'Tis the day...the day many wait for all year along. I would be in that group. I plan for this day starting way back in January. I start thinking about what to serve, to buy and to do. I want to create those memories that are reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell picture. I fall short, a lot, but I figure that falling short is better that not aiming at all; and most of our Christmases have happy, warm memories. We have had great ones and good ones; never a bad one. I have tried to make them meaningful for our kids as well as for my husband and myself. The number one aim has been family time. That was far easier when our children were youngsters. Now they are adult children still living at home and the rules are changing. Finding the balance between independence and wanting to be at home gets a little tricky. It helps that nothing is open on Christmas, for which I am thankful.
We have brought the intensity of Christmas down over the years. We now do a secret Santa; we all draw names and buy something for that person only. Secret Santa also adds an element of sneakiness, hush-hush, and subterfuge. Kent always tries to guess who-has-who, as does Ethan. I am just glad that I can pull it off and not spill it to someone, like where I had been shopping, or why was I at Backwoods? We put a monetary limit on gifts, and hand out lists with at least three items. All the items have to be reasonable, so no 2014 Mustangs allowed, even if it looks cute on the list. We stress that the gift need to be well thought out; no gift cards. Sometimes this can be a struggle.
This year I drew my 20 year old daughter, Emily, who had just bought a bunch of stuff from William Sonoma, where she got a 40% discount. So I have a new candy apple red Kitchenaid mixer on my counter (looks so pretty and I am so jealous) and several other items. To top it off, she had no idea of what she might want or like and so was no help. I was way out of my league... My other daughter, Clare, and I were out shopping on Christmas Eve and I had very little time to make this happen and somehow I wasn't to let Clare in on it. Obviously, that was not going to work. So I did what any savvy smart mom would do - I spilled to Clare and asked for her help. It worked.
We found Emily a gorgeous soft brown knit dress, and she liked it! Score!!!!!
Now, that is how we roll at our house. Kent had figured out that Clare had me, (also Clare and I were so tired and she still had her secret Santa to buy for, which was me so I picked out my gifts, she wrapped them and I over acted surprised, we had a blast). So we unwrapped gifts, made Swedish pancakes, bacon and hot apple cider. We watched a movie after breakfast (which was around 11:00) and then took naps, yea! And then we knitted, watched more movies and just hung out.
Christmas dinner is in the oven, Brown sugar crusted ham, cheesy potatoes, and a spinach salad with mixed berries.
It was a very good day.
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