Sask. family adds international flavour to Christmas

A Saskatchewan family has been going around the world without leaving the dinner table for over four decades.

Stan Mann said he’s been taking part in his wife’s family tradition for the last 21 years. Each year, Christmas dinner is themed on a different country, with family members scouring local markets and ordering online to put together authentic dishes.

He said it all started with his wife’s grandfather back in the early ’70s.

“They’re actually starting to get down on countries that are left now, so we’ve improvised a little bit and we did a hillbilly Christmas one year and brought in stuff from Georgia —alligator, frogs legs, stuff like that.”

With about 25 people around the table, he said the preparations take quite some time.

“Oh, days, once you find everything. That’s the biggest thing is trying to find actual authentic stuff from these other countries.”

Mann said another year saw all the men in the family in charge of a “husbands provide” meal — with all the food coming from animals they hunted themselves and the husbands doing all the cooking and cleanup.

This year, the family will be reaching back in time with a medieval feast-themed supper.