For some unknown reason, I never really got into the Christmas frame of mind this year. Usually, I enjoy putting up the tree, decorating the house, and making yummy goodies. But this year, it all seemed like just something else to do when I already had a ton of things on my plate. I was never really able to put my finger on the reason for my lack of anticipation or excitement. It might have been due to the fact that the family was passing around strep throat, I was swamped with end of semester work issues, or we were over committed to various things. Nevertheless, the holiday break has ended up being very enjoyable and restful in spite of my lack of Christmas Spirit.
Usually, the family comes to our house on Christmas Eve for dinner and gift exchanges. Last year, the girls and I decided to skip the traditional holiday food in favor of Mexican. We decided to do the same thing this year. Ryan tried to stage a coup and sent a text message to everyone saying, "change of plans: traditional turkey & stuffing instead of Mexican" but it didn't work. So, he and Scott showed up at our Mexican dinner with the turkey, stuffing, candied yams, green bean casserole, home made rolls, pecan and pumpkin pie, and they even remembered the cranberries. Needless to say, we had WAY too much food! But, I must say that I am sooo glad I taught my sons to cook. They have ended up being much better at it than I am.
Anyway, here is a quick run down of the evening. I did manage to get some sewing in before Christmas. I had some old Christmas fabric in my stash and made pillow case dresses for the granddaughters. They showed up looking so cute dressed up for the holiday!
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| The little girls in their pillow case dresses... |
Because we hold a Chinese Gift exchange for the adults, Ron and I only buy gifts for the grandchildren. This year we found matching sleeping bags that came with a backpack to give to Maggie and Sophie. When my own girls were little, I had to buy duplicates of everything so that they wouldn't fight over things. The same is true for the little girls, however; Maggie wasn't too thrilled that all of her gifts were "copied" this year. Even Aunt Bee bought them matching doll stroller sets.
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| Opening Aunt Bee's gifts.. |
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| Maggie waiting for Sophie to finish opening her gift... |
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| Sophie opening her sleeping bag... |
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| The girls and their sleeping bags... |
Seth is much easier to buy for. He wanted a drum set, a telescope, a go-cart, and Lego's. We got him Lego's last year and the other things were beyond our budget. He was thrilled with the telescope. Seth is the only grandchild old enough to participate in the Chinese gift exchange. This year he brought a candy dispenser, and I think he would have been happy to take it home with him. However, when he saw the Storm Trooper cookie jar that Uncle Ryan brought, he changed his mind. After the dice battle, he ended up with the cookie jar.
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| Seth and his new telescope... |
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| Seth & his cookie jar... |
In addition to Seth getting the storm trooper cookie jar during the Chinese gift exchange, I ended up with my own gift (Bath & Body Works set), Ron got a Dallas Cowboy's snuggie that folds up into a pillow, Ryan got Dallas Cowboys flannel p.j. set and calendar, Scott got a cupcake maker, Rebecca got a set of emergency flash/night lights, Gerson got the candy dispenser, and Leslie got a game called Minute to Win It. She was please because it is one game that G actually had a blast playing. I thought the game was lame!
We missed having Mom and Dad with us for the holiday, but, Dad didn't want to be the next strep throat victim. I am also pretty thankful that neither Ron nor I came down with it!
Here are a few more pictures from Christmas eve.
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| Seth was the first person to get the donut maker... |
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| Scott, Gerson, & Ryan... |
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L to R: Sophie, Oscar the dog, Leslie, Maggie, Scott, D-Ray
the dog, and Gerson... |
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| L to R: Leslie, Maggie, Scott, and D-Ray the dog... |
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| The girls and their goodies... |
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| Too much fun for Sophie and Poppy! |
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