Getting in the Christmas spirit

I’m so excited about Christmas this year. Little Man loves anything shiny, especially lights. So I just can’t wait to see his face when the Christmas tree goes up. Hubbie is a big believer in waiting until December to put the tree up though, so I have to find other ways to get in the Christmas spirit for the moment.

So this year, for the first time ever, I decided to make my own Christmas pudding.

I found this recipe on the Odlums website to use as a starting point:
50g / 2oz Odlums Self Raising Flour
125g / 4oz Brown Sugar
125g / 4oz Margarine
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 packet (375g) Fruit Mix
1 tub (100g) Cherries
125g / 4oz Breadcrumbs
300ml / 1/2 pint Stout

Then I looked at a few more recipes online and made a tactical decision and substituted the recommended stout with whiskey. This may have also had something to do with the fact that we had no stout in the kitchen, but we did have two bottles of whiskey! Hopefully my decision will only have improved the recipe. So right now, the glorious Christmas-scented mixture is being left to sit overnight. Tomorrow I have to steam it for five or six hours. And then store it until Christmas.

While I was researching Christmas pudding recipes, I discovered that traditionally each member of the family should stir the Christmas pudding for luck before it is cooked. So when the mixture was made, Hubbie and Little Man both stirred it up. If it’s tasty, this may just be our first new family Christmas tradition.