08 January 2026

by Emma Davidson

Since I was a small child my parents, my siblings and I flew out to Scotland every three years or so to see my grandparents, uncle and cousins. Just an hour long drive up north from Aberdeen lies Mintlaw, the closest town to my extended family’s farm. Driving up the road towards my Granny and Granda’s house, we would always spot Granny standing in the conservatory excitedly waving at our arriving car. We drive up to the back entrance (the main entrance is never used for some reason) and jump out of the car.

… right into Granny and Granda’s arms. Hugs and kisses are exchanged before all quickly flee the harsh Scottish weather to find a richly set table inside. We hardly have time to take off our shoes before Granny starts feeding us like starving people. We accept the food lovingly because there is no better food than at Granny’s house, as everyone knows. 

We get ready to spend the next week eating, eating and …. eating! We sleep between the meals and maybe (just maybe) leave the house to go for a walk from now and then. 

The days just rush past this year. On the 24th we take a little trip to Banff, a town even further north, about a 40-minute car drive from the farm. When we arrive, we slip into our wetsuits (anyone who has ever worn a winter wetsuit knows that the word slip is used as a euphemism here) and head down to the beach. The water temperature is about 8 degrees that day and the sun is shining beautifully, a perfect day for surfing. We storm off into the waves and get on surfing, the session “only” lasting about 45 minutes in these kinds of conditions, our feet nearly freezing off. Nothing a good bowl of broth and a cup of tea can’t fix!

In Great Britain the 24th is never a big day, so we have some curry and rice in the evening and go to sleep at a reasonable time. The next morning is Christmas Day, which is the big day around here. We all snuggle up around the fire and have some croissants while opening the first load of presents. After laying around for half of the day watching films and chatting, we all freshen up and get our nice clothes out for the Christmas meal over at the grandparent’s house. Granny has cooked some Beef this year (normally there would have been a Turkey, but they were apparently not good due to the very dry summer this year) along with some tatties (potatoes), carrots, brussels’ sprouts, mealie pudding (made of oats and other stuff), Yorkshire puddings and some veggie haggis for my sister and me! 

We are surprised at the variety of vegetarian and vegan options you can get here- very nice for people travelling. 

Granny has laid out some Christmas Crackers for us as well and soon we all have our (slightly stupid-looking) paper hats on and are eating (again!). After supper we have a couple of drams (glasses of whiskey) and sit together playing a card game. 

The following days are usually spent with family and friends… and lots of food naturally! 

The day before our flight back to Germany our Grandparents take out the whole lot of us to my Granda and uncle’s golf club (every good British man plays golf!) for another meal. Sadly, the sun goes down at around four pm at this time of year so we can’t see the golf course which is just by the sea. 

On the 28th we leave the farm in the morning to drive down to Edinburgh Airport, where our flight would leave in the afternoon. Another round of hugs as everyone says farewell before we drive off, Granny and Granda shed some tears for they will not see their German grandchildren for at least a year. 

Going to Scotland for Christmas is one of the few times my siblings and I get to really know the traditions, which is a way of connecting to our Scottish roots. As we grow older, we will spend more and more time reading about Scotland and visiting the wonderful countryside ourselves.

I will definitely go back soon and get back on the surfboard- surfing in the Scottish sea was my perfect ending for 2025!