Happy Christmas Eve

Even after a couple of years I'm still getting used to a stress free Christmas.  Cooking the full hot Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve as I did for so long was such a lot of work along with everything else that had to be done for Christmas.  I would have lists upon lists and would be up with the sun to get to the supermarket, a drive to Wagga when we lived in Junee, to get all the fresh stuff and the seafood.  This morning we had a bit of a sleep in and talked about what we had to do today.  I want to make a bread stuffing for the turkey using fresh herbs from the garden, sage, thyme and parsley, maybe with some nuts and bacon, not sure yet.  I'm trying a stuffing ball recipe this year which sounds nice.   I'll make both of those up today, as well as the tiramisu.  Josh doesn't like fruit in his dessert (or much of anything for that matter) so I'll make it plain and serve fresh pitted cherries on the side.  We're going to give the spare fridge in the stables a wipe out and turn it on for drinks and just extra fridge space.  Oddly, the big supermarket here is closed Boxing Day so I'll need to stock up on milk and bread.  My teenage son drinks his weight in fresh milk every day it seems.
I will make the seafood sauces today as well.  I'm trying a new one for lobster which is coconut, lime and lemongrass.  I will do a cocktail sauce for prawns and just two salads, my potato, bacon and egg, and an avocado, mango and walnut salad which is a really nice decadent recipe and small in quantity.   I noticed that the flat leaf parsley is lush and the shallots are maturing so I might make a little tabouli salad as well, it keeps so will be handy over the weekend with leftovers.
I will change all the beds, polish and vacuum so the house is nice for tomorrow.  Then we'll have an easy dinner, watch the carols from Melbourne and wait for Santa to come.
I feel so blessed to have my family, to have the life we  have, for all that I complain about it.  I can't help thinking of those people who have nobody at Christmas.  My children are still young enough to be excited about this time of year and I will enjoy every minute of that while I have it.