Dad and I were invited to my brother's for Christmas Eve but didn't really know what we were doing for Christmas day. I had planned a birthday/Christmas party for 12/30 to which I had invited some friends and my brother and SIL. Dad was in charge of seeing what was happening with the rest of the family.
On the Wednesday afternoon before Christmas (4.5 days) it was decided that my aunt and uncle and their three grown children would come to MY house for Christmas day! I was SO excited!!!! I immediately started making lists 😀 (also totally just learned how to put emojis in here!). Luckily school was out early on Thursday and we had Friday off. BUT Dad and I had plans in Big Bear on Saturday night, plus Christmas Eve (Sunday) with Dave and Loni. The decision was made that I, at least, would return to the desert after tamales at Dave's Sunday night.
Anyway, I thrive in busy-ness so it was great fun for me. I had several lists going and every minute was planned out. My favorite! No sarcasm there - I love doing nothing but I also love being busy and having a tight schedule, every once in a while. I already had the table ready (or planned) for the party on Dad's birthday so that part was easy. I have made a traditional Christmas dinner several times, so the food wasn't difficult. And I had it all scheduled out so it was a matter of just doing it.
Saturday night, Dad and I and two of his neighbors went to a fun Christmas "play" - A Christmas Carol Askew or something like that. Very very funny. Audience participation and singing and lots of laughs. Dad even got singled out in the crowd. He played along very well!! Sunday morning I went for a trail run. That evening we went off to Dave's. Yummy tamales and good company. Then we went and picked up the dogs and made our way to the desert.
Dad and I had a quiet but fun Christmas morning with the pooches while I periodically did something in the kitchen. Charlie, Patty, Steven, Tyler, and Samantha showed up right on time and the party began. The turkey was moist, the potatoes mushy, and the yams (a new dish for me) were quite yummy. I made the stuffing in the crockpot. I thought it was kinda dry but somebody (don't remember who) said it was just right. I don't like stuffing so whatever! I had made a cream cheese pie, a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. Why all the pie?
Over the weekend, I had invited Joanna and her mom and brother to come over for pie on Christmas Day evening. With 7 people at dinner, plus 3 coming just for pie, it seemed I need a 3rd pie. Right? Eh. Could've done without the pumpkin cuz it wasn't very good. BUT I FINALLY got the cream cheese pie right!!!
Once Christmas was over, I could concentrate on the birthday party. I had decided on a Mexican fiesta. I made enchiladas, sopapillas, "refried" beans, etc. There were supposed to be 9 of us, but Dave and Loni came down sick so they didn't come. The 7 of us left enjoyed the meal and then we had a gift exchange (I ended up with a new fuzzy blanket!) and played some games. It was a good evening. I think Dad felt celebrated. Oh, there was a birthday cake (which has a story but I'll keep it to myself for now).Seventy-five never looked so good!!
All in all, it was an EXCELLENT Christmas week in California!! I was ready for a low-key first week of January, which I got 😄
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| Opening Gifts from Santa |
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| Grandpa was trying to help with the packaging |
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| The first hiding spot |
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| Downtime between parties! |
I really should take more pics of stuff. I guess I was having too much fun!!!
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