We did this before and found many no longer eat as our parents did at this time of the year
No traditionalist my dream still is cold sea food platter for the 4 main meals my family eat in those two days
Not going to happen my visitors/family arrive tomorrow and demand strictly traditional baked hot, food
Bet they make me remove the gum tree standing in for my Christmas tree too
Hope each and every one, Special mention to GY AND HIS HELPERS ENJOY IT AS I WILL

Hi Belly, I'll get in early, and the answer to you question for most is; "TOO MUCH!"

We have many of the family this Xmas, and the excess has started already. My son-in-law, he's Cook Islander, informs me he'll be around "early" tomorrow with his spit roaster to cook some poor little pig, I assume that's like 5am (he does a beaut suckling pig). I also assume the drinking will start early, like around 5am, Cookie the piggy cooker does like a drop.

On top of all the regular stuff, Mum is doing Maori/Island favourites of 'raw fish' and 'fry bread'. Got to love those grand children, our beautiful granddaughters two 13 year old's, said last night, "We want to do something for Xmas as well", all they could think off was they know how to make 'apple crumble', I said, "sounds good girls, lets add your apple crumble to the menu."

Dear Belly,

Christmas Eve is by European tradition an important time for
our family. The meal is made up of sea-food dishes, salads,
delicious desserts. For Christmas Day Lunch - it's glazed
ham, turkey, Christmas vegetables, and of course a Christmas
log.

Wishing You and Yours a Very Merry Christmas and A Healthy,
Happy, New Year 2019.

Enjoy every moment!

We have the immediate family gathering at my eldest daughters this year. She reckons it is easier for her to do Christmas than travel with the kids.

It will be all the traditional stuff, with prawns as well, but all but the plumb pudding will be cold. Enjoy that Christmas ham folks. It is usual to not find leg ham in the shops for some months after Christmas. I guess they exhaust the supply of legs coming up to Christmas.

Anyway, no matter what you eat too much of, Have a Merry Xmas, & a Happy & Prosperous New Year.

Paul Foxy every one it go,s without saying may this be a great one
My mum,s last Christmas sat 32 people, including the we don't eat much mob who arrived right on lunch, without warning
We ate ten chooks ham pork all the baked vegys and puddings
My mob mostly stays at home but as the eldest I get my share here
At any moment the yard will be full of parked cars
They demand tradition, that is all the baked stuff they have in England
That tradition after my dad died is my best mate who is also my brother cooks every thing
I however am the pudding cook,two this year little if any with be left over but they are both in the five KG range
I long for my dream meal mud crab few king prawns and heaps of salad with a few other sea food things
You two will be interested to know my brother votes Liberal, and NRL fans will get this, follows Manly, the team every one loves to hate
have a great time every one
Paul like me you seem to have a tribe rather than a family must say the roast pig has me licking my lips

Hi Belly, Hassy and Foxy,

So much going on, I see steamed puddings (the Maori'don't put dried fruit in their's) on the stove. The two big fellas won't stop eating, worse than the kids. I see ham getting sliced up by two oldest, for a snack. Mum keeps the white fat and skin off the ham for frying down later as paka paka. They waste noting, the bone ends up as soup about New years.

A merry Xmas and happy new Year to you and the family Hassy, nothing like a good Xmas day with the family around. Love those prawns, got the moko (grandson aged 11) he has a couple of crab pots, hope Dad takes him down day.to put them out this evening down at Morton Bay, and gets a couple of nice sized muddies, I wish Belly he gets something it would be nice.

Foxy, what is in a traditional Xmas Log, is there brandy?

Belly, both my Old Man and Grandfather were traditionalists with Christmas lunch. Granddad demanded tradition, the white linen table cloth, and a hot dinner, the lot even if it was 110 in the shade, out in the bush. Poor old Nan and the Aunts worked their arses off preparing, no women's lib in those days. Granddad was Country Party through and through. Acted as electoral officer at the local school on election day, the vote would be something like Country party 39, ALP 0.

Sounds good folks maybe I forgot another tradition,I pay for the food
Ham ten KG this year
Tree gone plastic monstrosity in its place enjoy all

Hi Belly,

My young grandson scored 4 muddies Xmas Eve from Morton Bay. Set 2 pots well out at evening low tide with a full moon, uses chicken and fish bits for bait. Got one good sized male and 3 smaller fellas just legal size (can't take the females), kept them in the bucket until yesterday, very nice eating.

Dear Belly and Paul,

Well, it's all over for a while.

I'm exhausted but happy. And I haven't had to cook
for the rest of the week. Now it's my time to relax,
read, sleep, watch DVDs, TV, and visit friends.

I'm looking forward to seeing the new film "Aquaman."
(We got some Gold Class movie tickets). It should be
fun. And of course go out with the grandkids.

Lovely.

Paul bugger, 35 bucks each here but as visitors leave early am to beat traffic will have my Christmas muddy and king prawns with salads
Foxy around here must the same packed heaps in to three day food enough for twice the number full crew in garden working, you buet, laying on lawn in the shade belly full and great times

Hi Foxy,

Was given a book from Kris Kringle for Xmas, 'Black Snake' The Real Story of Ned Kelly. By Leo Kennedy the great-grandson of Sergeant Michael Kennedy slain at Stringybark Creek by the Kelly gang. Preempting what I am about to read, some don't see Ned Kelly as a Robin Hood type, a folk hero of the people, but see Ned as a killer and a criminal who deserved to hang.

