Our Second Vegan Christmas

Christmas 2016

We have a few family traditions, one is that each of our three mini people have a box with their name on. Each year we buy one decoration for the tree for them and it goes in their box. They put their decorations on the tree. The box is kept safe till, it waits by the elf doors on the night before Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, they wake up to the box being filled with things to make Christmas Eve relaxing and snuggley. Each year the Elves bring them new Christmas Pj's, a mug, and something crafty. They get a very big treat of hot chocolate in their new mug! 

The Christmas Eve Box

This year they got a craft box too, this kept them busy for hours!

Then when we take down the tree, their decorations go back in the box. When our mini people are older and leaving home, they will have a box full of their decorations ready to start their own tree! *Am going to cry, a lot I think....

Father Christmas popped over early to see the children in the lead up to Christmas! As we live by the sea, he had to borrow a rib to get to the island! They where very excited to see him arrive and it was lovely to get a mini gift from him for being such good little boys and girls in the run up to the main event!

After asking on my facebook page what my followers traditions for Christmas where, we have adopted one. Reading 'The Night Before Christmas' on Christmas Eve! As you know, am a hoarder and this is my book from the 1980's! Am going to read it to our little family every Christmas Eve from now on, a lovely little tradition.

I think its so important, to teach the mini people to be kind and giving. So with that in mind we all made Gingerbread Men, popped them in bags and then set out on Christmas Eve to deliver them to our neighbors. (They where vegan ones, I will share how I make them, when I get a moment!)

Our neighbors have been so forgiving this year, having this big while dirty box sat on our drive. They have been helpful, lending me a drill, giving me gifts for her. (She is part way through being done up, at the moment her outside is looking pretty shabby! Not the shabby chic sort of look, more like, dirty old 'shed' look. If you want to read about Daisy, click here.) Our road really went to town with the Christmas lights! When we delivered the Gingerbread Men, we waited till it had just got dark so we could go see all the lights too! Its easy to just snuggle at home, and not leave the house! I think Christmas walks are really lovely and the mini's loved seeing all the lights. We filled Daisy with fairy lights, just over the few days for Christmas, it was lovely pulling into the drive, seeing her all lit up!

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This is only our second Christmas with a plant-based/vegan diet, the first, it felt so huge not to fall back to cooking an animal. This year, I didn't even think about it. I haven't ever put any presser on my self, I have thought of it like this - If I fancy something I will have it, so far I haven't fancied anything. The longer I go without the more I think its weird to eat meat. Why would I want a dead body of a once living beautiful being on my Christmas lunch table? I was born a meat eater and I come from a family of meat eaters, county folk. So was my husband, so where our children. I don't think I have got our Vegan Christmas lunch perfect yet, but am getting close. My husband said it was the best roast he has ever had! 

 I have been cooking Christmas lunch for years. I once cooked it without an oven and just a microwave and a one ring camping stove! (I haven't owned a microwave for years.) One I will never forget was cooking my dying friend his last Christmas lunch, taken in draws in the back of a truck to his house (over an hours drive away.) So Christmas lunch means a lot to me, I work hard to make all the extra timmings, stuffing etc, it can take days to make. While I've been finding my feet with making a Vegan Christmas meal, I have brought pre-made things like stuffing and I was so shocked at how little prep time there was. I made the pie on the day, I didn't have to cook through the night. I was really relaxed! 

I made a Christmas pie this year, as in the run up to Christmas my husband told me he wasn't really loving nut roasts!!! Oh no I thought!! Well, this pie was amazing!

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I didn't go 'all out' as it where for our Christmas table, it was very relaxed! If you have been following my blog for a while, you will know that am a hoarder and mega into retro vintage hand-me-downs. The main china we use day to day, is my Nana's 1960's set and few bits had got broken, so I had packed it away and brought new. Wow, the new stuff is in worse condition that the plates from the 1960/70's! So this Christmas, I was looking at some new sets, thinking how nice it would be to have a really pretty table for Christmas. Tesco had lots of sets on offer and one had court my eye. While I was shopping, I went to put it in the trolley. I was like, what am I doing!! Why on earth would I spend money on this new set, when I love the old retro stuff. Am currently collecting J&G Meakin 'Poppy' for our 1969 Caravan but I've fallen in love with their coffee pots.....I may have brought another one....

This is pretty much my husband right now.....

So I put down the pretty set and matched off to hunt down the internet for more Meakin! 

I also put back the big candle stick holders, which would have made beautiful table decorations/center pieces. After remembering that I have three small children, who would not think 'what a beautiful table mummy,' more like, 'look mummy fire.....' So I used the lanterns we use in Daisy, they have fairy lights inside, so they are safe from catching things alight! Also on the table was the beautiful serving dish which was a homemade gift for our wedding. A few bits of the J&G Meakin 'Poppy' I have so far managed to collect and fun new Christmas bowls and cups for the mini people!

The Food!

A large cooked whole cauliflower, cooked with spices and seeds.

Stuffing, cooked in a muffin tin to make stuffing cups.

 Cauliflower butternut cheese, click here for my no-cheese sauce just pour over cooked cauliflower and sprinkle on breadcrumbs and vegan cheese. 

Parsnips cooked in my Pear Honey.

My Christmas pie, (we took it with us for boxing day and got lots of compliments) click here for how to make it. I baked it in one large tin this time, not muffin tins, also I didn't use brought puff for the top but made my own. (Click here for how to make my short-crust pastry.)

With roast potatoes, sweet potatoes mash with swede and green vegetables. 

It was blinking yummy!! I eat so much, but didn't feel that over full horribleness or needed to take a nap. That's just one of the amazing things about plantbased food!