Some British things don’t make sense across the pond.
- Christmas Crackers
- Watermelon Ice Lost Marys
- Anything Central Cee refences in his rap
- Shouting “wanker!” at a Tottenham fan
By sheer luck this week, I discovered that I won’t be able to bring Christmas Crackers to the US for the holidays. L and I were talking about Christmas plans and I mentioned that this year my goal is to lean in. Embrace the British cult of Christmas – go to Winter Wonderland unironically, watch The Holiday in a public setting, maybe even see a production of The Christmas Carol (Dickens really has a stronghold on this desolate little island). I was leaning in so hard that I even bought Christmas Crackers to take back home for the holiday. I spent time picking out the good ones – the fancy crackers from M&S (IFKYK) with proper jokes and even little weiner dog jigsaw puzzles.
Only to discover that not only are Christmas Crackers banned from flights, they’re pretty much banned in the US altogether, the good kind anyways, the ones that ‘pop’ when you open them. Christmas Crackers are officially the Kinder Eggs of Britain. Apparently the ‘crack’ of the crackers is a small explosive (how quaint) and traveling with them is forbidden on any airline in the US. And ending up on the TSA no-fly list is (shockingly) not on my Christmas bingo this year.
Did you enjoy the Christmas pudding? Don’t know where I saw that but seem to recall it was gluten free so maybe not the best example. I hope you steamed it, not microwaved it. I have a friend who took one to Europe and she was horrified when the family served it up raw! Hope you have a great Christmas. Don’t forget the rum or brandy sauce.
p.s. The best version of A Christmas Carol is Simon Callow’s version. When you’re back over here, assuming you’re coming back, check it out on the iPlayer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001kwg
It’s palatable with a lot of custard!! Also can’t believe I just saw this!