There is always a bright side, I must thank Ned for the $200 he once bestowed on me for being hung. It was a trivia night I was one of the last two contestants and the question was "Besides being the first Chancellor of the University of Melbourne what is Redmond Barry best remembered for? The other bloke didn't know the answer, lucky me.

Hi Paul,

The Ned Kelly book sounds interesting.

I was given some books for Christmas as well.
One on Michelle Obama - "Becoming Michelle Obama,"
and the other on Trump - "Fear: Trump in the White
House," by Bob Woodward. Should keep me busy for a
while.

Paul strange thing about Ned, they hung him on 11/11, Armistice day, and the day Curr/Kerr dumped the government
Had a great Christmas, sneak of to the fish shop and get my muddy today, then wander around freshly trimmed garde

I had roast turkey for Christmas, followed by Vienetta.

Since then, because of the hot weather I've tended to avoid hot food, though I have had a few turkey and avocado quesadillas.

Well not got the mud crab yet,truth is fish co-op has visitor prices about 40 percent up
Will make time for my special day next week
English baked hot food seems wrong to me in this heat, 36 today

Dear Belly,

Well, I've now made a decision.

Next year - I'm going to take the family
out for Christmas Eve. To heck with - my cooking
and then having to eat the left overs
for the rest of the week. Much as I love seafood -
Forget the
Lithuanian family traditions. I've had enough.
So much work - year in and year out. I'm going to
stick with Christmas Day lunch. That should be
enough (hopefully) for the family. This year
has left me completely exhausted.

Foxy modern times have, in my family at least killed the mass get together
But could never fit the arrivals in my 4x4
They get in and cook and we care for each other so it is not all bad

Dear Belly,

No, of course it's not all that bad.

I'm just tired.

And probably - come next year, it'll
be back to the same old routine. I'll
be doing the cooking again.

We had 8 moko's (direct grandchildren aged from 5 to 13) and 8 adults for Xmas, our first Xmas in our new home in Brisbane. Too much kai (food) was had by all.

Only having 4 adults and 2 moko's for New Years day, unless other whanau blow in unannounced as they do, will cook plenty. I'm doing the hangi in the "keg" (a cooker made from 2 beer kegs, a substitute for the in the ground version) trust a Skippy to show these Maori how its done. In goes pickle pork, lamb (actually lamb not traditional mutton flaps) chops, chicken thighs, veg is; potato, kumera (sweet potato), pumpkin and kumo kumo squash along with cabbage, I add Chinese broccoli as well ( a bit of multiculturalism one could say) no water cress or turnip tops, and no puha (what us Aussies call Milk Thistle not bad on taste, good in boil up) bread stuffing of course wrapped in foil, (Maori love bread stuffing). Volcanic rock in the bottom of the keg, add water, and fire the thing up, a bit of a pressure cooker, heat with a well controlled gas ring burner, and in a couple of hours you have got a hangi of sorts, and its not bad eating, along with the wife's famous 'fry bread' and a few beers to wash it all down.

Hi Belly, the young bloke has a good deal of success catching mud crabs in Morton Bay. His best catch was 9 males earlier this year, with 3 pots, 4 were big ones, keeps them alive in the bucket for up to 3 weeks. His Dad goes out with him, they only set the traps on a full moon and evening low tide, set them right out at the low water mark, leave them over night, return for the morning low. Seems a lot of people set their pots to close in for a no result. The boys only use chicken and fish bits for bait, catch heaps of females which have to be thrown back.

I hope for the sake of the planet NO ONE had any beef, if anyone did you yes you are the cause of climate change.

From the very trusted source the Huffington Post.

http://twitter.com/HuffPost/status/1078731057132986368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

PHILIP S gday bloke,feeble but if you insist on showing your determination to ignore science go right ahead
Paul/Foxy memory,s in those posts
Yes next year if I am around will be the same
My wish for a different Christmas will not over ride my visitors wishes
Paul we get muddys here, river 1 click away
But it is not even near healthy fished out long ago
At age 22 lived in Queensland and set a few pots got many in that long ago time
My Evans head visitors did not bother to set their pots before coming down!

Dear Belly and Paul,

Well, what a year it's been!

Here we are about to see it's end - and one can't
help but wonder what will the New Year bring?
The world today seems to be in an uncertain place.
Tonight we've got another family gathering which
I'm looking forward to greatly.

Wishing You and Yours, Good Health, Happiness,
Warmth, Love, and Many Beautiful Moments, in the
upcoming Year 2019!

Yes Foxy from me to you and every poster a wish for the very best
Next year?
Trump falls
A badly beaten coalition see,s true reform and a woman as deputy leader
NSW Labor wins its election in March
Being a Progressive/Liberal will still bring scorn here
me? will try to used sentences!
And too try to grow up, my constant reply's to taunts makes me as bad as the taunter

Dear Belly,

As always you give some very good thoughts.

I shall also try to fight the urge to reply
in kind to some of the posters on this forum.
You, SteeleRedux, and quite a few others, set
very good examples for us all here. Unfortunately,
I've reacted too many times. Not a good look.

Foxy, in our defense we at least know we fail by replying
Yes we must let the very few wither on the vine
You and I can help each other keep promises in the end we never should have needed make
regards