Well, it's my FAVORITE day of the year. Christmas EVE.
Not Christmas day, but the lead in ... the foreplay .... the anticipation.
This day is what I started wrapping presents in November for !
( I had everything done, wrapped and stored b4 Thanxgiving ! )

So, my Christmas tradition since my family separated in 2002 has been the same each year ... even with my "shakeup" last year.
Christmas eve is at my houe - the kids and the "ex" (Donna, not that evil florida banshee) all join me for the Vigil Mass at 7pm, and we come back to a home cooked Ham dinner afterwards. Since all the kids are grown, we open the gifts from Daddy (me) on the 24th. Hang out till midnight or so, and Donna and the girls head back to her house. Then, Christmas morning ...... maybe 9am or so, we all gather at her place for some homemade sticky bunns, coffee and (leftover) ham and eggs ! We open the presents from Mommmy, hang out till mid day and then do some holiday visiting.

Then, on the 26th, my parents and the rest of my family heads to one of the 3 siblings houses ( this year - I get 'em ! )So, that means 24 for dinner in my tiny 6 room house with ONE bathroom ! Yikes !
Truth be told, I LOVE when we are all huddled close together. My sister's both have big houses, and somehow, it's less personal when there are so many places for people to hang out. Old folks gather around the kitchen table, the boys are doing sports things somewhere and the girls hang out with headphones on in someone's room. Too spread out for me ! I like us all to be together. At my house, we have NO CHOICE !


This year I am adding a special visit to our good friend Capt. Russ on the 29th and 30th, so that's another Christmas blessing to be thankful for !

For my global friends that celebrate other traditions and cultures - may I send a wish for peace and happiness to you all, and may the warmth and love that fills my heart at this Holy season spill over into yours!

Merry Christmas all !

Hey Dude,
It seems to me that you have really got it together and I am happy for you.
blessings from my house to your house.
Happy Christmas and all next year.
Bebop

What a difference a year makes

Merry Xmas Dave

UD ... glad to hear things are going well for you ...
Actually, Christmas eve is the 'bigger' of the two days for us also ...
This year started out early Sunday morning (went to Sat eve Mass so we could get an early start), with my wife making her "world famous scrambled eggs" for our two grandchildren from NY and their parents ... then off to her sister's house where things were already underway, making 'sausage rolls' - a generations old tradition- Italian sausage, provolone and Romano cheese, rolled into fresh made dough, and baked in the oven ... At around 11 AM the Bloody Marys and Mimosas started ... Fresh baked sausage rolls for lunch...
After the sausage rolls were all prepared, it was time to start preparing the seafood for dinner - stuffed shrimp, shrimp cocktail, lobsters: steamed, stuffed, cooked in tomato sauce to go with the linguine, octopus salad, - I would be cooking the calamari just before we sat down for dinner ...
After thanking the Good Lord for all our Blessings, we have dinner for a couple of hours ... then Christmas Carols to invoke the 'True meaning' of celebrating Christ's birthday, with all the kids (10 - ages 11 to 1 1/2 yrs) taking turns singing ... then the traditional 'pop' Christmas songs, and a visit from 'Santa' ...
We finally head home after 1 AM ... after laying out the gifts for our grandchildren, and the rest of the family (4 parents/ 4 grandkids sleep over) we get to bed after 3 AM, only to be wakened by #1 grandaughter at 6:30 - this kid DOES NOT need sleep - we convice her to be quite so the others can sleep longer, ... by 7:30 - 8 AM EVERYONE is awake, and it's time to do the gift exchange ... light breakfast, 11 AM Mass, back home to START COOKING - huge antipasto platter, standing rib roast, all the trimmings ...
I notice today that it is taking me a little longer to 'bounce back' ... but it was GREAT - wouldn't have it any other way !!! ...

t.