A Christmas centerpiece using thrifted, vintage items.

Introducing An English Christmas Across the Pond, Lovingly Made

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I hope you and your family enjoyed a lovely Christmas filled with many happy memories and love. Christmas can be a difficult time for many people, and I never want to be insensitive to this fact. However, the first Christmas so many years ago was meant to bring great joy- so I want to focus on that joy. 

In England, the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. The Boxing Day menu often includes- jacket potatoes, cheese and crackers, leftovers, and a cold ham or turkey sandwich. And honestly, after all the Christmas feasting and cooking, a cold sandwich or (“sami” as we like to call it in my family) is a welcomed treat.

Incidentally, as this is now Boxing Day, I thought I would take a moment to share some of my family’s Christmas celebrations with you all. A day late yes, but I would have it no other way. For that tardiness meant I was fully present with my family on Christmas day. 

That being said, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share with you all, the magic of an English Christmas pudding and Christmas crackers- the magic of an English Christmas.

So, what do you say- can we keep the Christmas spirit alive for one last Christmas post?

~Preparing for an English Christmas~

Preparing for an English Christmas in my family starts on December first. This is when I make the traditional Christmas pudding.

A Christmas pudding is a boiled fruit cake, laced with raisins, candied peel, golden syrup, fresh breadcrumbs, and a bit of brandy. The fruit cake is re-boiled and then lit on fire after the Christmas meal. This quintessentially English dessert is a showstopper… and something everyone looks forward to.

Because of the sugar content, and the alcohol, this cake can be made months in advance- which is helpful as it takes 8 hours to boil this decadent, traditional treat. Hence, preparing the pudding on the first of December.

A Christmas pudding boiling in hot water for several hours.
*The Christmas pudding is inside. Parchment paper and foil placed over the top A little foil handle is created to make lifting the heavy pudding out of the boiling water a breeze.

~The Christmas Pudding~

Regrettably, my focus is not on the pudding… (this was my first video to do on my camera).

After the pudding is doused in a little brandy, it is lit on fire. This creates a memorable display that is fun for the whole family to see. 

To properly serve this Christmas pudding, I top my fruitcake with my homemade brandy butter. Obviously, this is an adult desert because of the alcohol, so my children have a gingerbread cookie or a mince pie instead. Naturally, some of the alcohol is cooked off in the cooking process.

By the way, brandy butter is delicious, and I don’t like brandy.

~Setting the Christmas Table~

Setting the Christmas table is my absolute favorite thing to do. I love creating a lovely space to display my festive food.

This year as I looked across my tablescape- I felt so proud of my efforts. For this table is an amalgamation of several years of dedicated thrifting. If I had to guess, I would say that around ninety seven percent of the table decorations were either thrifted, gifted, or scavenged for free. Proving to me- that a beautiful tablescape can be created for very little money.

The tablecloth was new from Aldi, but it was only around eight dollars. I love the whimsical design of the print- and the fact that it was big enough to cover our table. 

The placemats are handmade and were a thrift purchase. I bought all six placemats for .25 cents total! Bargain! Where else these days, besides a thrift store- can you find quality items for literal pennies?

All of the brass and crystal candlesticks are thrifted (only one in the center is from Hobby Lobby several years ago).

The ornaments were nicked off our Christmas tree, the foliage was collected from the yard, the cloth napkins were a wedding gift, and the Christmas china was a gift from our dear friends and neighbors.

These are treasures that I will use over and over again throughout the years.

I love seeing how all my collected treasures come together to make one beautiful moment.

~The Christmas Table Set to Celebrate Jesus' Birthday! ~

A green bow and a vintage gold napkin holder.
*A thrifted napkin ring and some simple ribbon tied into a bow.
An ornament is placed on top of a crystal candlestick to give height and create a lovely Christmas decoration.
*This was a fun idea: I used my crystal candlesticks, and an ornament, to create some height and to add some visual interest.
A thrifted brass candlestick with a white ribbon.
*Tiny thrifted ribbon- tied in a bow- helps to elevate candlesticks in a festive way.
A Christmas centerpiece made with fresh foliage, pinecones, and orange cslices.
*My homemade dried oranges, spray painted pine cones, and some yard foliage, create an "almost free" Christmas centerpiece.
A festive Christmas centerpiece is decorating a dining table for Christmas dinner.

~The English Christmas Dinner~

A Christmas table set with Christmas crackers and foliage.

A picture is worth a thousand words; therefore, I am adding more pictures than explanatory words.

In a nutshell, an English Christmas dinner will often include turkey, roasted potatoes, cauliflower cheese, pigs in a blanket, Yorkshire pudding, and of course… the Christmas pudding.

