I love holiday traditions. One of my favourites is the elfin house guest who arrives straight from the North Pole to live with us for the week before Christmas. By day, he's a stuffed toy. By night, he comes to life only to be discovered in the most ridiculous situations by morning. The kids are amazed and delighted. Know who else is delighted? My husband and I. We have a hoot every night deciding when, where and with whom to place the elf for the kids to find. Seriously, Christmas is THE best time to be a parent.
However, some traditions aren’t quite as cherished. For example, our annual holiday pictorial. So I forced my husband to wear an elf hat with a little dingly bell one year? So what? Besides, I thought he looked hawt in tights. I’m dying to post the picture, but he has payback pictures of me. So, I can’t share the elf family photo, but there’s this...
It was looking like we were on the cusp of being featured on awkwardfamillyphotos.com, so hubby put his elf shoe down and proclaimed the end of this particular tradition.
However, our annual Christmas Breakfast is a tradition that has firmly taken root. The thought of spending Christmas day in the kitchen preparing a turkey makes me all Grinchy. So, my parents and in-laws alternate Christmas dinner hosting duties. The grandparents come over to our house in the morning to watch the kids open their gifts and we all have breakfast together. It’s casual. As in, unbrushed hair and pjs all around. Since I’m not a fan of being sequestered to the kitchen away from the fireplace, happy children and the Boney M Christmas soundtrack, the majority of the meal is prepared the night before. (p.s. I searched everywhere and couldn’t find a photo of our family breakfast. I’m sure it’s directly related to the “unbrushed hair” situation).
Here’s Our Traditional Christmas Breakfast Menu:
Coffee...lots and lots of coffee Fruit juice – apple, orange and cranberry Fruit tray – melon, grapes, bananas, strawberries and
blueberries; washed and ready the night before. Hubby’s famous scrambled eggs (seriously, I married him for his
good looks and quick wit, but I stick around for his eggs). Overnight Strawberry French Toast
Cheesey Scrambled Eggs
Whisk together eggs.
Heat up a non-stick pan (or spray with vegetable oil) over medium-high heat.
Pour in the eggs and turn the heat down to medium-low.
Cook for about a minute.
Gently move a wooden spoon across bottom and sides of the pan to form large, soft curds. Cook until eggs are thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, but they are still moist.
Sprinkle with sharp cheddar cheese. Fold the cheese in and allow to melt.
Serve and tell everyone what an “eggs-cellent” cook you are (His joke. Every year. Hopefully Santa will bring him some new material).
Overnight Strawberry French Toast - put it together the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning.
1 large day old crusty loaf
¾ cup chopped slivered almonds, toasted
1 container (250 g) strawberry cream cheese
¼ cup light strawberry jam
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Cooking spray
Icing sugar, butter, maple syrup
Cut bread into 12 slices approximately 2.5 cm thick. Make a pocket in each slice by cutting slices in half horizontally leaving about 2.5 uncut. Combine almonds, cream cheese and jam. Spread about 2 tbsp. cream cheese mixture into bread pocket. Place in two 13 x 9-inch pans. Beat together eggs, milk, almond extract and vanilla extract. Pour an equal amount of egg mixture in each pan and turn each slice over. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Spray a 15 x 10-inch pan with vegetable spray. Place bread slices in pan. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes; turn over and bake 10 minutes longer or until golden brown. Sift icing sugar over French toast and serve with butter and maple syrup.
After a hearty breakfast, we're ready to play all day. Last year Santa kindly gave us a hockey net and we spent the day out on the ice. How did he know we just set up a rink? It's almost like a little elf told him or something...
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