Christmas, ah, a magical time of year…if you’re not married that is!
Christmas day with my family is great (I may be bias): we have stockings and tons of thoughtful presents. My Mom always goes overboard with presents. My siblings are younger still (Calli - 16 & Cody - 18 now) so we still have a bit of that excitement Christmas morning…
Our old tradition was that us kids got up super early. We’d rip into our stockings to see what treasures they’d hold. Next we’d try to wake up Mom & Dad who would insist that we make them coffee first and deliver it to them in their beds (in the wisdom of my older years I see this was a cleverly crafted delay strategy to get them more sleep). As my brother and sister worked on convincing them it was time to wake up, I’d sort the presents into piles so that we could all sit back and open presents one by one. I know that some families watch each member open each present but that would take too long in my family! My Mom & Dad did sit back and watch us before they opened there’s. Someone usually got a movie for Christmas so after we open the presents we’d pop one in and then start tinkering with our stuff. When I was in school I usually ended up calling a friend or two in the morning and we’d discuss what we got as my parents would start cleaning up the wrapping and making something for breakfast (nothing too fancy).
My first Christmas with Tyler’s family was actually sad. I didn’t think that it would matter cuz I said that Christmas was just a day, and you could celebrate it whenever you wanted. However, Mary (Tyler’s mom) ended up staying over at her boyfriend’s house so we had to wait for her to show up before we could open our presents Christmas morning. And there were no stockings to hold us over. If I remember correctly it was near noon before that happened. Quite the contrast to my early morning ritual with the Johnson Family. I called my family while I was waiting for Mary and I had to hold back tears when I heard how much fun everyone was having without me back in Grimshaw.
My husband has parents that are divorced so we have the added challenge of trying to accommodate three sets of parents instead of the normal two. And Tyler’s parents seem to think they are the only ones: for many years now Tyler’s Mom Mary and Dad Larry (but he likes to pretend his name is Willie) took turns on whose year it was to see the boys on Christmas day, and they seem to think that rotation should continue, but where do my parents fit in? Sometimes his family is so selfish.
Last year was our first year in our new house that we had built & was officially in our names (no more renting). We wanted to host all the families at our house. Tyler’s Dad and new wife didn’t want to come over on Christmas Day is Mary was going to be there (& they’ve been divorced since Tyler was three), so we did the Red Deer Buffet on Christmas Eve with them. For Christmas Day we had my parents, my brother & his girlfriend, my sister, my aunt & uncle, my 2 cousins, their ferret, Tyler’s Mom & her boyfriend, Tyler’s brother Tyrone & his pregnant girlfriend, my 2 dogs, and my 2 cats. Now our house is about 1500 square feet and is a 2-storey + basement but it was BUSY: 15 & ½ people, 2 dogs, 2 cats & a ferret!! LOL But it was wonderful.
Tyler’s Dad moved back from BC this year to a house on an acreage about 30 minutes from Red Deer. His wife Kris said they wanted to host Christmas this year so we all agreed to it (Tyler’s brother, Kim (the girlfriend) and us). Then Willie & Kris told us that their house wouldn’t be done the renovations so we moved the location to our house, which is fine. Then in November we were out to breakfast with Willie, Kris, Kim, Kira (the new baby) and Tyler and I when Willie told us “We’re doing the turkey and stuffing you guys can handle the rest.” Um, thanks? I thought hosting meant you provided the dinner? So basically I am hosting if I am not mistaken. The icing on the cake was when Kris said she wanted to host next year. Um, no. You had this year & you threw it away. Kim & I have families that we like to see at the holidays too. You don’t get to monopolize two years in a row. That just cheeses me.
The big wrench in that plan is that we are doing my family Christmas early & driving back from Grimshaw on the 24th. So I have to have all the food bought and in my fridge before I leave on the 20th. And Tyrone, Kim & Kira are staying in our house from the 22nd to 25th so I am a little worried that they might eat the stuff I intend for Christmas Day! Guess I’ll have to make a list & warn them not to eat it.
We’re doing Mary’s Christmas on New Year’s weekend. She said we’d probably be tired of turkey so we are going to do a fondue night. I’m pretty excited for that as I’ve never done fondue before & I just bought a small one for chocolate.
So best wishes to everyone on this Holiday Season & may your plans be as hectic as mine!
