Christmas in South Africa is all about summer fun and good times together. Our festive season is mostly relaxed and quite informal, with al fresco dining a favoured option and a braai likely to feature more than once!  

Before we check out how some of South Africa’s foodies put their own spin on Christmas, here are a few ways you can add a local touch to your festive menu and table.

• Serve visitors from overseas a hearty South African venison pie as part of your feast – but buy it in so you can literally just ‘heat and eat’. It’s even nicer with a big dollop of that favourite Christmas staple, cranberry sauce; 
• Give your Christmas table a fun twist by cutting green and red shweshwe fabric into squares and using these as serviettes;
• Make big pitchers of ice tea from scratch for the kids and holiday visitors, but use rooibos for a healthy antioxidant – and proudly SA – boost;
• Biltong and snoek patés are delicious additions to a festive table and easy enough to make… or buy it in to save time and effort;
• Foodie gift ideas with a local flavour might include a beautiful artisan gin from an SA distillery – there are so many fine gins being made here nowadays;  a tin of best-quality extra-virgin olive oil from the Karoo; a basket of choice farmstall finds or a selection of Nomu spices, prettily packaged.

View this post on Instagram

Slow Friday afternoons call for a refreshing treat. After this busy week, I think it’s time to sit back with a nice glass of ice tea. My tea is naturally flavored with these fun ice cubes to help me stay cool in these August temperatures. These also work great in water! Find all three ice cube recipes on the blog today at www.theeverydaymomlife.com and let me know which one is your favorite flavor! ✅ Lemon Basil ✅ Honey Peach ✅ Raspberry Mint __ Link also in bio @rachelquenzer to make life easy. 😘 Happy Friday, friends! #summerrecipes #icetea #icetea🌱 #flavoredwater #flavoredtea #summervibes☀️

A post shared by Family + Food + Farm (@rachelquenzer) on Aug 9, 2019 at 1:58pm PDT

Here are some more ideas for you to try in the kitchen this holiday:

View this post on Instagram

I could’ve probably made a cake, but let’s be real, it’s nearly December, this has been a long week already, and the new @amarula_official Vanilla Spice is just too darn delicious not to make a spicy cocktail! 🍸 The recipe for this heavenly Gingerbread Rosemary Cocktail is up on the blog 😍 #ad #vanillaspiceexperience #amarulavanillaspice

A post shared by Clara Jane (@baking_ginger) on Nov 27, 2019 at 8:18am PST

View this post on Instagram

Your new GO-TO SUMMER DESSERT 😎🌞 ⁠ ⁠ Serves 8-10 ⁠ ⁠ INGREDIENTS⁠ ⁠ 1 tin (432g) crushed pineapple ⁠ 1 pack (80g) pineapple-flavoured jelly powder⁠ 1½ vanilla-flavoured custard⁠ 8 Tinkies Vanilla Whizz⁠ ¾ cup whipping cream⁠ ⁠ Serving suggestion:⁠ Toasted desiccated coconut⁠ Maraschino cherries⁠ ⁠ METHOD⁠ ⁠ 1. Pour the crushed pineapple, with syrup, into a small pot with the jelly powder and place on a medium-low heat. Stir to dissolve the jelly powder and remove from the heat.⁠ ⁠ 2. Stir through the vanilla-flavoured custard.⁠ ⁠ 3. Lay the Tinkies in two rows in a 20cm x 20cm dish. Pour over the pineapple-custard mixture and spread evenly. ⁠ ⁠ 4. Place in the fridge and allow to set for at least 2 hours. ⁠ ⁠ 5. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the top of the set fridge tart.⁠ ⁠ 6. Sprinkle toasted desiccated coconut over the cake and decorate with glacé cherries. Slice into generous squares and ENJOY! ⁠ ⁠ PLANNING TO TRY THIS?⁣⁣⁣⁠ ⁣⁣⁣⁠ If yes, remember to a) post a pic b) to TAG US (not just to mention us – as these easily get lost in the notification stream) and c) to hashtag #foodiesofsa⁣⁣⁣⁠ ⁣⁣⁣⁠ You may just get featured on our story or even get sent a little something to say well done.⁣⁣⁣⁠ ⁣⁣⁣⁠ The @foodiesofsa team⁣⁣⁣⁠ ⁣⁣⁣⁠ 🇿🇦⁣⁣⁣⁠ ⁠ 💕

A post shared by FOODIES OF SA (@foodiesofsa) on Dec 14, 2019 at 10:00pm PST

View this post on Instagram

Swedish Waffle Rosettes This recipe is a classic staple in my house until I realized that dusting them in icing sugar makes them look like snowflakes! They would make a killer Christmas dessert pilled high on a cake stand with snowy icing sugar all over, served alongside scoops of vanilla ice cream and a chocolate gingerbread syrup for dousing. 😍 Get the recipe in the link in my bio.

A post shared by The Kate Tin (@thekatetin) on Dec 15, 2019 at 11:58pm PST

View this post on Instagram

Can you believe it’s one week to go to Christmas 😳 so I thought I’d do a recipe a day countdown. Since my devestating burglary last week and loss of my computer I haven’t been able to post any new content 😰 and it’s kind of forced me into a holiday. I’ve been blogging for 10 years so I have Soooo many recipes, it’s not a bad idea to bring them back to life. 💫 🌟 💫 This is my confit duck legs which I made last year in my @instantpotsa and definitely a firm favourite. I made a cherry sauce to serve them with because duck loves sweetness. I’ve linked the recipe in my profile 💫 🌟 💫 #christmasrecipes #duckrecipes #recipes #foodphotography #f52grams #beautifulcuisines #feedfeed #thekitchn #foodfluffer #womenandwine #lifeandthyme #foodstyling #chasinglight #provinciallife #foodgawker #foodfluffer #wherewomencook

A post shared by Sam Linsell (@drizzleanddip) on Dec 17, 2019 at 9:59pm PST

View this post on Instagram

Bobotie lentil sausage rolls is whats on my appetizer list this festive season✨perfectly seasoned with curry, hints of pumpkin and petite chews of dried apricot. Seriously you have to make them, sharing later today! . . . . #lifeinthesouth #sausagerolls @woolworths_sa #festiveseason #festivefood #lekker #veganappetizer @deliciously_sa #veganrecipes #plantbased @wwtaste #afrikaans #kersfees #plantbasedrecipes #bobotie #curry #sausagerolls #vegansausagerolls @thefeedfeed.vegan #veganmains #eatmoreplants #wholefoods #lekker @food24_sa #southafricanblogger #southafricanfood @bestofvegan #southafricanfoodies #christmasfood #veganchristmas #veganchristmasdinner #bestofvegan #feedfeedvegan @theprettyblog

A post shared by Mariza🌱Plant-based Foodblog (@lifeinthesouth.co) on Dec 18, 2019 at 2:12am PST

View this post on Instagram

Entertaining doesn’t come much easier than this. Gather delicious store bought bits and pieces, arrange in a festive wreath and hey presto! This Antipasto wreath is a go-to idea for when I need an impressive appetizer. Recipe link is in my profile. https://simply-delicious-food.com/easy-antipasto-wreath/

A post shared by Simply Delicious (@alidaryder) on Dec 12, 2019 at 6:01am PST