Christmas in July

(This beautiful Carl Larsson painting "Christmas Eve Banquet" is from here)

Our weekend - part one: God Jul - Christmas in July

On Saturday night I caught up with all of my old craft night friends for a fantastic "Christmas in July" night. Once again Leanne hosted the night in her beautiful home. Scandinavian styling, handmade bunting (lots of it), candles and hand stamped place cards. Heaps of delicious food, good conversation, kris kringle and yummy wine.

Life has got busy and craft night has fallen by the way side this year, so it was really good to catch up with everyone. The swedish meatballs I took along were a bit of a disaster, but everyone else excelled themselves. Not only are all of these women clever crafters but very good cooks.

Here's what we ate:

glazed baked ham
meatballs with vodka dill sauce
swedish meatballs
mashed potatoes
braised red cabbage
broccolini with pancetta
green beans with garlic breadcrumbs

baked cheesecake with frozen cranberries and hot caramel sauce
chocolate, ginger and rum truffles
cheese and crackers

The perfect cold winter fare.

Christmas in July - photos

(a few of the crafty folk)


(waiting for the guests to arrive, Leanne's beautifully decorated home)

Thanks Leanne, for sending some photos over. I had forgotten my camera on the night.

Christmas in July

(this is one of Carl Larsson's beautiful paintings)

Last night Leanne from craft night hosted a 'God Jul' dinner or 'Christmas in July'. What a fantastic night. Leanne is incredibly stylish and decorated her little house beautifully in scandinavian style. Twinkle lights, ruby reds, snowflake whites, white paper doily garlands, jonquils, candles, antique linen, jingle bells. Everyone brought a plate. It was a true feast and oh, so very yummy. Here's what we ate:

goats cheese feta
beetroot relish
red capsicum jam

glazed ham
meatballs with vodka dill cream sauce
roasted parsnips, sweet potato and pumpkin
brussel sprouts and bacon
mashed potato
steamed green beans
pumpkin, spinach and feta salad

pecan pie
white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake
double chocolate and sour cherry brownies
strawberries dipped in chocolate
cherries

It was so lovely catching with all of our crafty, craft night friends in this way. I think she may have started something!

'Christmas in July' may seem strange to anyone reading this from overseas. But this is something that is growing in popularity in Australia. Coming from an English background, many of my Christmas days has seen our family sweltering in the hot, hot weather trying hard to enjoy hot roasts and warm plum pudding. 'Christmas in July' makes perfect sense to me.