~The English "Roasties"~

English roasted potatoes are delightful! Basically, they are a crispy, slightly fried, potato that is crisp on the outside, but fluffy on the inside. The potatoes are par boiled, floured, and then added to a hot oven where they bake for quite a long time.

My husband often makes the roasted potatoes for our Christmas meal…and for that I am always thankful. The end result is worth the effort.

Raw potatoes sliced on a cutting board.
*A quick pre-soak (in cold water) helps to remove excess starch from the potatoes.
Potatoes are boiling in a pan.
*Boiling before baking creates a fluffy interior for the potato.
Boiled potatoes sprinkled with flour.
*Potatoes are coated in 1-2 Tablespoons of flour.
Flour coated potatoes ready to go into the oven to be roasted.
*Olive oil is heated in a pan before adding the coated potatoes. Sizzle, sizzle, pop!
"Roastie" potatoes are fresh out of the oven- ready to be served on Christmas day.
*Ta-da the roasted potatoes are out of the oven. So crispy!

~The Yorkshire Pudding~

Now we move on to the iconic Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding is an egg and flour mixture that is baked in a bit of fat. As the pudding bakes, it rises and becomes a delicious dome of crispy, fluffy, stodgy goodness.

Generally, Yorkshire puddings are eaten doused in gravy, but they can also be sweetened and turned into a dessert. 

The batter for Yorkshire pudding.
*Yorkshire pudding batter. Once mixed, I like to allow my batter to sit on the countertop for at least thirty minutes before baking.
Yorkshire pudding being served on a thrifted Christmas plate.
*Yorkshire puddings are always the favorite of my children.

~Pigs in a Blanket~

In America, pigs in a blanket often mean a small sausage wrapped in pastry or bread. In England, however, a pig in a blanket is a small sausage wrapped in crispy bacon. This is by far one of my favorite English Christmas treats. Pigs in a blanket are delicious hot, but also delicious eaten cold- on boxing day.

English pigs in a blanket being served on a Christmas tree plate.
*Bacon wrapped mini sausages-English pigs-in-a-blanket.

~Cauliflower Cheese, Please! ~

In my opinion, no English dinner is truly complete without a side of cauliflower cheese. You may remember my post a few weeks back where I featured my cauliflower cheese recipe. I will link this post -if you are interested in making my simple cauliflower cheese recipe.

Cauliflower cheese just out of the oven and ready to be served.

~All Together: An English Christmas Plate~

A Christmas plate full of English foods.
*Starting at the bottom center and going left: Yorkshire, stuffing, turkey and gravy, roasted potatoes, pigs-in-a blanket, cauliflower cheese, and carrots in the middle. There you have it- an English Christmas dinner.

~Pulling a Christmas Cracker~

When I lived in England, my husband and I shared several Christmas dinners with our family. My sisters in law did a wonderful job of introducing me to a real English dinner. We had a delicious spread of food, and a Christmas table that was beautifully set.

I remember each place setting had an interesting looking cardboard wrapped, little gift on it.

This I learned, was a Christmas cracker. Basically, you hold the cracker with a friend, and each pull on a separate end. With a magical POP, a little gift is revealed.

These gifts usually contain a paper crown, a joke, and a little trinket such as fingernail clippers, a mini screwdriver, a measuring tape, or perhaps a tiny game.

Naturally, it is always so much fun to see what is inside the cracker. This is one of our favorite English traditions to incorporate into our Christmas dinner. The children are delighted when it is time to open their English cracker. 

Commercial crackers are becoming more popular in America. Therefore, you can sometimes buy Christmas crackers at Hobby Lobby or Target during the Christmas period.

A Christmas cracker on a place setting.
*Sometimes we use the crackers to decorate our dining table.
A Christmas cracker decorating a Christmas tree.
*Other times we use the crackers to decorate our Christmas tree.
A beautiful Christmas table is laid and ready to be shared by my family.
The contents inside of a European Christmas cracker that has been pulled.
*The contents of the cracker are often cheesy games and helpful knick knacks.

~A Few Christmas Happenings in Our Home~

In this section, I will simply share a few photos of some of my family’s favorite Christmas traditions- both on the big day- and before.

