Yuletide Cherry Mojitos

1. What is your favourite Christmas food?

This is a tough one, my mother always makes the most amazing Christmas ham but Christmas also means cherry season, my favourite! Let’s be honest, I love that Christmas is just an excuse to eat and be merry.

2. What is your favourite Christmas movie?

Santa Claus (with Dudley Moore), Miracle on 34th St, It’s A Wonderful Life and Love Actually

3. Your favourite Christmas drink?

Ms Gingham’s cherry mojitos! Last year I discovered Champagne mojitos too, so you can bet I’ll be having a few of those!

4. Is there something you love to do every Christmas?

I love to decorate the Christmas tree, see the Christmas windows with Mr Polka and buy presents for my special people. I love the catch up with friends as well- the special dinners and the dressing up. It’s my favourite time. Oh! and Christmas lights are the bee’s knees.

5. Do you have any Christmas family traditions?

We always do a lot of celebrating on Christmas Eve. Mr Polka and I have a special breakfast together before traipsing to our respective families for more festivities. We always, always see the Christmas displays in the city together and just like Mr Polka yells out “wedding car” whenever we drive past one, he does the same for Christmas lights… just for me! Every year I buy my mother an angel ornament and every year Mr Polka and I buy a really special ornament for the tree. We have fun little traditions that we seem to fall into and have to repeat. I am the most sentimental person so doing things “Right” is really important to me!

6. Do you have a favourite shop that you visit at Christmas time?

I like actually being in the shops in general during Christmas, I tend to do all of my Christmas shopping online but there’s a special feeling about shopping for that one fun day and choosing just the right present for your loved ones. There’s a buzz!

7. Do you bake at Christmas time? If yes, what are your favourite things to bake? Would you share the recipe?

We do so much baking and cooking of traditional recipes. I must admit the fun thing we make is marzipan Christmas puddings. it sounds utterly fancy but it’s really just me having fun with grown up tasty play dough. We roll the marzipan into a ball, use food colour to make red berries and green leaves which are placed on top. Mind you, I do make a mean Turkish delight! We also make cocktails every year- my dad and I (he is in charge of ice crushing,i.e. hitting it with a rolling pin) create them together.

8. Where will you be spending Christmas this time of year?

We’ll be with my parents on Christmas Eve, together Christmas morning, at Mr Polka’s parent’s home on Christmas day and back to my parent’s Christmas night. We shall then beach ourselves on Boxing Day and not emerge again until New Years Eve.

9. Does Santa leave presents in your house?

He does. I think I’ll be sad if he ever doesn’t! No, I know I will be. I still believe in Santa after all.

10. What do you leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve?

Empty stockings (lovingly patchworked by a beautiful friend). Santa’s already had too much wine to need anything else!

11. Finally, do you thing you’re on Santa’s naughty or nice list and why?

I better be on his nice list, I haven’t had time to be naughty this year!