celebrated, of course. I am sharing highlights, as I do each year.
This is our tree, at the beginning of the month. This year too we had an advent-calendar gift giving, 25 gifts for each day instead of bigger gifts at Christmas. We both love this approach, as we can get each other small things.
We went to London and we took the gifts with us, so we opened a gift each day, even on holiday. Luckily some gifts were edible, so we had those in London, and we didn’t have to take them back with us. This is the “Christmas” tree I made in London. It was lovely to have it and I might use this idea for next year too.
These were the gifts I got for my husband. I took advantage of being in London alone to get treats from places like Harrods and Fortnum and Mason. I was impressed with the quality of their products, the teas are so good. I got some treats from an Arabic shop, a delicious Turkish delight and Iranian biscuits. Of course, I had to pick up 2 books and my husband is very happy with them (pun intended).
These were the gifts my husband got for me. I never imagined on the first day that there will be a bundle of cripsy seaweed thins. It was hilarious to try to figure out what is inside. Of course I didn’t guess. The books were from a wishlist I gave my husband and include Darwin, Adam Smith, and Cioran.
Starters for Christmas included baked Mac&Cheese, pigs in blankets, houmous topped with fried onion, mix of mushrooms, a selection of cheese made by local artisans. One of them made a chorizo paste and I got that too. All was vegan, of course. The starters were amazing.
For mains we had a vegan roast from M&S, the only one available. All the other nearby supermarkets sold out all the vegan roasts. We paired with the roasted Brussels sprouts and roast potatoes topped with fried Brussels sprouts. We’ve had pickles too: gin infused courgettes, cardamom carrots, and Brussels sprouts, yet again. It was lovely. Some of the pickles were a bit strange, but nice overall.
Lastly, the most important part of the meal: desserts. We got some confit fruits from Fortnum & Mason and those were amazing. I think they are great value for money, even if they are on the expensive side. That pear was delightful and the black fig was so unusual. We also had marzipan fruits and some of the Turkish delight I got for my husband as a gift, alongside the Iranian biscuits. We got rose and coffee creams from Harrods and my husband got vegan fudge from them as well, so we’ve enjoyed those too. Some truffles, stollen, and panetonne were bought from high-street shops. Besides that, we had a small and yummy Christmas cake and a yule log made by a local vegan bakery, both were so good.
How did you spend your Christmas?
I love your main house tree and the idea of giving multiple smaller advent gifts is amazing and one I shall be running past Dave this year!
I love confit fruits and your selection looks really delicious! This would be a dessert all for me, which is even better, as four of the items you named – figs, Turkish delight, coffee creams and marzipan, are all things that Dave hates and won’t eat! 🙂
I think if I had requested any more books as presents, I would have got them thrown at me, as you have no idea just how full our place is of books (my books as I am forever being reminded).
I hope that your New Year is a happy and healthy one. Best Wishes 🙂
The advent gifts are really fun, we both love buying and opening them. The fig was so good, also the Turkish delight was from an Arabic shop and it was better than the one from the supermarket, smoother and less sweet. If you pass by an Arabic shop, make sure you are checking their stock of Turkish delight. Halva is another thing you might want to try, if you haven’t. 🙂
Happy New Year!! xx
Halva sounds delicious and I love the sound of it being made with nut butter. I’ll definitely check around and see if there are any shops selling it nearby (authentic shops of course!) tahnks for the recommendation 🙂
Your Christmas looks fabulous. I love both your trees (apartment tree is super clever for no space!) and the matching paper, too. So pretty and clever. And I am wild about your advent gift ideas. That’s really a fun idea. I’ll have to see if I could talk Rick into that one next year. Christmas dinner looks wonderful, especially your desserts! All in all, a wonderful time.
Have a very happy new year, Anca. I hope it is filled with wonderful things!
I love your advent gifts! What a lovely idea. Your vegan roast looks delicious, too!
Corinne x
It sounds and looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. I love your Christmas tree!
All the best for 2022!
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Everything looks so tasty! I tried a vegan roast from Trader Joe’s this past summer and thought it was very good. I love the look of that dessert tray!
Such a clever idea for the tree on the wall.
We had two celebrations this year. Seven of us gathered on the 24th, then seven of us on the 26th.
I love roast and I got a couple more, from Tofurky and another brand. The dessert tray was such a good idea. We tried many things, but not all at once. I am going to buy some of those again.
How nice to have two celebrations instead of one. With a big family it might make more sense to do it like that. xx
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Anca! Such a creative idea to have advent gift giving. Looks like you had a similar ‘foodie’ Christmas to us. Those treats you shared look amazing. My Mum made a turkey buffet on Christmas day, which had a party feeling to it as we had our Nan visit. Look forward to hearing about the books you received. Best wishes for 2022. 🙂 xx
Helen
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