The Thong Christmas Tree - 2014 - Lighthouse Beach

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~ Norman Vincent Peale

2013's Tree

The last couple of years we have been delighted to see the Christmas Thong Tree appear, in the dunes at the southern end of Lighthouse Beach. (If you're in Port and would like to see it, turn right where the camel rides are held, and keep walking - it's a way down the beach but the exercise'll do us all good after all those Christmas puds.)

Rudolf, Blinker, Daisy, Snotty and Spitty the camels at Lighthouse Beach

I was a bit late in going to see if it had been put up again this year. The end of November I had a phone call, at midnight, in the middle of one of the worst storms we'd had - it was my mum to say, she'd fallen and couldn't get up - she'd managed to drag herself across the room to the phone to call me for help. She'd broken her hip poor treasure, so what with going back and forth to hospital, combined with a rather large share of thunderstorms in our area, I hadn't been able to see if the tree was up this year.

The Christmas Thong Tree 2014

But today, I managed to wander down to see if it was there... and there it was in all it's thongy, Christmassy glory.

Moments from our Christmas

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. ~ W.T. Ellis

Hope your Holiday break was a joyful one - I love all the little moments that happen during the holidays - little memories that linger after the festivities are gone... here's a few of ours...

Christmas Tree Pavlova

This year, we voted the Christmas Tree Pavlova - best desert ever. My niece created this delight, staying up to 2am to finish off our Christmas Day pièce de résistance.

Angel on our kitchen shelf, with Maggie's Christmas Cookbook - a gift from Wombat

Christmas art on the deck

Reindeer Flying School - a favourite of ours

Candy our dog near the Christmas tree

Kangaroos at the back fence

From our house to yours - Seasons Greetings

Season's Greetings

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love. ~ Ada V. Hendricks

Seasons Greetings - from our kitchen to yours...

Well we're in the midst making Christmas lunch decisions - that is... what culture will we learn from this year, to include in our Christmas lunch? A few years ago my sister-in-law introduced us to the delights of Pierogis - a Polish traditional filled dumpling.

Then when it was our turn to host Christmas lunch, I wanted to include Pierogis on our menu. To my delight, I discovered a great tutorial by Gary 5x5 on youtube on How to make Pierogis. I followed Gary's great tutorials and I was able to surprise my sister-in-law with one her favourite Christmas treats that Christmas Day.

We had lots of fun watching and cooking along with the video throughout the day - made lots of mess and ended up with some great Pierogis for our first try.

Find the Pierogi Recipe handed down through generations by Gary and Chris Dyrkacz - transcribed and enhanced from Helen Dyrkaz's recipe - click here

Our finished Pierogis from Gary and Chris's recipe

So this year along with Pierogis, I'm not sure what other cultures' treats we will attempt. In the past we've included Hawaiian Ambrosia (now a regular), Ukranian Borscht, Maltese Pasitizzi (I have a great dough recipe if you want it for those), Italian Panettone, and the ever favourite, but has never been repeated, Bombe Alaska - now there's another story which includes a rotten ham, but that will have to wait till another post. I'll give you a heads up though, don't wait till Christmas Day to check your ham!