The teens told me they hated turkey and ham and all those trimmings, and they announced a Chinese meal would be preferable
ne dinnertime in November, three teens, a husband, a nana and I were discussing Christmas traditions and the recent controversy around the Marks & Spencer Christmas advert, which says: ‘This Christmas, do only what you love.’ The aim of the ad was to encourage people to celebrate Christmas how they want to, rather than following traditions that don’t mean anything to them. This sparked off a very lively debate about our own family traditions and the ones we wanted to keep.
Of course, the obvious ones were here to stay, such as our Christmas tree with its twinkly multi-coloured lights – this year our tree has been described as ‘vintage’ as we have not succumbed to the gold and white lights that are very popular now – but that’s a whole other story. Also to stay were the Christmas movies and, of course, the gifts – the teens were not going to give up on the true meaning of Christmas, let’s be real!
The nana spoke about her love of sending and receiving Christmas cards, much to the amazement of the teens, who asked what was wrong with just sending a text. She lamented the fact that there were few carol singers around any more and she missed the tradition of the light in the window. My husband fought an impressive fight for the maintenance of the ‘good’ tin of biscuits but was more than happy to agree that the wearing of the Christmas jumper was no longer obligatory.
Unanimously, the teens agreed to the ditching of the Christmas Day swim – well, we never did that one anyway – and the building of the gingerbread houses with ten of their friends on Christmas Eve, which was a win for me. I was so happy that my kids had missed the relatively new tradition of the Elf on the Shelf because that would have been one of the first things on my list to go – way too stressful.
Inevitably the conversation moved on to the Christmas dinner, one of the biggest traditions of the festive period. In fact, it is the highlight of the day for the adults. Suddenly there was complete anarchy. The teens told me that they hated turkey and ham and all those trimmings. They were used to their weekly Sunday roast, so it was like
Christmas dinner in our house every week – though I suspect this glowing compliment was just an attempt to win me over. They announced a Chinese meal would be their combined preference. With unexpected support from the nana, the decision was made. The menu was now going to be spring rolls, chicken satay, duck pancakes and a sweet and sour stir-fry all made from scratch and a team effort.
We all agreed we would keep the tradition of the plum pudding for dessert as they have grown up with this one and the eldest teen has perfected the knack of knowing just the right amount of brandy to use to create a manageable inferno.
The reaction to this decision by other people has been hilarious and fascinating, so much so it may even make it on to Liveline. People, it seems, feel very strongly about this one tradition, even if they admit that they don’t actually like turkey or Brussels sprouts.
One of my friends has declared that she will make extra dinner on Christmas Day because we will definitely be arriving over, as the sense of regret and loss will be too much to bear as we crunch on a chicken-satay skewer. The teens’ friends were even worse – one said that she would actually break down and cry if she didn’t get her proper Christmas dinner. Other people smile and have a look on their faces that says, ‘she will cave’, and believe I will be caught running around on Christmas Eve trying to find a turkey crown and a packet of frozen croquettes.
So do I feel even a little twinge of worry – worry that our whole Christmas could potentially be ruined and their lasting teen memory of Christmas shattered forever? Eh, no!
Most of our family live abroad and this year they won’t be travelling to Ireland so, realistically, at the end of the day, does it really matter what we eat on Christmas Day when the most important thing is that we spend time with the people we love. Whether it’s roast potatoes or mash, duck pancakes or spring rolls, Christmas is the time to give thanks for what we do have – and the family and friends we have around us.
Now that’s the icing on the cake, if you had a Christmas cake, as that was on the list for ditching...