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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Live Reveal - Thursday 12th of June at 1700BST

    Holiday Traditions

    General Chat
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    • GilesG
      Giles
      IHUK Crew
      Joined:

      @goosehd:

      G,

      Like that!  What's the chance that Paula will let you hang that on the tree?  😃

      @AdamJ Thank you!

      One year, @Alex  and bought a tiny artificial Christmas tree and decorated it solely with fishing flies we had tied  🙂 🙂 It had pride of place in the centre of the table….

      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • ChapC
        Chap
        見習いボス
        Joined:

        Christmas Puddings… absolutely nothing Austrian and the epitome of British Xmas. But we do it every year... usually preparing it in September as in needs some rest. Then it will be reheated, flambéed with lots of brandy and served with vanilla sauce. This year I was late... prepared it end of October...
        Candied the lemons some days before:

        Mixed them with raisins, almonds, sugar, spices, eggs and brandy… of course:

        Steamed in bowls in hot water a whole day

        God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

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        • goosehdG
          goosehd
          Mod Squad
          Joined:

          Quick question for you guys.  My wife always has used beef suet in her Christmas pudding.  What do you guys use?

          "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • ChapC
            Chap
            見習いボス
            Joined:

            @goosehd:

            Quick question for you guys.  My wife always has used beef suet in her Christmas pudding.  What do you guys use?

            My recipe calls for it too… don’t like it. We have something here in Austria called „Butterschmalz“  butter lard? Used that instead...

            God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • ROmanR
              ROman
              Haraki san Prodigy
              Joined:

              @Chap:

              @goosehd:

              Quick question for you guys.  My wife always has used beef suet in her Christmas pudding.  What do you guys use?

              My recipe calls for it too… don’t like it. We have something here in Austria called „Butterschmalz“  butter lard? Used that instead...

              AKA Clarified butter

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              • goosehdG
                goosehd
                Mod Squad
                Joined:

                Our family took advantage of a Teacher’s professional activity day (kids day off) and cut our Christmas for this season.  We normally take 3 days to decorate and should have everything completed on Sunday Evening.

                We wanted to share a couple of pictures of our shenanigans:

                "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

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                • goosehdG
                  goosehd
                  Mod Squad
                  Joined:

                  Well, it’s not 25000 imported Italian twinkle lights, but it’s a start.  Anybody know the movie reference?

                  "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • S
                    sabergirl
                    見習いボス
                    Joined:

                    Wow. That’s quite a tree.

                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                    • neph93N
                      neph93
                      見習いボス
                      Joined:

                      First Sunday in advent tomorrow so we are gearing up here. Generally Norwegians are low key and bound by tradition with regards to xmas. Many houses simply start with an advent star and that is it.

                      Tomorrow I’ll put some lights up outside. They are simple but very effective due to the permanent gloom and the fact that you they heavily influence out living room because they are visible from the inside all the time. Pics to come.

                      Last night I started preparing the pinnekjøtt. This is the first and last meal of xmas for us. We always eat it the first day of advent and on xmas eve. It consists of dried, salted, smoked lamb rib that had finne soaked for 24-48 hours before a 3 hour steam.

                      “Some of those that work forces
                      Are the same that burn crosses”

                      • Virginia Woolf
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                      • goosehdG
                        goosehd
                        Mod Squad
                        Joined:

                        @neph93 Very intrigued!  A meal that I was unaware of, and which I have spent the last hour reading about.  Hope to see more pictures of the dish served.

                        We have finished most of our decorations in the house and are now cleaning up and placing a few decorations around the house.

                        As my wife and I are both the oldest in our respective families, we have been handed down quite a few ornaments from each family.  We have also spent almost 30 years together and have collected quite a few along the way.

                        I will try and get a few pictures of our favourites.

                        "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

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                        • ChrisC
                          Chris
                          Raw and Unwashed
                          Joined:

                          Thought I'd contribute a picture of our tree

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                          • neph93N
                            neph93
                            見習いボス
                            Joined:

                            @goosehd I’ve blogged the making of the pinnekjøtt almost every year on one thread or another here but will happily do it again tomorrow for the greater glory of this thread.

