Christmas Eve 2021

My family gathered at our house late yesterday afternoon for dinner, gifts, and games.  Our house was full, but a good time was had by all.   Our daughter-in-law, Sharon, extended an invitation to come to their house today, but Jerry and I opted to stay home and relax after such a full day yesterday.  We spent the afternoon watching Home Alone #1 and It's a Wonderful Life.  Hope you had a Merry Christmas.

I managed to get a few pics to share.  We set up two eating tables in the family room, plus the extension table in the dining area to accommodate 17.

Great-granddaughters, Evie and Jules [Juliette], have a golden retriever so I bought special plates for them to eat on which they took home afterwards.

The girls [along with their parents, John and Tiffany] were the first to arrive so I took their picture in front of the Christmas Tree.

I had all the supplies to make gingerbread houses with them, but the evening went by so quickly we didn't get a chance.  Below is our daughter, Lori, her husband, Dave, along with John, Tiffany and the girls.

Steve, Sharon, Brianna and Brooke

Jeremy, Samantha, Izzy, Landon and Ellie

After dinner granddaughter, Ellie, read the Christmas story from Luke Chapter 2.

Then it was time to open gifts. We always open gifts one at a time starting from youngest to oldest so we can see what everyone got.

Jules began the gift opening, followed by Evie.  

Izzy liked her music/jewelry box and name necklace.

And Brooke loved her Shutterfly photo album from the first five years of her life.

After gifts, we played three rounds of Christmas Charades, then it was time to have our Birthday Cake for Jesus.  I put candles on both cakes [Cassata and Chocolate Mound] and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, then Jules and Evie each had a cake with candles to blow out.

Cake and cookies [Lori brought two trays of homemade cookies] were followed by a card game [Uno] and a TikTok video of a family dance to "Sleigh Ride."  Notice not all of us were energized, agile or coordinated enough to participate!  ;-)

[Turn your sound on]

Shortly afterwards everyone departed for their homes making Christmas Eve 2021 a memory of another fun family gathering.

Santa was very good to me, and I'll share my gifts in a separate post, but the greatest gift is Jesus who came to earth to be the sacrifice and atonement for my sins, and the gift of family.     

Three Days 'Til Christmas

The clock is ticking until all my family will be at our house on Christmas Eve.  I started my meal prep today and will continue working on it tomorrow.  There will be 18 of us.  The family keeps expanding and my house seems like it's shrinking. 

Thanks to my hubby, the gifts are all wrapped and under the tree.

I wanted to show you the lovely tea-themed linens Amy gave me last Saturday when she came to tea at The Whitney.  The tag says Cottage Core, Lisa Audit Art.  Aren't they adorable!  Thank you so much, Amy!

When I went in to tell my boss good-bye before I left work last Saturday, he gave me this cute framed tea charm, with the words beneath, "Friendship warms the heart."

We drew names at work ['secret Santa'] and the gifts will be exchanged at work this Friday.  I took the gift in last Saturday for the name I drew, but will have to wait until I return to work on Jan. 8th before I get mine since I'm off this Friday.  It'll be an extended Christmas gift.

I received a card in the mail a week or so ago telling me my sweet friend, Lori, gifted me with a year's subscription to Tea Time magazine, and the first issue [Jan.-Feb. 2022] arrived in my mailbox yesterday.  It's a special French issue with what looks like a beautiful Limoges teapot on the cover.  I can't wait to sit down with the magazine and a cup of tea.  Thanks, Lori!

Below are the tea-themed Christmas Cards I sent out this year from Zazzle.  I didn't think I was going to be able find any, but then saw these online.  The inside verse reads:  "May the Joy of the Season brighten your Christmas and Comfort you all year long.  Merry Christmas!"

I also have a Jacquie Lawson subscription for animated e-cards, and she has come beautiful Christmas cards.  

I think the tradition of sending Christmas cards is dying out and when my generation is gone there will be very few sent.  None of my children send cards, and I receive fewer and send fewer every year.  Postage is so expensive and younger people are content with e-mails and texts.  Do you still send Christmas cards?

I probably won't get a chance to post again until after Christmas Eve, so to all my faithful readers, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!  As you and your family gather around your Christmas dinner table, may Tiny Tim's blessing [in A Christmas Carol] be yours, "God bless us, every one!"

Now I'm off to my kitchen to bake a chocolate layer cake for Christmas Eve.  When frosted it'll be a Chocolate Mound Cake.  I also ordered a Cassata Cake from the Italian Bakery.  With 18 people, one Birthday Cake for Jesus isn't enough anymore, but I'm so thankful there's enough of Jesus to go around to everyone who invites Him into their hearts.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Last Friday my hubby and I began the task of decorating the inside of our home.  Displaying my lighted tea houses is always the biggest project next to decorating the tree.  I have 29 and have stopped collecting them even though I know there are newer [and older] ones that I don't have.

Jerry built a platform this year which made the task a little easier for him.  

My job was to unpack the houses, test them and hand them up to him.  He took pictures last year so we didn't have to reinvent the wheel this year.  I just looked at his pictures and knew the order in which the houses should go.

Voilà!  The finished project.

I'm not going to change out my china cabinet this year with all my Christmas tea sets.  Too much work!  ;-)  The Christmas tree still isn't decorated yet either but will get done today or tomorrow.  Christmas is coming way too fast!

Last Friday night we watched our granddaughter, Brooke, perform in her university's "Sounds of the Season" concert put on by the music department.  It was live streamed.  She was in quite a few of the numbers, and this photo was captured of her.

We're told, "You're never too old to learn something new", and I learned a new concept this Christmas Season.  I've been seeing the term "hygge Christmas" on Facebook, so decided to look up its meaning.  It's pronounced hoo-guh and is a Danish/Norwegian word for feeling an extraordinary level of coziness, with feelings of wellness and contentment.  It's also a lifestyle trend about noticing and appreciating the little things:  what people do for you and what you do for them. I like that, don't you?

Now I'm off to make some pumpkin bread to give away as tokens of appreciation this Christmas.