Although 'tis just the night before,
I feel it's necessary,
To wish to every single one,
A Christmas that is MERRY !!

Yvonne

A very, very, very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And a very Happy Christmas from a damp and soggy England. I second everything that Kath has says.
The first hot, homemade mince pie was most enjoyable. It will be turkey and Xmas pud for lunch tomorrow.

It's still Christmas Eve here in Philadelphia, but it's never too soon to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Santa came around on the fire engine and handed out apples, oranges and candy canes. Looking forward to tomorrow and the beginning of next week when my nieces and their families will come to visit. Guess what everyone is getting from me? Books!

It's still Christmas Eve here in Texas, but it's been snowing all day so a white Christmas is very likely...

Happy Christmas to all my RP friends... I can't begin to count how many good recommendations for books I have had from you all, and how lovely it is to visit and know that there will always be something interesting to read about.

Thanks to all....

It's still Christmas Eve here, but I'm full of the Christmas spirit, more than I have been for several years.

My very best wishes to all my RP friends

Rosefolly

Almost Christmas here. Had a yummy shrimp and crab boil for dinner, followed by Trivial Pursuit. Fun. I'm grateful for all my RP friends and the great and interesting books they bring to my attention. Happy Christmas to all.

Best holiday wishes from balmy SC where roses and other flowers are still blooming madly. Had a delicious sweet potato pudding today, flavored with orange, and other goodies.

Vee, what exactly is in your "Christmas pudding"?

Merry Christmas from Maine, where the snow is falling softly and wine is flowing freely. All the animals have been fed and now is it time for the humans to eat!

Merry, Merry Christmas! I hope you all found books beneath the tree this morning. Wishing health and happiness to everyone here at RP in 2012!

Woodnymph,
What is sweet potato pudding? Is it like a pumpkin pie?
Is it like a heavy cake?
I should know this.......former Home Ec. teacher that I am!

sarah c, your 'shrimp boil' sounds very exotic to my English ears . . . and taste buds. I only remember shrimps from childhood when we used to collect little grey, wiggly things in out 'shrimping nets' while on sea-side holidays. They were thrown into boiling water and the next half hour was spent spitting out bits of shell and 'innards'. These days our shore-lines/river estuaries etc are still so polluted they don't make yummy, or healthy eating.
Yours must be bigger and fatter (and all American) than our weedy specimens. ;-)

Mary, Christmas pudding is a 'must-have' after the turkey (the diet can be started after the New Year).
I think many folk buy them ready-made but the DH always makes one in early December which gives it time to mature.
The recipe is really simple, but the initial cooking time takes several hours of slow cooking. Some people make a couple and save one for next year.
The recipe below is from the popular and very practical cook Delia Smith. Nothing flashy or flouncy about her and if you do what she says everything will work out!

Here is a link that might be useful: Traditional Christmas Pud

hmm.....almost looks like a recipe for fruitcake.
We don't usually ignite ours, but that would probably be a good thing to do to one ! :0)

Sweet potato pudding is a bit similar to pumpkin pie, but I like it better. You scoop out the insides of yams, discarding the skins. You mix the "pulp" with a little orange juice, maybe some cinnamon or nutmeg and place in a buttered cassarole and bake til done in oven. Some folks in the deep South will dot the top with marshmallows before baking. I'm sure there are many variations of the recipes for this out there on the Internet.

My whole family spent Christmas Eve and Day out of town at my brother's house, with several cousins and their families coming to dinner yesterday afternoon. We had a good time in spite of its being the first Christmas without his wife who died of cancer in August. Too much food, too many desserts, but never too much love.

We didn't get home until fairly late last night and this is the first time I've been on the computer, so I wish all of you a belated Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year. I, too, love this civilized and erudite forum.