And so that was Christmas(ez)...
1. Christmas Eve-
Woke up around 6:00 and made haste to the kitchen... where I spent most of the following six hours prepping food for Christmas. Needs must to enjoy a less stressful Christmas! I roasted the turkey and when that was out of the oven and no longer piping hot, I cut the meat off the bone(s) and placed pieces in their new home- the crock pot. I prepped as many side dishes as I could as well during this time. I made the corn casserole (but didn't bake it), I made Buffalo chicken dip, the Swiss cheese dip, and a dessert to take to Christmas Eve that evening. It was a productive few hours (I did take a few small breaks :)). Then it was time to get ready for church. We went to a new to us church for a Christmas Eve service as we are between churches right now. It was a really good service and we went straight to Donnie's mom's house for a Christmas Eve get together at her house.
Meanwhile, Donnie and Jacob worked on putting together furniture in the covered patio. The weather forecast called for mild temps the day after Christmas and for a few days after that (albeit with a decent bit of rain).
Ready for church
After church
Donnie's mom had delicious food purchased from McAlister's Deli. She had a sandwich/wrap tray, salad, potatoes and three types of soups from McAlister's. Everything was so good! We enjoyed a meal together and spending time with family there. We used to exchange presents with Donnie's mom on Christmas Eve but we've stopped doing that and now exchange gifts with her on Christmas. However the tradition of spending Christmas Eve with her has remained.
2. The BIG Day-
Woke up around 6:30 (I think?) and made haste again to the kitchen. This time I started by popping the ham in the oven. We made the kids get up at a decent hour to start opening presents since as soon as we were done with that, we needed to do more prep for the meal.
We opened presents. The kids loved what we got them (most of the items were from their lists but we like to get them some items that we know they are likely to like!) and we appreciated the gifts we were given.
After presents, it was time for more prep and then clean up to get ready for guests. Donnie's family came over around 1:00 for our traditional meal and gift exchange after eating. We had a great time together.
3. The Day After Christmas/ Another Christmas celebration
We got to anticipate the arrival of guests traveling from much more afar aka my family. In the early afternoon, they started trickling in. My oldest brother, who lives the closest to us in northern Ohio arrived first, followed by my Aunt Katy and cousin from Michigan, followed by my younger brother and his family from Indiana followed by my sister from Canada.
Since we don't all see each other that often, we had a wonderful time catching up and having an easy meal of Chinese take out plus I got out all of the left overs from our Christmas meal.
Three of our guests were staying the night. The evening of the 26th, we had our inaugural watching of a movie outside on the covered patio. It was fun.
The predicted mild weather occurred... It got up to close to 60 degrees on the 26th!
Cousins
Oldest cousin to youngest cousin picture fail...
She looks pretty happy with me! (Sorry, Bub!)
The new space looks great! We won't have furniture in ours until probably February but your pictures have me excited to get it all together. Looks like lots of fun family time and wonderful food which is how I think the Christmas holiday should be. We are also 'between' and I'm finding that sort of hard. My daughter goes to a great church but we didn't get there Christmas Eve as the service time was not practical with little ones. I definitely missed the candlelit singing of Silent Night. Enjoy these last couple of days of 2024!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joyce! I thought of you when my husband was putting the pieces together. You mentioned that you went to a design center or had a consultant work with you (or something along those lines) indicating your set will be high quality. We bought this set off of Wayfair and Donnie said he regrets not spending more and getting better quality. He says that when this set gets too run down, he'll buy better quality :). Can't wait to see your set! I'm sure it will be nice and will make ME regret not getting better quality, lol.
DeleteMaria, we had a furniture set similar to you at first also. It lasted longer than I thought it would and then got one more year at a college kids' place so lived the life we paid for it :/. You'll see how you use it without a huge investment - I bet what you think you need/want and what you end up with down the road will be different and this way you didn't spend $$$$ on something you "have" to like/keep because of the cost. The space is just fabulous!!!
DeleteAww you are certainly blessed my friend! You were a ninja in the kitchen and I can see why! I bet everything was delish! So many wonderful celebrations with your beautiful family- thank you for sharing XO
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holly! It it always a lot of work (as you know!) but always worth it!
DeleteThese sound like such fun days! So nice you were able to see all your siblings. What a great time with family. Enjoy this week!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marilyn! Your celebrations with family looked so fun and festive, too!!
DeleteSo many great celebrations!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dara!
DeleteYour littlest niece is a doll baby! I love the picture fail of her with Jacob. I loved reading about your Christmas celebrations! I foresee lots of family time out on that patio; it's pretty epic. That's an incredible addition to your home and will add value if y'all ever decide to sell! I hope you enjoy these days in between the two holidays and that you're getting lots of quality time with your family!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer! I think she's so adorable and I loved being around her. Thanks about the outdoor space. It will be nice to use it a lot more when the weather is consistently nice...
DeleteI love your daughters velvet dresses! That photo of the three you in front of the tree is fabulous. It sounds like you had such a wonderful time with the whole family at all your celebrations.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joanne! I did have a wonderful time spend time with family!!
DeleteThe patio looks great, and that tv is IMPRESSIVE! We are also between churches so went back to one we used to attend for Christmas. I loved hearing about your Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tanya! My husband loves to buy TV's and he bought this one way before he could hang it. In the meantime, Sam's Club came out with an even bigger TV. I was so glad he had already purchased the one he did because I have a feeling he would have bought the 95 inch one that he saw at Sam's!
DeleteFamily - isn't that what it's all about?!? LOVE all the pictures. And getting your patio put together just in time for all the crowds - many, many more happy events to look forward to with that setup :). The early calls to the kitchen don't sound fun, but looks like they were totally worth it all in the end.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenni! Yes, about the kitchen- the one good thing is that I am an early riser so I was up early anyway. Getting up early does make it much easier to get things prepped and ready. Yes, for sure about family! And we were so glad the patio was finished when it was and in time for unexpected mild weather that let us enjoy it :).
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