O.K., so not really because I read them all year long but for the first time in I can't remember how long I am not making a Christmas Day or Eve dinner for a large crowd. My husband's family gets together on Christmas Eve and it's one big meal and celebration. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. You name it they will be there. Last year we hosted for the first time and I was in heaven. I loved opening my home, my heart, and my table to the family that I am now fortunate enough to call my own.
Before that I always had the immediate family over on Christmas Day for dinner. Last year I decided it was getting to be too much. I was focusing too much on the meal and stressing myself out. They were in no way contributing to the stress. It's all me for as much as I love to cook, I put too much pressure on myself and it was time for a break. And I was starting to lose sight of the season's greatest gift...time with my son. So I'm on hiatus for a while with Christmas dinner. But, as I said, we hosted Christmas Eve last year so I still got to scratch that entertaining itch. And William is already asking when we will have another "Christmas party" so he's ready as well.
I just booked my dad's flight tonight so he will join us over Christmas and I will cook a Christmas dinner. It just won't be to the scale that I'm used to. Matt will probably rejoice when he sees my December grocery bill. That doesn't mean the meal won't be special though. Since my dressing disaster on Thanksgiving I vow there will be dressing on Christmas day. And probably turkey. That's just the thing in my family and I do love turkey. We'll see what else I conjure up.
In the meantime I am going to work on a shopping list and cook enough to get me by until then. It is called the Christmas season after all so my cooking isn't limited to one day. Though it's not knock your socks off exciting, I'm thinking chili is on the menu for Saturday as we may get our first snowfall. Even if the snow doesn't come it will be cold and chili is never a bad thing. Then I hope to get my family interested in a family Christmas movie night and prepare some snacks that will calm any snack attacks. I also have some eggnog in the fridge that needs a purpose. Eggnog French toast or waffles one morning perhaps? Hmmmm And if we do end up with this early in the season snowfall William and I must bake cookies. I'm feeling a monster cookie with holiday M&M's perhaps.
I am typing this by the light of Christmas lights and already feeling that sense of sadness and dread that comes at the end of the season. But, by golly, I've barely started to live it up so it's time to put a smile on my face and fatten up the family.
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