On the day before Solstice my Thelma gave to me (eleventh)...

So it's day 11 today and Solstice is tomorrow. I've been asked a lot recently about my plans for Christmas which is funny because it is a day of rest in the Thermocauldron household! We volunteer in the morning and then have an open house in the afternoon for waifs and orphans who would like to be somewhere other than alone, at home, or with relatives. We watch Colin Firth - it's the highlight of my year.

I say that our celebration happens a little earlier than Saturday, and that we have a big dinner with lots of seasonal stuff, and presents, and so forth. Amid cries of "You'll deprive Thermochild of Things! And Stuff!!" I explain that no, she's little and won't get it, and no she's not deprived either - her present pile this year is the biggest. Plus seriously - people enjoy our before-Christmas Solstice event because it's before Christmas.

What I do love about Solstice this year is that I get to do my cooking in 2 days, rather than 2 weeks. This is the menu and how Thelma is going to be working hard:

• peach/champagne cocktails
• fruit punch
• tuna dip
• hommus
• avocado dip
• dukka
• crackers
• raw veges for dipping (ok that's not Thelma-assisted)
• baked veges (the seasoning is Thelma-made)
• rum balls
• chocolate cake piled with whipped cream, cherries, flaked chocolate and strawberry sauce
• fruit sorbet (pina colada aka pineapple/coconut with rum to make it not set as hard)
• chai
• trifle (cake, custard, jelly)
• shortbread tree

Mains are on the bbq as brought by guests, as are salads - but of cours a beetroot one will be in there ;). I don't have any allergies in the guests coming so it means I can make things in rapid succession too with minimal cleaning. 

So today I'll:

• make the trifle cake and put it out to dry a little before soaking it tonight
• make the dips
• make the rumballs
• and the chocolate cake
• and the strawberry sauce
• and the flaked chocolate
• make the spices mix for the veges (as it's also a present)

which won't take me long at all! I think shopping for ingredients, picking the best strawberries and cherries and avocadoes, will take longer.