Christmas day with my family is great (I may be bias): we have stockings and tons of thoughtful presents. My Mom always goes overboard with presents. My siblings are younger still (Calli - 16 & Cody - 18 now) so we still have a bit of that excitement Christmas morning…
Our old tradition was that us kids got up super early. We’d rip into our stockings to see what treasures they’d hold. Next we’d try to wake up Mom & Dad who would insist that we make them coffee first and deliver it to them in their beds (in the wisdom of my older years I see this was a cleverly crafted delay strategy to get them more sleep). As my brother and sister worked on convincing them it was time to wake up, I’d sort the presents into piles so that we could all sit back and open presents one by one. I know that some families watch each member open each present but that would take too long in my family! My Mom & Dad did sit back and watch us before they opened there’s. Someone usually got a movie for Christmas so after we open the presents we’d pop one in and then start tinkering with our stuff. When I was in school I usually ended up calling a friend or two in the morning and we’d discuss what we got as my parents would start cleaning up the wrapping and making something for breakfast (nothing too fancy).
My first Christmas with Tyler’s family was actually sad. I didn’t think that it would matter cuz I said that Christmas was just a day, and you could celebrate it whenever you wanted. However, Mary (Tyler’s mom) ended up staying over at her boyfriend’s house so we had to wait for her to show up before we could open our presents Christmas morning. And there were no stockings to hold us over. If I remember correctly it was near noon before that happened. Quite the contrast to my early morning ritual with the Johnson Family. I called my family while I was waiting for Mary and I had to hold back tears when I heard how much fun everyone was having without me back in Grimshaw.
My husband has parents that are divorced so we have the added challenge of trying to accommodate three sets of parents instead of the normal two. And Tyler’s parents seem to think they are the only ones: for many years now Tyler’s Mom Mary and Dad Larry (but he likes to pretend his name is Willie) took turns on whose year it was to see the boys on Christmas day, and they seem to think that rotation should continue, but where do my parents fit in? Sometimes his family is so selfish.
Last year was our first year in our new house that we had built & was officially in our names (no more renting). We wanted to host all the families at our house. Tyler’s Dad and new wife didn’t want to come over on Christmas Day is Mary was going to be there (& they’ve been divorced since Tyler was three), so we did the Red Deer Buffet on Christmas Eve with them. For Christmas Day we had my parents, my brother & his girlfriend, my sister, my aunt & uncle, my 2 cousins, their ferret, Tyler’s Mom & her boyfriend, Tyler’s brother Tyrone & his pregnant girlfriend, my 2 dogs, and my 2 cats. Now our house is about 1500 square feet and is a 2-storey + basement but it was BUSY: 15 & ½ people, 2 dogs, 2 cats & a ferret!! LOL But it was wonderful.
Tyler’s Dad moved back from BC this year to a house on an acreage about 30 minutes from Red Deer. His wife Kris said they wanted to host Christmas this year so we all agreed to it (Tyler’s brother, Kim (the girlfriend) and us). Then Willie & Kris told us that their house wouldn’t be done the renovations so we moved the location to our house, which is fine. Then in November we were out to breakfast with Willie, Kris, Kim, Kira (the new baby) and Tyler and I when Willie told us “We’re doing the turkey and stuffing you guys can handle the rest.” Um, thanks? I thought hosting meant you provided the dinner? So basically I am hosting if I am not mistaken. The icing on the cake was when Kris said she wanted to host next year. Um, no. You had this year & you threw it away. Kim & I have families that we like to see at the holidays too. You don’t get to monopolize two years in a row. That just cheeses me.
The big wrench in that plan is that we are doing my family Christmas early & driving back from Grimshaw on the 24th. So I have to have all the food bought and in my fridge before I leave on the 20th. And Tyrone, Kim & Kira are staying in our house from the 22nd to 25th so I am a little worried that they might eat the stuff I intend for Christmas Day! Guess I’ll have to make a list & warn them not to eat it.
We’re doing Mary’s Christmas on New Year’s weekend. She said we’d probably be tired of turkey so we are going to do a fondue night. I’m pretty excited for that as I’ve never done fondue before & I just bought a small one for chocolate.
So best wishes to everyone on this Holiday Season & may your plans be as hectic as mine!
I really dislike this time of year. I wish I could be selfish and do what is best for my family. I may be a little bias but Christmas is way more fun at my parents place also. We do the stocking thing and lots of Santa presents. It is hard to give that up when the in-laws is so different. One gift per person and we have to sit back and watch everyone open their gift. So we can see their reaction. It is really hard to pretend that you like something or that the sweater is perfect when it is actually 2 sizes too small. This year I will be surprised if I don't lose it on someone. My family or Scott's.
ReplyDeleteDrive Safe and have a Merry Christmas and I hope Santa brings you lots of presents.
Katherine