Up to St. Mary's Bourne Street … looking fabulous after several months under renovation … for the traditional glory of the candlelit carol service followed by Haydn's St. Nicholas Mass. The kyrie alone is worth the drive. The next day, back to London again for Christmas lunch at the Putney Bencards, complete with roast goose and impressively flaming pudding.
After all that to-ing and fro-ing to town we were delighted to spend Boxing Day at home. But no rest for the wicked. Or the hungry. Our friend Hillary's parents were visiting from the States and we had them down for a pull-out-all-the-stops gourmet lunch in our recently-wallpapered, Christmas tree-bedecked dining room.
To nibble while the chef slaved in the kitchen: shot glasses of spiced pumpkin soup, a platter of high-end charcuterie and foie gras spread on rounds of gingerbread. First course was supposed to be salmon soufflé. Clearly, we need to work on that one, as what we served was closer to a salmon frittata. On to individual venison wellington parcels. If you're in the "you can never have too much puff pastry" camp, this is the preparation for you. With Piers' go-to fondant potatoes, spinach and a decorative frill of asparagus tops. I claim pudding as the triumph of the meal. (Then again, that was the course I was in charge of!) Individual lemon tarts topped with Cointreau and cranberry compote. And then a cheese course of decadent French choices procured last week at La Fromagerie off Marylebone High Street.
No offence to the traditional holiday menu, but that was a celebratory meal!
Christmas week wrapped with extended family and that most English of holiday activities: Pantomime. I've been to two productions in the past, including a Cinderella written by the incomparable Stephen Fry, and they've left me mildly amused but mostly puzzled. Up until this week I thought you had to be raised in the panto tradition to really enjoy it. Happily, Aladdin at the Theatre Royal Windsor proved me wrong.
Part of this was the quality of the production. Though I'd never heard of any of the "stars" who made guest appearances, the comics were funny, the dancers energetic and the singing good. The inclusion of recognisable pop songs and choreographed numbers gave the show a West End musical feel. But what probably made the biggest difference was going with kids.
This was our Christmas outing with La Famille Demeneix. We managed to get in plenty of adult conversation with Cora and Didier and enjoy time with the kids. The youngest, just 5, is my godson and one of the highlights of my holiday season was assembling, then watching him open, his combined birthday and Christmas present.
Odd as it sounds for an American, I feel it's my job to keep him English. He's never lived in the UK, and dad is French, so I figure his national identity needs a little help. Every year I try to find something that waves a flag for home. This year's theme was "knights in shining armour". We started with a storybook I wrote him about Sir Sacha (that's him) and the multi-coloured dragon. Which went with a crusader knight's costume, a large stuffed dragon, a wooden sword, shield and crossbow. I don't know who was more excited, Sacha or me.
An hour later, sitting between him and his sister, watching them giggle in delight and yell "he's behind you!" … I got a dose of unrefined Christmas joy. The best parts of Christmas put you in touch with your inner child. It's much easier to reach her with real children to help.
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