Christmas with this family

Christmas is always, always an important day in our family because it's all about the birth of Christ. But if you're a Christian, you get that. Hopefully you also spent part of your day acknowledging His birth. We do so by first attending mass in our Church of the Little Flower then turning our attention to our family. Usually that means gift-giving and dinner on Christmas night, to give the kids an opportunity to spend time with the other side of their families--their in-laws.

But time changes things, and this year the kids decided that lunch would be a better time to come home for our family gathering. That meant Richard and I needed to attend an earlier mass and chose an 8 a.m. service nearby. 

Once we returned home, the race was on. Except I was smart and outsourced some of the cooking. Will and his family were responsible for cooking the turkey and brisket. Whew! That was easy. That left us the sides and the rest of the party. Also easy. We're used to this pack of loonies! So we just had fun and kept everything casual.

Rich's parents came for lunch but left immediately after. They always go home for naps. He has reached 80, so they deserve to come and go as they choose. Besides, this crew is pretty rowdy and even I say goodbye with a tired smile.

At some point the kids began testing each other with "magic tricks." The idea was to show your best trick and then let the others try to figure out how it's done. Cameron won this game hands down. Some of the boys never did figure out how to tie a knot in a string but never letting go either end of the string. The trick, is to keep everyone from seeing how you let go. 

A "Bubba" cup for Lane since his sisters call him Bubby.
Bubba is a brand that's a knockoff from Yeti.

Ice tea dispenser for Will because he complains that his
family drinks all of the tea he makes but doesn't make any. 

Of course, we exchanged gifts, but everyone was surprise to find out that their gifts from us were on the tree, not under it. We decided that instead of trying to figure out what everyone "needs," we'd give each one a gift that would be meaningful and a gift card for a favorite store or restaurant. To avoid misplacing a gift box--those card boxes are small--we punched a hole in each one and tied a string on. Then we used the string to attach them to the tree like ornaments. Then we made a game of finding the right box. I wish I'd taken a picture before the gift giving. 

The presents are all gone. Now what?

Uhm, what is this?

The Queen recovers herself
for a photo opportunity.

With one exception, everyone loved their gifts. Jolie, Queen Drama of the South, was not very impressed with the throw we gave her. The look on her face as she opened the gift says so much! Priceless.

Otherwise, it was a wonderful Christmas time. Do your celebrate Christmas or another holiday at this time of year? What were the special moments for you?

Now it's on to 

Happy New Year!