A surprise Christmas gift from a loving mum

I have to say I love Christmas. To me it’s a magical time filled with fond memories of family, love, laughter and great food.

 

This is what I kept in mind when preparing for the first Christmas without our Mum; while it was tough, we wanted to try and capture some of the wonderful memories she gave us in her honour.

 

Our festivities traditionally began on Christmas Eve with Midnight Mass (at 10pm) and when we grew older, we would then go home to open our presents and enjoy Mum’s home baked ham and some drinks.

 

Christmas Day was a big treat when it came to food. We went against tradition of having turkey after receiving three of them one year as presents! Instead, dinner was roast beef with all the trimmings.

 

Each of us had our favourite foods, mine being the beef, crispy potatoes and ice cream for dessert. For one of my brothers it was Brussels sprouts and Mum’s Christmas pudding. He was the only one of my siblings that liked them and my Mum would make extra just for him.

 

Trying to recreate Mum’s gourmet feast was going to be tough but we made every effort. Top of the list was to get the pudding started for my brother. This was a task for me and I spent time with his then-girlfriend attempting to recreate my Mum’s famous dessert. We mixed and we steamed and to my surprise, by the end I had actually made a Christmas pudding. It wasn’t as good as Mum’s but it was a start.

 

While preparing for the festivities, I was clearing the kitchen cupboards of jars that my mum had saved in case they might come in handy. As I was tidying I found the most unexpected thing; wrapped up perfectly was one of her Puddings from the year prior. We knew it was still in perfect condition as she was great at topping them up with brandy and making sure they were snug.

 

When I told my brother, I could see the delight in his eyes. Bless him, he asked if I didn’t mind if we kept the one I made for Easter (again, another tradition) and eat Mum’s pudding on Christmas Day. Of course I said yes; it was such a wonderful present to receive before the big day and a comforting one too!

 

Eimear Kelly has worked in hospitality and recruitment but considers becoming a stay-at-home mum to her two children, Logan and Elise, her best career move. Becoming a mum has inspired her to believe in herself and follow her dreams.

 

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