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Last night was the annual Mooloolaba Christmas Boat Parade which travels all the canals off the Mooloolah River, including the canal we live alongside. Unless the residents are away, everyone has a party and as each boat travels past, everyone yells Merry Christmas and applauds. Even for the little inflatables covered in lights.
It’s not easy to take photos of lights at night when they’re moving! Daylight is a lot easier.
The parade started at 6:30pm which frankly is too early because it wasn’t yet dark. Thankfully for us, by the time they arrived at our place it was dark enough to see the lights. There were more boats in this year’s parade than ever before that we’ve seen. The more boats that came by, the more boats we could see coming down the canal. There’s a dead end just past our house so we got to see them twice.
Thanks to the Mooloolaba Christmas Boat Parade folks for these photos.
So, what do you make to bring to a Christmas pizza party when you’re tired and hung over? You make a happy salad.
I know this is called all sorts of names but in our family it was called happy salad when my daughter couldn’t remember the name. It’s been happy salad in our family ever since. I know it’s called ambrosia salad, fruit salad and a few other names but for me, it’s happy salad.
Kathy was about 4 and I asked her why it was called happy salad and she replied, “Because it makes me happy, silly!” Fair enough.
- 1 large can mixed fruit
- 1 can mandarin oranges
- 1 cup toasted pecans (or walnuts)
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 cups whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon icing/confectioner's sugar
- Pre-heat oven to 180/350 and place nuts on baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes and let cool. Roughly chop.
- Open cans of fruit and drain the liquid. Place drained fruit in a bowl
- Add coconut and nuts and stir to combine.
- Whip cream. When it begins to thicken, add icing sugar and vanilla.
- Add to fruit and fold in.
- Easiest salad ever.
Hmmm this looks delish! I can easily veganise this with coconut cream…sumptuous!
If I call it happy salad from now on, my husband will end up using the same name. He has happy salad every night these days.
I was impressed Maureen by the first picture. My cam would never make such a great picture during twilight darkness, I would need to set it to the highest ISO number and it would get grainy and shaky. I would have had fun, boat parades are quite unusual. =)
That parade sounds like so much fun! What an awesome tradition.
Oh my gosh fruit salad is one of my FAVORITES! This sounds so good — and it’s definitely a happy salad to me 🙂
I love hearing stories like this and parade is such fun.
The title intrigued me so I skimmed down past the boat parade to find out what made a salad HAPPY. I didn’t run across ambrosia salads until I was an adult, maybe even in my early 30s but seem to remember vegetables of some sort being present in there … diced peppers or celery. The version above reminds me more of an Eton mess even though there’s no crushed meringue so it’s almost dessert like. It’s very pretty though and would definitely me happy to eat it. 🙂
What a fun (and beautiful) parade – such a fun tradition! And I love your happy salad, it would make me happy too!
The boat parade looks wonderful, what a fabulous start to the Christmas celebrations. Love the look of Happy Salad – great name. A very merry Christmas to you all. GG
What a lovely tradition. We have to get in our car and go driving to look at all the Christmas lights – this is much better – you get to stay home and eat pizza and relax as the boats go by. What a great name for a salad and I’m glad you stuck with it xx
What a wonderful holiday celebration with all the boats and lights – and it seems YOU have the best seat in the house!! Merry Christmas!!!
And oh – love the name of your salad! Kids always get it just right, don’t they?
Love the name of this salad! Also is an excellent idea eat salads in this season! I need it! The Aussie parade looks terrific!
I hope you are ready for Christmas and have an excellent time 😉
Love your happy salad, Maureen… and the boat parade, well that’s just something else. How delightful!
I was SO looking forward to this post about the boat parade!! Don’t you love traditions like that?! In my area, the big event is the annual dog swimming race at Pittwater where dogs swim about 300m from the “mainland” to this small island called “Scotland Island”. It is insane happy madness and I can’t wait until it’s on! I can’t think of a better recipe to have alongside the boat parade post. Happy salad? Never heard or seen of any salad like it, but it made me happy just reading the recipe so I think this will find its way into my tummy over these holidays! Great salad to take to a party I’m thinking! Keep it separate and toss it together when I arrive!
