Merry Christmas! Paradoxically, one of the shortest days of the year somehow always feels like one of the longest (I think I mean that in a good way?). Or perhaps that's because it's a random day where I have to get up super early in the middle of vacation, and after seven months of basically getting up whenever I feel like it.
However, it was all wonderful. I woke up shortly after seven, and we spent a glorious couple of hours opening packages. It's traditional in our family to take turns and open one gift at a time, which tends to lengthen the festivities. Also, we take things like stocking stuffers very seriously (or not at all seriously, depending on your viewpoint), which makes for some entertaining gifts (such as the coloring book of the Kings and Queens of England that my dad got me). I was quite happy with my gifts, which are geared toward an alcoholic octogenarian hermit (lovely Sorel slippers + a Vacuvin for increasing the longevity of open bottles of wine make for a happy hermit, along with a few cookbooks to make sure I feed myself well in my hermitage, as well as various and sundry other items). I also got some travel-related items, though (especially an anti-theft purse and a luggage scale), which makes me think I'm sending mixed signals about my desire to be a hermit vs. my desire to get the fuck out of my current life and explore the unknown.
That last sentence was probably the most true thing I've typed in awhile. sssanyway. I was also quite happy with the reaction to the gifts I gave others, and I think we all had a great Christmas morning. Then we all picked up everything (our other Christmas tradition is that paper can't lie on the floor for more than fifteen minutes after the last gift is opened), messed around with our gifts (we also had to clean up so Mom could test her new vacuum cleaner, which is the stereotypically worst gift to give someone, but she wanted it), and generally got ready for the second phase of the day.
This started with brunch - my mother made a delicious breakfast casserole, and my father had made ambrosia last night (grapefruit, oranges, and bananas), and I contributed a bottle of champagne and some orange juice to get the party going. We had barely cleaned up from all of that before my sister and her family arrived - I think we were Christmas #3 for them (#4 for Sammi and Jaicee, who visited Sammi's paternal grandmother before coming out). So we hung out, opened more presents, played with Jaicee (who in an energetic, moody, super cute six-year-old), and ate an early supper (or late dinner, or early dinner, depending on your terminology) - Mom made ham and baked beans and cheesy potatoes and other crowd favorites, and it was super yummy.
Then Sammi took Jaicee into town to give her to her dad, and then Sammi came back and we all (sans Shawn, who refrained) played Cards Against Humanity until we were all too tired to continue. The less said about that, the better. Then they all left, and [censored] and Mom and I hung out in the kitchen while Mom finished the cleanup (in retrospect I should have done more to help, but I was intent on helping finish more of the champagne). And now, I'm desperate for sleep, and I hope I sleep in tomorrow to make up for today's bout of extreme socializing - goodnight! And I hope you all had a very merry Christmas (or whatever else you pagans celebrate)!
However, it was all wonderful. I woke up shortly after seven, and we spent a glorious couple of hours opening packages. It's traditional in our family to take turns and open one gift at a time, which tends to lengthen the festivities. Also, we take things like stocking stuffers very seriously (or not at all seriously, depending on your viewpoint), which makes for some entertaining gifts (such as the coloring book of the Kings and Queens of England that my dad got me). I was quite happy with my gifts, which are geared toward an alcoholic octogenarian hermit (lovely Sorel slippers + a Vacuvin for increasing the longevity of open bottles of wine make for a happy hermit, along with a few cookbooks to make sure I feed myself well in my hermitage, as well as various and sundry other items). I also got some travel-related items, though (especially an anti-theft purse and a luggage scale), which makes me think I'm sending mixed signals about my desire to be a hermit vs. my desire to get the fuck out of my current life and explore the unknown.
That last sentence was probably the most true thing I've typed in awhile. sssanyway. I was also quite happy with the reaction to the gifts I gave others, and I think we all had a great Christmas morning. Then we all picked up everything (our other Christmas tradition is that paper can't lie on the floor for more than fifteen minutes after the last gift is opened), messed around with our gifts (we also had to clean up so Mom could test her new vacuum cleaner, which is the stereotypically worst gift to give someone, but she wanted it), and generally got ready for the second phase of the day.
This started with brunch - my mother made a delicious breakfast casserole, and my father had made ambrosia last night (grapefruit, oranges, and bananas), and I contributed a bottle of champagne and some orange juice to get the party going. We had barely cleaned up from all of that before my sister and her family arrived - I think we were Christmas #3 for them (#4 for Sammi and Jaicee, who visited Sammi's paternal grandmother before coming out). So we hung out, opened more presents, played with Jaicee (who in an energetic, moody, super cute six-year-old), and ate an early supper (or late dinner, or early dinner, depending on your terminology) - Mom made ham and baked beans and cheesy potatoes and other crowd favorites, and it was super yummy.
Then Sammi took Jaicee into town to give her to her dad, and then Sammi came back and we all (sans Shawn, who refrained) played Cards Against Humanity until we were all too tired to continue. The less said about that, the better. Then they all left, and [censored] and Mom and I hung out in the kitchen while Mom finished the cleanup (in retrospect I should have done more to help, but I was intent on helping finish more of the champagne). And now, I'm desperate for sleep, and I hope I sleep in tomorrow to make up for today's bout of extreme socializing - goodnight! And I hope you all had a very merry Christmas (or whatever else you pagans celebrate)!
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