Traditional Christmas lunch? Chicken biryani for me this year - Susan Dalgety

It has become a family tradition for our three generations to gather together on Christmas Day to open presents and eat and drink far too much.

We used to play Monopoly until one memorable year when the game went on for three hours and showed no sign of ending until I ‘accidentally’ upset the board. My son has yet to forgive me.

We have had many memorable meals over the years. One of our grandchildren had to be rushed to hospital with croup on his first Christmas. He was fine as it turned out, but my husband caught the virus and it paralysed his vocal chords for three months.

One of our best Christmas meals was in an Edinburgh pub. Not because of the food – the gravy was served in a milk jug and the turkey was more processed than free range – but because of the relaxed atmosphere. That and the pool table, insists my eldest.

We try to mix up our Christmas traditions: we have enjoyed a Chinese takeaway, a 1970s themed lunch and roast beef instead of roast bird. So what to do this year?

My daughter-in-law has come up trumps. She has booked us a table at the Indian restaurant a short walk from her family home. I am very much looking forward to a chicken biryani, a dish traditionally reserved for special occasions, and what can be more special than Christmas lunch?

I am slightly disappointed that there is no Christmas pudding or Brussels sprouts on the menu, but delighted that we are able to take our own wine. I am already stocking up on Aldi’s Cremant.

My only stipulation for our spicy Christmas lunch is that there are crackers on the table, and I am quite happy to take them along if they don’t come as part of the package.

Nothing says Christmas more than the dull bang of a cracker and the ensuing squabble over who ‘won’ the mini-screwdriver or the fortune-telling fish – the one that curls up in your hand to show your mood or character. Apparently if it lies motionless, you are dead.