Christmas is all over once again and we are left with the memories and photos. The family came together at my niece, Kirtsy’s home and we had a very happy Christmas lunch together. She put together a very pretty table for us.
It was bright and summery despite the rain that had chosen this day to arrive after weeks of sunshine. But it didn’t dampen our spirits and the sun arrived a little later on to finish the day in style.
Even though we have summer at Christmas time in New Zealand, we still have all the traditional hot foods and traditions that our fore-bearers brought here from England – turkey and stuffing, ham on the bone, steamed plum puddings and a Christmas fruit cake. My mother always makes the plum puddings and this year she made three – just in case we were hungry – and one had a surprise glace orange inside.
The Christmas tree is a must, of course, and Kirsty and her two beautiful wee daughters had decorated it with delightful decorations and few sweet ones made by the children. I wish I had taken a closer up shot of some of the decorations.
As for being on a low FODMAP diet at Christmas time, I did reasonably well and avoided the obvious trigger foods like the stuffing (which has wheat and onions) and the cake and plum pudding, which are both filled with dried fruit – a serious fructose overload. The only mistake I made was to drink some fruit juice even though it was well watered down with soda water. I was thirsty and drank too much before I realised what I had done. But I only had mild symptoms, fortunately. 
The only dessert I ate a little of was the beautiful chocolate log in the top photo. And it was delicious. For the main course I ate the turkey, the ham and the two salads I had prepared myself, because I knew they were low FODMAP. None of that was a problem and I wasn’t hungry afterwards. So, Christmas is very possible on a low FODMAP diet.
It is always about making the right choices. I have never had a situation where I have ended up hungry. But it is always important to be clear about what is in food. The only times I have suffered have been when I have been distracted or when I was misinformed about what was in food – reading those labels is so important.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and didn’t overindulge. The New Year is approaching in great leaps. How many of you have a dozen things on your New Year’s resolution list? Perhaps if we do that, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Truly, how many of us can make a number of changes at once? One at a time is quite doable so let’s make one New Year’s resolution this time. That way we are more likely to keep it.
And here is one last photo of us all at the table. There are 16 of us and 4 generations. Nothing can beat a family get-together.
What a great gathering of family…that’s what Christmas is all about! The food looks amazing, too!
It is what Christmas is about. It is a great day to feast and eat too much but I was very judicious – or at least I thought I had been.
Delighted to hear you had a wonderful Christmas! A family gathering like that is so much fun. And glad you were able to handle the food (largely) without problem!
Thanks, John. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too.
Oh I had an untypical Christmas this year, I did not make a christmas tree, as my cats would try to climb it every 5 minutes, but I’ve been discovering Barcelona a lot 🙂
That’s quite a delightful image – your cats climbing the tree!
You seem to be enjoying Barcelona a lot. I was there only briefly as we were passing through but it seemed rather magnificent.
The table setting looks beautiful and I love the look of the chocolate log – very pretty. We also had no end of sunshine and gorgeous weather leading up to Christmas but then late Christmas Eve the rain started. Christmas Day was non-stop rain and it wasn’t warm either. And that’s the third cold Christmas in a row. Unbelievable. Then came Boxing Day and out came the sun! xx
What a shame about your Christmas day weather. Ours wasn’t quite that bad. I always think of December as wet so we have quite lucky this year but there does seem to be something about Christmas that attracts the rain.
What a lovely gathering of family…I’m happy that you had a wonderful Christmas celebration.
Thank you, Karen. I hope that yours was just as wonderful.
Happy Holidays! Looks like you had a lovely Christmas celebration. The chocolate buche de noel looks delicious!
It was certainly delicious. I hope you had a great celebration too.
What a lovely shot of your family gathered at the table – so many beautiful memories being made, I am sure! The food looks really wonderful – the pudding with the orange inside is over the top!
Thanks, Donalyn. I have folders full of such memories on my computer. That reminds me – I had better back it up.
What a lovely family gathering, Suzanne. I really miss family during the holidays. Most of the time I’m just fine in my new home but holidays find me hankering for a table full of children, cousins and more.