Ed’s letter Katrina’s getting ready for the festive season
Christmas comes early at Home
Beautiful: just as most people are snuggling up alongside a wintry fire, we start thinking about exactly what makes an Australian Christmas so very special, and the ideas that will make it extra special for you, our readers.
It all begins with the HB team, munching on tree-shaped biscuits and sharing Christmas stories. The tales are lovely: this year we heard about one family that manages to bring 100-plus relatives together at a local bowls club – others, are quite amazing: one team member already had this year’s theme sorted for her yearly alfresco dinner. And sometimes, the stories are a little sad, as Christmas has a knack of pulling at the heart when a much-loved family member is missing. But they are always meaningful as Christmas is about family.
Our family enjoys many traditions, including visits to both sets of grandparents on Christmas Day, which means an hour-long dash across Sydney, straight from my mum’s lunch of seafood and dessert – last year, I made HB’s classic Caramel Nut Ice-cream Cake (find the recipe at homebeautiful.com.au) – to being greeted with a kitchen bursting with my Italian mother-in-law’s Greatest Hits. (I would drive 10 hours for her melanzani and crostoli.) My sister also hosts a more traditional dinner a week before Christmas that always features a table topped with flowers straight from her gorgeous garden and a collection of found objects. This year will be extra special, as my other sister, who lives in northern NSW, will be making the trek down with her family so we can spend Christmas all together for the first time in years. I know our celebrations will be tinged with a little longing – it’s our sixth Christmas without our dear dad – but he is always there, especially when we carefully select wines from his cellar for each meal.
This issue is filled with Christmas inspiration, from our gift guide (from page 61) to absolutely divine dishes to share. A couple on my menu at any time of the year: Cassata Ice-Cream Sandwiches (page 211) and the Fig, Haloumi & Pear Salad (page 213). We also have plenty of other stories to inspire and enjoy, including a particular favourite of mine, an extract from Nicole England’s Resident Dogs: Incredible Homes
And The Dogs That Live There (page 179). This delightful book illustrates something I’ve always believed: a family pet, even one that moults like a champion (I’m talking about you, Archie), truly makes a house a home.
Interior architect Sally Rhys-Jones (above left) starts new traditions with husband Ben and Ben’s parents Kim and Sue (page 82) and the stunning Cassata Ice-Cream Sandwiches that are quite difficult to resist (from page 207).