Menopausal Mondays

Self Talk

I want only ONE easy-to-prepare, ready-to-enjoy festive package. One that includes Christmas family fun activities, small-sized traditional Christmas (Portuguese and Brit) that covers the lot: snacks, meals, drinks and desserts. No fuss, no mess, no arguments. And everybody’s happy.

My patience is normally wearing thin by this time of the year. All I want is to do as little as possible, sit back, relax and enjoy quality time with the family playing games, watching a movie or having a LOL tipsy conversation.

So this year, I’m roasting a turkey for the first time. Roasted turkey and veggies. We got about five varieties of cheese, sundried tomato-flavoured toasted bread, cold meats, an olive mix, a cheese bake, and some sliced sourdough-type bread. Charlotte will be baking a biscuit, coffee and cream dessert and possibly brownies.

What can not go amiss is drinks. After personal research, I have five reds that I tend to stick to, to avoid disappointment. Five reds that I find sit in a good position of what you can expect from drinking a reasonably good wine, whilst not leaving you bankrupt. Mind you, some of these can be found online at an inflated cost, but the bulk of my shopping is currently done at either Lidl or Aldi, where I found these reds.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many good Portuguese wines at a reasonable price over here as you’d find locally, so we have had to compromise. A couple of Pinot Grigio Hardys, Sauvignon Blanc, and of course Echo Falls Rosé will be added, because sweet may go down easier for some of us… And last but not least, Desperados, Peroni, Leffe, Baileys and Fireball to end the evening. Nothing but the best!

Board games (Twister, Labirynth, UNO, Mastermind) and video games such as Street Fighter or just a nonchalant themed escape room game.

May all the leftovers take us straight into the New Year’s Eve 🙏🥘