Christmas Plans

Here we are in Christmas Week! How exciting!! I think I am just about ready for the big day(s) I haven’t posted on what we are doing for the holidays and now felt like as good as time as any!

This year we will be having Christmas Eve at our place. There is just the 4 of us so it won’t be too much stress and we are keeping it pretty easy on the food side so I do not have too much to worry about.  I finalized our menu last night so there is no changing anything now. I have had the food bought for about a week now and just need to pick up fresh mushrooms and flowers this week and we are all set. I still need to finalize how to decorate the table, but that is minor

Out Christmas Even Menu is going to be

The appetizers from our appetizer baking day back in November:

Sanacopita, parmesan bites, ham tartlets, mushroom turnovers, cheese puffs, wonton crab bites

Spinach and strawberry salad with roasted pecans

Surf and turf- Lobster, crab, scallops and steak

Garlic mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese and bacon

Dessert – Dark Chocolate and strawberry cake (That my Mother is bringing)

This will be followed by a few hours on complaining that we are too full, present exchange and playing games

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Christmas Day is going to be a busy one. Mr. Pickle’s family gets together at the farm for lunch and have decided this year to stop exchanging presents. There should be 12 of us if everyone shows up. So that should be interesting. It’s usually a simple meal of ham baked in bread, salad, corn or carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy.

After that we will be driving into the city since my parents are having all of my Dad’s side of the family over for supper. It will be nice to see all of my Aunts and Uncles as well as my grandmother that will be making the 3 hour trip up from her care home for a few days. It will be another evening full of loud laughter and pigging out! Let’s see there will be appetizers galore followed by turkey, homemade sausage, veggies, perogies, salad, cabbage rolls. And then of course there will be the picking of the bones come 11pm along with leftovers!

Boxing Day is going to be a day of rest of us here this year. We usually have a fondue party, but that is going to be pushed back the 27^th since my grandma, aunt and uncle will be staying over at my parents for the extra day. I think I will spend the whole day complaining that I ate too much and trying to get my gut into my jeans...lol

That brings us to the 27^th. Mr. Pickles and I will be hosting a fondue party at our house. This tradition started 6 years ago during the first Christmas that I wouldn’t see my parents since the day I was born. I was devastated since I would have to spend the day with Mr. Pickles family and a good portion of the time he was going to be outside doing chores. Being the suck that I am I cried a lot that day in the bathroom...lol So we made a new tradition of doing everything we would normally do on the 25^th on the 24^th and then we would all get together again on the 26^th so sucky ole me wouldn’t be soo sad... Since Mr. pickles is Swiss he had the great of idea of having a meat fondue party something his family use to do a lot. So on the 26^th my parents, mr.pickles mom, sister and brother in law all come over and we fondue. Mr. Pickles family usually leaves when it is time to do chores and my parents stay help me clean and then we play games all night till Mr. pickles comes home and then we play some more.

For the fondue we have

Beef, chicken, pork, scallops, shrimp and mushrooms along with a bunch of different sauces. We then also must have pickles, pickled onions and plain chips...the last bunch of things is traditional or so Mr., pickles says..

So it should be a busy few days, but a very nice few days.

What is everyone else doing? Any traditions going on in your homes this holiday season?