                            Beautiful trees gentlemen. Again, in line with conservative Norwegian traditions, ours won’t go up until the morning of «lillejulaften» which is December 23rd.

                            “Some of those that work forces
                            Are the same that burn crosses”

                            • Virginia Woolf
                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • SeulS
                              Seul
                              Joined:

                              Best tradition: taking the first week of December off!.. See you at the party Richter!..

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • goosehdG
                                goosehd
                                Mod Squad
                                Joined:

                                We are running behind this year, but making our pudding today.  Promise that it tastes better than it looks.

                                "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

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                                • GilesG
                                  Giles
                                  IHUK Crew
                                  Joined:

                                  Duck confit and Christmas pudding sent to me by a friend….....Both in a cool dark place for the next 4 weeks or so, the Christmas pud was made by him, bix was re-purposed  😃 😃 :D....

                                  "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                                  • Madame ButtonflyM
                                    Madame Buttonfly
                                    IHUK Crew
                                    Joined:

                                    @goosehd - WOW, your tree is spectacular.  Would love to see close-ups of some of your family ornaments.

                                    I love Christmas, and one of my favourite bits of the build-up is dressing the tree (with a glass of sherry or port on the side).  We usually have a big tree (but nowhere near as big as that!) This year is likely to be just me and G, so I have two 4-5 ft potted trees (we're hoping we can plant them and keep them alive till next year) and I plan to decorate them next week.  Usually I leave it till late December, but this year I'm all for getting a bit of festive cheer early.  I love the tradition of collecting ornaments over the decades, I especially smile whenever I uncover one that has been given me by family, or brings back memories of where I/we bought it on a trip.  Giles can be a big bah-humbug, but when the tree is done i know he loves it too.

                                    @Chris your tree is splendid!  We use white lights and mainly glass, red and gold decorations.  I'm diggng the truly colourful approach - it's beautiful and can imagine the kids adore it.

                                    @Chap I love that you enjoy traditional British Christmas pudding! The cross-over and sharing of traditions from different countries over the years has shaped all our Christmases.  But I also love that there are still very local customs that maintain our cultural identities.

                                    To me, most importantly, Christmas is an occasion - whatever one's beliefs or nationality - when we can celebrate family and friendship and joy (and loads of sparkly decorations).

                                    😘 😘 😘 😘 😘 😘

                                    AKA Mrs G

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                                    • goosehdG
                                      goosehd
                                      Mod Squad
                                      Joined:

                                      @Madame:

                                      To me, most importantly, Christmas is an occasion - whatever one's beliefs or nationality - when we can celebrate family and friendship and joy (and loads of sparkly decorations).

                                      😘 😘 😘 😘 😘 😘

                                      @Madame Buttonfly A beautiful sentiment that I wholeheartedly agree with.

                                      Here are a few of my personal favourite ornaments with a little history behind them.

                                      These first three are all glass ornaments that have been passed down from our respective families:

                                      "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

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                                      • goosehdG
                                        goosehd
                                        Mod Squad
                                        Joined:

                                        This ornament was made from an apple tree that Laura’s great grandfather planted on the family farm.

                                        When my parents met in the early ‘70s, they had little money and made their own ornaments.  This was made from a soup can lid, glue, and glitter.

                                        "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

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                                        • goosehdG
                                          goosehd
                                          Mod Squad
                                          Joined:

                                          These last two are from Swarovski and are part of set’s that are released yearly.  We have purchased a set for every year for each of our daughters.  They will be passed down to them when it’s time.

                                          "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

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                                          • goosehdG
                                            goosehd
                                            Mod Squad
                                            Joined:

                                            @Giles I loved the story of you and Alex decorating the tree in hand tied flys.  It would be a memory to be cherished.

                                            @Chris Beautiful tree!  Thank you for sharing.

                                            "I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)

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