CHRISTMAS 2011

Every year my sister and I take turns hosting Christmas Eve at our respective homes. This year was my turn! We were having 26 people in our home for the evening. The preparations began shortly after Thanksgiving. 

Decorate the house inside and out. Put up the tree and decorate it. This year I put tinsel on the tree, I haven’t put tinsel on a tree in over 20 years (way too much work) but I realized my grandkids had never seen a tree with tinsel on it. (Guess what, they never even mentioned it! Oh, well...)

However, the adults LOVED the tinsel. It brought back a lot of memories and STORIES of when we HAD to put tinsel on trees when we were young, so the work was worth it just for the stories it brought out.

I wanted to buy a new Christmas bathroom set - everything matching, shower curtain, towels, rug, and soap dispenser! Just couldn’t justify spending the money. So my hubby tried to help me out.

HUBBY:  Are you going to buy a new set every year?

ME:  No.

HUBBY:  Are you planning on using the set for several Christmases?

ME:  Yes, at least 10.

HUBBY:  Then it will wind up costing you about $14 a year. I think we can afford that.

ME:  Thank you, I love you!

Now, have to make sure to tell the grandkids not to use the towels hanging up (they are strictly for decoration). Use the hand towels set out on the bathroom sink. DON’T MESS UP MY FANCY TOWELS, I’LL LOSE IT!! Really, I’m reduced to this???

Back to the preparations:
Buy christmas presents: 1 husband, 3 adult kids and their 3 spouses, 5 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild, 1 sister, 5 nieces and nephews. What to get? What to get? Wrap all the presents and put bows on the presents (OH NO - not the bows again!). Don’t forget to write checks to our favorite charities.

Before the munchkins hit

My 6 little munchkins

Bake, Bake, Bake. Did I say bake? Chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, coconut macaroons, peppermint meltaways, turtle cookies, meringue cookies. (Day after Christmas I divided up the cookies by 4 and gave the kids a "doggie bag" of cookies to take home) Phew, now I don't HAVE to eat them all up before my diet...

Buy, Buy, Buy. Did I say buy? M&Ms plain, peanut butter, and pretzel, Hershey Kisses, Mixed Nuts, Lightly Salted Nuts, Cashews, licorice, Christmas Tree Peeps (set them out real early so they get hard and crusty). Oh No, kids start eating Peeps before Christmas Eve, start freaking out, buy more Christmas Tree Peeps but added Snowman Peeps to the collection. When did Peeps become part of Christmas? They belong with Easter...Oh, but they are soooo good.

I saw an article in a magazine at the doctor’s and tore the page from the magazine. (SHHHH, I don’t want to go to Magazine Destruction Prison). Anyway, everything was done in red and green but everything was separated. Green M&Ms in one bowl, red M&Ms in one bowl, green Kisses in one bowl, red Kisses in one bowl, red licorice, green licorice...So I was on a mission...Me and my sterile gloves went about the task of separating all the candies by color so that everything would look just like the picture I “borrowed” from the doctor’s office. Oh yeah, I went back to the doctor’s to return the page to the magazine but couldn’t find the magazine. Sorry doc...

Christmas Eve is here, everyone brings a dish, so we have baked ham (the one I told you about in an earlier blog that my kids want me to begin selling and compete with the spiral hams), shrimp, fresh and smoked sausage, cheesy potatoes, spinach dip with Hawaiian bread, vegetable tray and dip, ham roll-ups, cheese & crackers, La Toute (family recipe of meat and potato pie), crab dip. Think we have enough? OMG...

Christmas Day. Bake another ham (yes, that is two) (30 lbs. of ham total), scalloped potatoes and LEFTOVERS. Today we had 25 people over throughout the day.

I am exhausted, tired, wiped out, ready for my bed. Hopefully, we'll be invited to eat at other people's homes so I won't have to cook for a while.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!