While I managed to get no knitting done today, far too warm! It was the perfect day for a long cool glass of lemon cordial and a flick through all the Christmas editions of the food magazines.

Armed with Table, Good Taste and Delicious magazines accompanied by the Coles and Woolworths own mini-magazines, I have been a woman on a mission. Only thing left is to acquire Super Food Ideas, Family Circle and the Australian Womens Weekly and my once yearly buy of Donna Hay.

This might imply some weird obsessive passion for the impending silly season. But that's not it at all, I loath Christmas! The Grinch thought he hated it, but he has to fight for second place with old Ebenezer himself.

Don't get me wrong there are some things I really like, I love food and the potential for all the cooking that you can do it really is one of the few true feast days in our calender, I love Christmas carols - I have to have a new CD every year of anybody who's anyone singing the tried and true. Christmas movies! My favourite being with the Muppets, how can you not like the Muppets? At this time of year complete mayhem is such a sanity saver.

But in preparation for the big day on Sunday we made our Christmas pudding, it is a family tradition and something I have helped with for as long as I can remember. We always use my Great-Grandmother's recipe, which much to my amusement directs you to measure out a gill of brandy!

I also made a pavlova Sunday, I do love pavlova. That and cheesecake. I'm not sure how I feel about a pumpkin cheesecake though???

Next on the list however is a fruit cake, I think I might give Nigella's One Pan Christmas Cake as featured in the latest Delicious a go it sounds easy enough. And White Christmas! It will be the Apricot and Almond version again as I much prefer it to the mixed fruit varieties. I am keen to try a Rocky Road version as well.