With Australia calling (or at least whispering) this might be the LAST of Trish & John’s legendary annual Christmas Meal get-togethers. We’ve been going to these for what seems like, forever – and we’re sure to miss this annual gathering of our neighbours & friends for what is usually a mega-festive-feast with a Christmas Quiz to argue over! But best of all, a chance to catch up with longtime friends! 😁😁😁😁
This year, it was good to welcome the new ‘Mr & Mrs Costello’ – Sean & Kellie – to our gathering.
It had been wet all week, but today was one of those rare pleasant days in December, weather-wise, that allowed me to wash the car in preparation, and as per tradition, pick up Paul & Karen in time for a prompt 6.30pm arrival.
We ticked that box and arrived just before 6.30. Next, we were soon catching up and helping our hosts deplete their stocks of beers, wine and nibbles!
Let the Party begin
With the conversations flowing and Tom showing off his Santa Suit and me in a retina-searing shirt (so, what’s new!?) we were all soon in the Christmas Spirit!
Nearly there!
Meanwhile, the cooker was on overtime getting the food ready (with more than a little help from Trish!). This year: a full-on Christmas Roast Turkey meal!
Trish, plus a little ‘supervision’ from John had done a great job again this year in getting everything ready!
Christmas Feast Time!
With everything cooked to perfection, we were soon ready for this year’s feast! And if it felt like there was enough food for the whole of Northamptonshire, it’s probably because there was!
To lighten the food preparation load, Ann created her famous Cranberry Sauce and Devils on Horseback’ whilst Karen brought her rather delicious Red Cabbage.
Wow! What a feast! And there was still Dessert and the Cheeseboard(s) to come! But as has become tradition, we took a break from the food and began the annual Quiz. Written and devised by yours truly again this year, it had the knack of bringing out the best and worst 😉 in our friends – and this year, we had two new members – Sean & Kellie.
This Year’s Quiz
You can download a copy of the Quiz from HERE.
Trish drew names out of the hat to form the teams, and it was soon ‘eyes down’ and ‘fingers on buzzers’.
This year’s Teams
Karen & Rosi
John & Julie
Paul & Trish
(the THIRD year in a row, they’ve been randomly paired!)
Kellie & Sean
Tom & Dave
Consisting of just five Rounds (four questions per round) – mostly multi-choice – where Mrs P in charge of scoring and crowd control, battle commenced!
Round 1: Festive Trivia
Round 2: Festive Sport
Round 3: Christmas Heroes
Round 4: Festive Food
Round 5: Festive Film Abbreviations
With five points for a correct answer and 10 points for answering the occasional bonus questions (and a loss of 10 points, if, after buzzing, you don’t have an answer), we were off! As usual, this year’s Quiz was serious fun!!! 😉
With the mantra “it’s the taking part, not the winning” banned from everyone’s thinking, the leaderboard changed more than a couple of times as Round followed Round of a particularly noisy (but enjoyable) event.
By the end, there was a clear winner! And it wasn’t who we expected. Well done, ‘the youngsters!’ 😊😍👍
1st – Sean & Kellie (70 points)
2nd – Karen & Rosi (45 points)
Equal 3rd – Paul & Trish (40 points)
Equal 3rd – Tom & Dave (40 points)
5th – John & Julie (10 points)
Well, that was fun! We’re certainly a competitive bunch! 😉
And there’s more (food)!
With the Quiz over for another year, we turned our attention back to our other favourite subject – food! With everyone catered for, we were soon tucking in.
And because we’re all officially ‘cheese monsters’, TWO Cheeseboards were required, all helped along with bottomless glasses of Port and Limoncello – oh, and the occasional teas and coffees.
…and so ‘Goodnight!’
They say time flies when you’re having fun – and that was definitely the case tonight. Sean & Kellie were first to say goodbye just after 11, and by 11.30pm, the rest of us were thinking the same. In earlier years, we would have partied on through past midnight, but these days, not us lot in 2025! We were home by 11.45pm and tucked up just before midnight.
Well done Trish & John – another fantastic evening, however you look at it. Merry Christmas! 🎅. We’re officially in a festive mood now, but wonder if we’ll be doing it all again here in 2026? G’day Bruce! 🦘🦘🦘🦘
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
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