~Making Dehydrated Orange Slices~

Sliced oranges ready to be dried in the oven.
*All that is required for dried oranges is oranges, a baking sheet, and an oven. These little treasures bake for several hours (on a very low heat) until they are dried and ready to use however you see fit.
Dried orange slices being made into a Christmas ornaments.
I paired a dried orange slice with a gingerbread cookie and some vintage lace and twine to make a lovely Christmas ornament.
A dehydrated orange slice and some Christmas foliage make for a pretty cloth napkin Decorations.
*Using some vintage green lace (that I bought at a thrift store) and some hot glue- I was able to create a fresh decoration for my cloth napkin. The evergreen sprig and holly were from my backyard.
A gingerbread cookie and an orange slice homemade ornament decorate a dessert cloche.
*Here I simply used the dried orange slice and vintage lace ornament to create a festive decoration for my glass cake cloche.
Yard foliage, a glitter sprayed pinecone, and dried orange slice helps to decorate my family's Christmas table.

~Making Homemade Gingerbread Cookies with the Children~

For this Christmas baking tradition, we use vintage cookie cutters. These special cookie cutters were a gift from a dear neighbor and friend.

Aren’t vintage cookie cutters charming?

Gingerbread cookies are spicy and sweet- a real warming treat. My family and I make these homemade roll-out cookies every year. The gingerbread dough can be made ahead of time. This way the dough can stay in the refrigerator for a few days, perhaps lightening the workload for Christmas day.

Oh, and did I mention- how delicious these classic cookies are?

I did not write this recipe in my post (as doing so would require more work than I had time for this Christmas week.) However, I would be happy to share the recipe, at some point, if it is an interest to anyone. I am sure you will see the recipe again next Christmas- as it is a family favorite. (Let me know in the comments if you would be interested in this recipe).

Christmas gingerbread cookies being cut out on a kitchen countertop.
A gingerbread man cookie cutter being used to cut gingerbread dough.
Gingerbread cookies, colored icing, marshmallows and dried orange slice on a dining table- ready to be decorated.
A child painting a gingerbread cookie for Christmas.
*My precious little ones hard at work. They love this Christmas "chore"- if you can call painting cookies a chore.
A painted Christmas tree cookie- decorated with colored frosting and sprinkles.
*By placing foil down first, you can eliminate lots of mess and make clean up easy. Inevitably, there will be some sprinkles on the floor- this I can pretty much guarantee.
Painted Christmas gingerbread cookies on a glass plate.
*A colorful Christmas!

~Making Homemade Tiffin as Christmas Gifts~

In our family, we think homemade gifts are the most special. Making homemade tiffin is our Christmas tradition.

Tiffin is a delicious dessert that my husband and I ate a lot of in England. We would often buy this decadent treat, alongside a cup of hot coffee, in a quaint English cafe. 

Naturally, tiffin is harder to find in America- therefore, I learned to make my own.

Homemade tiffin being made for Christmas gifts.
Homemade tiffin is packed into Christmas boxes to be given to friends and family as a gift.
Homemade chocolate tiffin served on a vintage, thrifted Christmas plate.
*I do love a good thrifted Christmas plate!

~A Christmas Tree for our English Ducks~

Do you remember our wooden English ducks Gussy and Quack? We like to include these little guys into fun aspects of our lives. The children especially enjoy decorating these little fellas in seasonal ways (hence the lightbulb necklaces).

This year, my daughter wanted to make a Christmas, tree of sorts, for Gussy and Quack- so I gave her creative reign. We used my teacup holder (that was also a thrifted mini project that you can see here), and we hung our homemade salt cookie ornaments on it… as if it was a Christmas tree.

Lastly, a touch of evergreen foliage and a thrifted star ornament, gave the ducks a lovely little “Christmas tree” of their own.

I can tell you, by the look on their wooden faces, that they were “chuffed to bits.” 

Wooden English Ducks and a teacup holder being used as an ornament tree for homemade salt cookie ornaments.
A Christmas table set with English crackers and Christmas decorations.

~Until Next Time~

More than likely, my next post will be read by you in the year 2026!!  Tempus Fugit- Time flies!  (thanks English Grandad). By then, I will be pivoting back to my normal English recipe sharing, thrift store shopping sprees, and fun homeschool crafts. 

If there are any English traditions or ideas that you are particularly interested in, let me know in the comments- and I will try to incorporate some of those ideas into my new year of blogging.

Thank you for your support this year as I have “dipped my feet” into the world of blogging. Being a blog writer has not been easy to manage, alongside the busyness of life with four little people, but it has certainly brought me much joy.

It is my sincere hope that my blog has brought you joy, encouragement, and inspiration as well. I hope to see you all in the new year. And please feel free to subscribe…ensuring you don’t miss a post.

Have a blessed and joyous New Year.

~Elizabeth~

A crackling fire in a Christmas fireplace with stocking hanging on the mantel.

1 thought on “Introducing An English Christmas Across the Pond, Lovingly Made”

  1. Tre

    Well done Lizzie keep it going very interesting and informative. I am always ready for the next instalment.

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