This salad and the boat parade would definitely guarantee happiness for me too!
Merry Christmas Maureen, to you and yours!
Roz
What a fun tradition. They do something similar here in Venice, CA. I’ve alway intrigued but unless you know someone and get invited to their dock, there’s not much to see for landlubbers. Have a great holiday. GREG
I’ve never heard of Ambrosia Salad before but Happy Salad is much better. I love the boats – must be so much fun sitting on your deck toasting them all going by.
Hi Maureen, the boat parade looks like a fabulous event> Love the happy salad!
How cute- an Aussie Bush Christmas! (Love the koala and the fairy penguin- only in Oz Land)! And hands up- how many non-Aussies would know how to pronounce ‘Mooloolaba’ without twisting their tongues in a knot! Nothin’ better than an Ambrosia salad! Merry Christmas to you, Maureen.
That’s funny. When my sister visited she called it mooloo laba instead of MoLOOlaba. 🙂 It took me years to be able to say names like Woomagarma (WuMARgama) Merry Christmas, Fran!
Thanks for the photos and info on the boat parade. How fun is that!!!! It sounds like you had a birds eye view from your place. Happy salad is a good name for this recipe as I know with all of those delicious flavors it would put a smile on my face. I hope this note finds you well. Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holiday
I don’t think I’ve ever had this salad but I’ve certainly read about ambrosia salad or seen it on television! Happy Salad is a much better name 😛
Whatever you call it it looks lovely, I wouldn’t mind a bowl or two 😀 Merry Christmas.
Love the look of this parade! Must be fantastic to celebrate Christmas in the heat of down under. And I love the name of your Happy Salad. It certainly looks it. Maureen, wishing you and your family a wonderfully merry Christmas. All the best, Jill x
Now you’ve got me craving happy salad and a house on the water. Happy holidays!
Your post ignited so many dormant memories. This salad used to be my favorite as a kid. Its been ages since I made this. Thanks for this post…its time I introduce it to my daughter 😀
Your post reminds me of when we lived on the bay in Key Largo, Florida. Loved the imagination that everyone put into decorating their boats for the Christmas boat parade. I think I like the name happy salad better than ambrosia…it makes you smile.
I always forget about ambrosia but now that I am going to call it the happy salad, I may remember it better! I always loved this as a girl – printing this recipe! My mom used to make it and it is always a favorite. Great boat photos – such a fun event. Merry Christmas Maureen!
This sounds similar to the Filipino Fruit Salad except for the nuts. Definitely this would taste amazing
This is such an oldie but goodie! I haven’t thought about it in years!! Have a wonderful holiday Maureen!
I love a good tradition, and I want to make this salad one of them 😀
Delicious!
Happy Holidays mon amie!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Fruit salad with the cream already added in – that’s gonna make me pretty happy, too!
I would love to go to a Christmas boat parade, so fun!
Yum! I know you’ll think I’ve been living under a rock but I’ve never had this. It sounds just wonderful as does your fun parade!
Kathy’s name for this lovely salad takes the win! I particularly like the use of heavy cream over the mayonnaise-based versions seen stateside. The opening photo is terrific, Maureen. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Oh, I am a huge fan of happy salad, too. Wow, so fun to see how you “do” Christmas down under. No matter where we live, it’s a glorious time of year!!! Wishing you a most splendid Christmas and New Year!!!
Happy salad is the BEST name for this. 🙂 That makes me smile. 🙂
Such an appropriate name! Anything with sugar, cream, fruits and nuts sounds ‘happy’ to me. I wish there was a boat parade here too…it must be such fun!
Best Salad Name Ever!! Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!! All the Best! xo Ramona 🙂
I love that this is called happy salad. I’ve never actually had ambrosia salad. It’s definitely on my bucket list for 2015! Happy New Year!!