A Christmas Family Feast - Part 1

Another Christmas celebration with family! This was our fourth Christmas get together and the second hosted by us. On Christmas Eve, my sister, her husband and sweet little girl came over for a relaxed Christmas Eve dinner. At this time I was already booked off to take things easy due to my pregnancy, so I couldn't go all out as I planned, but with help from my fantastic husband and sister, I managed  to put something similar on the table to what I originally planned.

For welcome drinks I served strawberry and vodka jelly shots - of course I made a non-alcoholic drink for myself. On top of the set jelly mixture I added whipped cream with a strawberry on top of each drink with a dollop of whipped cream at the top of the strawberry. It looked like little Santa hats - so cute! The shot itself was really delicious! My husband couldn't get enough of the leftover strawberry and vodka mixture - definitely an easy to make and go-to welcome drink!

For the snacks I didn't go to too much effort. I made tortilla chips, cut small circles from three different tortillas - beetroot, turmeric and plain flour tortillas, baked in the oven for a few minutes. I also only served three dips with these - a tomato salsa (not too spicy), guacamole (a must!) and sour cream mixed with chives.

I had so many plans for the mains, but with my limitations I had to keep it simple. My husband braaied for us - chicken and bacon kebabs (the absolute best!), soft and juicy fillet and boerewors. We bought a garlic ciabatta which we heated in the oven - delicious! I really wanted to make a halloumi salad, so my sister assisted with frying the halloumi cheese - the master of frying halloumi! The halloumi salad consisted of halloumi cheese - fried and cooled down, fresh rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes - quickly fried and cooled.

Initially, I wanted to make a cheesecake for this Christmas but my plans are put on hold until I can live normally again. For this Christmas Eve dessert, I decided to buy a lemon cheesecake, decorated with cut strawberries and crushed chocolate pieces. Although store bought, this was really delicious, and the strawberries and chocolate made the dessert perfect! If I ever need to buy a dessert again, this one is on the top of my list.