France This Way...the blog!!

Given the wonders of blogging technology this post should have appeared on Christmas Day, despite actually being written before the festivities began. Very Happy Christmas to all!!

In truth my Christmas responsibilities are small and probably nobody will notice even if I spend the whole day playing on the internet, but I daresay I will get called on to fit batteries, change plugs etc. – doubtless our UK relatives will have arrived with loads of electronic devices that all need a UK plug socket to work properly, and my job will be to somehow get them all charging off the French system before the children start crying.

Occasionally I am trusted with very basic kitchen tasks – empting the bins or slicing bread for example – but generally there are so many people here who are better qualified to make Christmas dinner than me that I usually get asked to stay clear of the kitchen altogether. This doesn’t upset me very much and I am perfectly happy just to eat fine food without being involved in the preparation.

I like to be involved in the planning of course, since that involves lots of wine and very little effort. Broadly speaking eight adults each list an enormous number of apparently essential ingredients of a perfect Christmas Lunch (think bread sauce, chestnut puree, truffle stuffing, every vegetable that has ever been grown in the northern hemisphere…), based on their own family traditions and then trying to get the list down to only those items that might actually fit on a plate. Solution? Eat 47 different vegetables but buy bigger plates.

Amazingly given the snow and cold weather that was here just last weekend we (me and brother-in-law) have been out cycling every day this week. Not always in baking sunshine if truth be told but all the same pretty impressive for the last week in December, so we have well earned a day of drinking and eating too much in front of the television.

The French of course have already had all their presents – they opened them on the 24th December, to the envy of our children – and Boxing day isn’t even a bank holiday in France. So the perfect approach for us expats is to combine the traditions of France and Britain, and have a Christmas that runs non-stop for at least three days. Which I have every intention of doing.

Have a nice day!!