Merry Christmas!!
Or Merry Christmas Eve!! (If you wanna get technical all about it...)
No daily grind for me until Monday, the boyfriend has a short day and then is also off until Monday, all of the presents are wrapped and the stockings are ready to go and we're stocked up with apple cider and hot cocoa. Christmas dinner is thawing in the fridge and almost all of the baking is done. Oh yeah folks, it's gonna be a damn good weekend :)
In spite of it all, I am actually feeling a bit of the holiday spirit. I've got breakfast planned in the morning (french toast, sausage, eggs and fruit) and dinner planned for late tomorrow afternoon (rosemary pork roast, potatoes, fresh rolls, baked pasta and veggies) and plenty of games and Christmas movies. I'm a little nervous though...I just hope everyone likes their gifts. The boyfriend assures me he will...but he might just be saying that because he loves me.
I struggled with what your holiday list should be. It was the only thing holiday related that I couldn't absolutely decide on one way or the other. I had many ideas, and I had many ideas offered up from friends but none of them lasted very long in the chaos that is my mind. And so, more nostalgia it is...
My Top 9 Favorite Christmas Memories and/or Traditions
Watching It's a Wonderful Life every year.
This is my mother's favorite holiday movie. Every single year for as far back as I can remember, Mom has required that we all sit down and watch the movie together as a family, either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. As kids we'd all grumble and whine and, truth be told, even a few times as adults there was some whining involved. But since Mom's golden rule is no fighting on Christmas, watch the movie we did. Secretly, I've always loved the movie and if I could pick one thing I'll miss this year, it's watching it with Mom.
The year I discovered the TRUTH about Santa.
I was SIX. Sad, I know. Short story is that I found a bike in it's hiding spot (By complete accident, I swear!!) a few weeks before Christmas. I didn't think much about it at the time, but come Christmas morning and there's the same bike with a gift tag that reads "From Santa" and my little six-year-old eyes got all kinds of opened. To my credit, I managed to keep the story alive for my little sisters. I don't even think I told my parents about that story until just a few years ago. See y'all, I CAN keep a secret after all!!
Baby oranges and coconut for breakfast.
I'm not sure how exactly this little tradition got started, I only know that it came from J's side of the family. Every year for Christmas breakfast (and usually other big holidays too...) we would have mandarin oranges sprinkled with coconut for breakfast. I know it sounds kind of funny but it's part of my youth. And a testament to it's staying power as a tradition? My mother continued it even after her divorce from J. I have now served it to my own lil man...and just this Thanksgiving I shared it with the boyfriend. And before you ask, yes, we'll be having it tomorrow morning. It's one of those things that I think will never change.
Please Mom!! Can we open just one present early?
Anyone who knows me knows how very impatient I am. I blame my family. Every year the week before Christmas is spent with my sisters and I bargaining with Mom. Her resolve never lasts long because it never fails, every night for about a week before Christmas we beg and she finally gives in letting everyone open JUST ONE present early. (It was always JUST ONE but you knew you were going to get to open another the next night so it never really mattered.) I've often wondered how we even have anything left under the tree by the time the big morning comes. When we were really little Mom would let us open a gift on Christmas Eve that always held our new jammies, robe and/or slippers. Then we would have nice new comfies to wear the next morning while unwrapping gifts and eating our baby oranges. I tried sharing this little tradition with the boyfriend but he's stayed steadfast and won't even let me have a peek :( He says if I'm good, we can open gifts tonight. I don't think he fully realizes that he's depriving me of a family tradition.
"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."
Good lord, I can't tell you how many times I've heard this song. As a wee one, I'm sure it was played every year, multiple times. When my sisters were very smallish (4 and 6 or so) they played it over and over again so that they could both sing along until they were hoarse. It was our version of America's Got Talent. Sometimes I think it's not officially Christmas until I hear this song...which reminds me, I should probably take a little listen :)
NURTS!!
I'm sure this game has many other names...but my family adopted NURTS since we don't swear. (That is, we don't swear around certain family members...) It's like a group version of solitaire. You can have as little as two or three people but the more the merrier (and crazier). When my step-dad's family comes for the holidays we've had as many as ten of us crowded around the table. A word to the wise? More than five or six people and chaos will ensue. My calm, passive pastor of an uncle actually knocked a chair to the ground one year. It was beautiful! What better way to burn off some of that tension from playing nice all week?
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
It is not, I repeat...IT IS NOT Christmas until I have seen this classic. Fortunately for the boyfriend (or maybe unfortunately since I made him watch with me...) both the original and the Jim Carrey versions were on last night so I got my fix. And now you can all listen to me croak out "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" over and over again. (Before you ask, no, I have NOT gotten back full capacity of my voice. Damnit!) Maybe one of these years I'll even do my hair like one of the Whos from Whoville...
Sinterklaas
I believe I've mentioned before that I was a military brat growing up. And so, as a result of a stint overseas in Europe, my family picked up this wonderful tradition. Every December 5th we set out a shoe and fell asleep with dreams of sugar plums and whatnot. On the morning of December 6th we would race out to see what Saint Nicholas had left us. Candy if we had been good, a switch if we had not. As was the case most years, a switch with candy if we had been both good and bad. It's a bit impractical for me to continue this as an adult. (I now know how gross feet are and will not permit ANY form of edibles being placed in mine or the boyfriend's shoes.) However, I still shared some of my favorite European food with the boyfriend on December 6th to mark this little memory this year.
Crazy Relatives
No holiday is complete without the obligatory relative that refuses (for whatever reason) to conform to what is acceptable. Whether it's your aunt who likes to pinch every one's cheeks (big or small) or the distant relative giving a sermon on the evils of youth today each time they catch you on your cell phone; EVERY family has someone. In my hugely extended family...we have many. Which is why you can usually catch Mom secretly spiking her cranberry juice in between rounds of cards. And why the kids are playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who has the pleasure to sit next to Aunt Pinchy at the dinner table. Or why absolutely ANY excuse to run to the store for some last minute forgotten item is pounced on by nearly every person in a two foot radius. Back when I smoked (secretly) I ran to the store for that forgotten but completely vital item nearly every twenty minutes just to sneak in a quick cigarette for my sanity. But Christmas just wouldn't be the same otherwise.
No matter what your holiday traditions are or what your plans for this weekend may be I hope that you are all safe in your celebrations. And maybe today's list will inspire you to take a look at what traditions you'd like to pass on. Sharing our memories and teaching new friends and loved ones about our past is the way traditions move on and stay alive. And it's through this that we remember where we came from. So to those I love most, bust out the Martinelli's and Scrabble, it's Christmas!!
Merry Christmas readers! And until next time, Toodles!
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