Christmas memories all involve food....

Festive goodies from last years Lincoln Market visit

Christmas has always been amazing time in my life, no matter my age. Mum's always gone what some people would consider 'overboard' at this time of year but its one of the things I love about her the most. Even when times were hard and Mum worked three jobs, Christmas would always be an absolute vision of beauty; the house filled with laughter, family and memory making opportunities. Mum would always feel every bowl in the house with either nuts or chocolates. As Kids me and my siblings would take it in turns to sneakily remove the scelatape from the lid of an tinned chocolates, remove our favourites and then specifically place the tape back in position without the adults even knowing. Whilst other families would have 1 (or maybe 2) meats for the big family sit-down meal, Mum always cooked a grand total of 4! Looking back now I realise she always tried to make Christmas an utter triumph because of the minor hardship we might have faced throughout the year.

Grandmas baking was always part of the Christmas tradition too! Each of her seven Children would visit her on the days running up to the holidays (may often leaving so drunk on free Baily's they couldn't find their way home) and my Grandma would send them on their way with a large tin of baked treats; jam tarts, lemon tarts and coconut tarts to name but a few. Since moving out of home I have tried to make myself into a baking Goddess (practice makes perfect) so I could one day pass this onto my own Children. As it happens, today I am practising Christmas cookies, wish me luck.

With Christmas comes all those festive naughties that we on opt to eat on that special day of the year and yet manage to stay away from for the remaining days. I find myself turning into my Mum and suddenly find myself having 'a tipple' of sherry or a mince pie which ordinarily would never be in my house.

Each year also visit Lincoln's Christmas Market. The city looks so elegant with its festive lighting, often complimented by carols play through the street whilst shoppers rummage round making those last minute purchases... I couldn't love it more if I tried. This year we've even arranged to go ice-skating together outdoors which is set to be fun as neither of us can actually skate! Where else would you have the opportunity to sample unique blends of home made chutney, cheese and fudge. The lovely B&B we visit is ran by two remarkable people who really bring the Christmas spirit alive with their smiley warm welcome, as an added bonus to guest if they visit around Christmas time they provide enough Mulled wine to shake a snowman's arm at.

I conclude that although many would accept that Christmas is 'all about the food' its actually about much more than that; its all about the principles around eating the food. We often eat the food that our loved ones have spent time preparing for us, sharing food, giving food, passing on our skills so others can also practice the art of giving food, coming together FOR the food but then finding another reason to stay. Loving food is one thing that most people have in common and therefore it isnt too difficult to convince people to attend a family gathering with the offer of a free festive feed. However, Id like to think that once the initial invite was accepted only on the basis of this free feed that the individual stayed of their own accord as a result of perhaps a child's laughter, seeing an elderly relative for the first time in years or sharing stories of your childhood with siblings that now have families of their own etc.One of the best memories I have of me and my two sisters together happened at Christmas and coincidentally happened to involve food (more specifically Malteasers). When I was a young teenagers on Christmas we decided to play a game; the game involved each of the sisters taking it in turns to place a Malteaser in their mouths and seeing who could get the most in! The joke was that even after the other two surrendered out of the game I continued (as a big lover of Chocolate) to challenge myself in beating my personal best! Considering the fact that Chocolate melts when warm or moist this game involved drewl and laughter making for a very messy combination indeed.

Fact is, Christmas is often a time for overindulgence; we go over the top of food and even over the top when pretending to love that one family member we actually cannot stand. Making ourselves feel sick through the silly amount of free chocolate we've consumed and eating so much turkey we feel as though our tummy's will actually BURST is almost expected of us Haha. It only happens once a year so please don't be one of those people that diet or 'cut back' over the festive holidays....life's too short. Enjoy, indulge and remember to make memories that will last forever.