Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - How will you make your holidays more European?

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How will you make your holidays more European?

How will you make the December holidays, such as Christmas, more European (other than by traveling to Europe)? In years past we have purchased Chocolate German Christmas calendars. We have also sent gift baskets full of imported items. You?

We are drinking Kir Royale as part of our celebration. This is not so much a European Christmas tradition (at least as far as I am aware) but more like something I enjoyed during my last trip to Paris and want to share with my family.

English-style Christmas crackers (not biscuits, but the paper tubes with trinkets inside)

janeygirl: I have forgotten: how isKir Royale made? Elaine: What kind of trinkets? I see those crackers in catalogs and specialty stores and never really knew what the big deal is/was. Thanks.

Everytime I travel, I always try to buy a couple Christmas ornaments to remind me of our trip. I love hanging these ornaments on our tree!

Kir Royal > 4/5th of Champagne with 1/5th of creme de cassis. I order less creme de cassis to have it less sweet. I like Kir Imperial(that's how a friend mine called it but I doubt it is the official name) even better, with creme de mure (sorry I dont bother finding the English word, maybe blackberry or black currant) instead of cassis.

curious - there is no big deal about Christmas crackers. You pull the cracker, it goes bang, the trinket falls out, you wear the paper hat, you read the awful joke (the older the better), you find the trinket on the floor. The trinkets vary according to what you've paid. Actually I think the cheapest ones are the best, plastic rings, kids' puzzles, magic tricks, etc. The slightly more expensive ones are awful - a sewing kit, a tape measure, a tiny padlock, a photo frame - just make you feel guilty for throwing them out. But there are crackers with chocolates, indoor fireworks, china ornaments, whatever you like. No-one has yet given me one with a diamond bracelet in, but I've seen them advertised!

We do the crackers as well, my mom lived in Australia for a year and brought back the tradition from there. My kids love it, and it really lightens up the family gathering to see everyone in their christmas best and paper crowns at dinner!

kirfan wrote > Kir Royal > 4/5th of Champagne with 1/5th of creme de cassis. < It's even better if it is Champagne and Chambord.

I make homemade Limoncello and give it as Christmas gifts. We all sit around and drink it as we look at the photo albums and remember our wonderful times in Italy.

When we lived in Scotland, I made crazy quilt Christmas stockings using tartans and velvet. We buy pins and charms when we travel and put them on the stockings as mementos. Our tree is full of mementoes from our travels - ornaments and other trinkets. At Christmas, we eat foods from various parts of the world.

We will be downing a bottle of Macallan 15-yr-old each day of the twelve days of Christmas.

I got my family Christmas gifts from Rome this year. Also brought Italian chocolates and wine from Orvieto.

Selena- Would you share the limoncello recipe with us, please?

One of our favorite traditions for Christmas is German Pancakes with a warm berry syrup for breakfast followed by rice cream - one cup having an almond hidden in it.

Each Xmas each person receives an English cracker at their place setting. Then we pull them-it's just for the noise they make and it's fun to wear those silly paper hats that come with them-it's been a tradition since all of us were little. And we will drink French champagne. Other than that just catching up on some articles about Europe and wishing we were actually there!

Last summer in Paris (end of my 3 week trip) I was running low on spending money but wanted Christmas ornaments so I bought some Eiffle Tower key rings - shinny brass. They were real cheap - under a Euro. Well I just hung them on the tree and they look great! They catch the light just right and look better than most of the ornaments I spent ten times more on. From now on I'll be looking for that type of thing on every trip.

Ann, I love your idea! What a fantastic way to use cheap but fun souvenirs, and actually have them out to display!

Dove, Here is the recipe I use.... INGREDIENTS: 15 thick-skinned lemons (Eureka, Lisbon or Citron) 2 bottles (750 ml each) of the best 100 proof Vodka 4 1/2 cups sugar 5 cups water INSTRUCTIONS: Wash the lemons in hot water before you start. Remove the peel with a vegetable peeler, removing all white pith on the back of the peel by scraping with a knife, and put the peels in a 4-quart Mason jar. Add 1 bottle of Vodka and stir. Cover the jar, date it, and put it to rest in a dark cabinet at room temperature. After 40 days, take out the lemon-Vodka mixture. Ina sauce pan set over high heat, stir the sugar and water together and boil for 5 minutes. Let the sugar syrup cool completely in the pan, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar syrup to the lemon-Vodka mixture along with the second bottle of Vodka. Stir well to combine. Replace the cover on the jar and note the finish date. Return it to the dark cabinet and store for 40 more days. At day 80, remove the limoncello from the cabinet. Strain the mixture and discard the lemon peel. Pour into clean, unused bottles with caps or decorative corked bottles. Store the bottles in the pantry, but put one bottle at a time in the freezer until ready to use. Makes approximately 3 quarts. It takes 80 days but it turns out perfectly everytime !!!