It is our tradition, to celebrate Christmas with all the family on Christmas Eve! So, all my family want to come this year to my place again! 🙂 We are usually more than 16 people for this kind of get-togethers! This is including four of my great-grandchildren aged 2, 5, 7 and 9! 🙂 I have two more great-grandchildren in Victoria. Unfortunately I have not seen these for quite a while. – – – Sadly, it is going to be the second Christmas without Peter. – – –
Secret Santa will be coming again this year. So, everyone gets only one present! However, I am sure there is going to be some very special nice food provided once more due to the combined effort of several women. I am probably going to make some potato salad again. A lot of people do like my salad! 🙂 And of course people bring along beer, wine and maybe some liquor as well as a variety of soft drinks. 🙂 (Mark is in the habit of drinking only Coca Cola when he knows, that he has to be driving home again.)
Our other custom at Christmas time is to make ‘Bunte Teller’ with Pfefferkuchen (gingerbread), nuts, special fruit and some sweets like for instance marzipan sweets and chocolates. 🙂
I hope the weather is going to be fine, so that we can stay outside a lot and make good use of the new deck and to be outside in the open a lot of the time. 🙂
Maybe some people are going to stay overnight again, that would mean, we could be able to cheer with plenty of nice drinks! 🙂
All the outside area on the three different sections of the house have been made usable recently. So there is plenty of room for people to spread out a bit. There are even two ramps for my rollator! Colourful electric lights have been installed, and there are also about half a dozen solar lights spread out over the ground as well as some new electric flash lights! 🙂
I hope, my son Martin will be able to come from Victoria, and that this time the borders are going to stay open. Martin told me, that he can stay only for a couple of nights, but that I am welcome to go back with him and his dog Millie to his place in Benalla. 🙂
I am looking forward to spend some great holidays in Benalla! 🙂
AuntyUta 
YAY! This all sounds wonderful, SweetUta! Enjoy your family, the celebrations, especially the love.
I know Peter will be with you in thought, spirit, and heart. He will be smiling. 🙂
I’d love to know your potato salad recipe if you care to share it. I make a good potato salad but I’m always open to learning a new way. 🙂
(((HUGS)))
👼🎄🌟🔔🎉🎅🎁🎄
Carolyn, I think it is a good idea to make the potato salad a day before you want to use it. Before I serve it the next day, I make sure to taste it first to find out whether it needs some extra ingredients. For instance, it is possible that it does need a bit of extra salt and also some extra vinegar. People usually like it, when it is sufficiently sour! 🙂
When I make the salad, I like to add a lot of finely diced onions to the potato pieces, as well as small pieces of pickled or sour cucumbers. And I find, if I happen to have some nice sweet apples, it improves the salad to add finely cut apple pieces! Also a little bit of mustard can make the salad a bit more spicy. Of course, I start making the salad with a large amount of boiled and sliced, cooled down pieces of potato. (I take the skin off after I boiled the potatoes!) As soon as all the potatoes are diced, I add pepper, salt and olive oil plus the mayonnaise and also a bit of vinegar. All the other things that I mentioned are optional. 🙂
Peter always liked my potato salad too. 🙂
Stay safe, dear Carolyn,
Hugs from Uta 🙂
Yes, that makes sense. Potato Salad is great day of, but, also, tastes even better in the days after…the leftovers. (If there are any! Ha!)
I add all of the things you do…but I’ve never thought of apples! I love this idea! I shall try it! Thank you for sharing this idea! I appreciate it! 🙂
(((HUGS))) 🙂 ❤
I do hope the travel restrictions will be very light, and that you will have your wonderful family tradition on the 24th. God bless you, Uta.
Yes, dear Debra, we all hope there won’t be any travel restrictions. And I am so happy, that this time we will be able to mainly celebrate outside. This should make it much safer to have so many people around. We still don’t know, how this new variant of the Coronavirus might effect us.
So, I send you hugs from the Australian summer! 🙂
Stay safe, Debra, and enjoy your Christmas as much as possible.
Love, Uta 🙂