Christmas / Holiday Plans?

[Traceyd14]

Low key holidays for us this year. Christmas Eve will just be the 2 of us so I'm making a bunch of appetizers to graze through:
shrimp cocktail
crabbies
sausage and cheese balls
chipotle meatballs
deviled eggs
Boterkoek
Dutch chocolates
I like to have a variety just in case someone stops in!

Christmas day is at Tom's niece's house with her family and Tom's sister and her husband. All I need to do is bring a huge cheesecake and shrimp cocktail. It's very relaxed and generally more people stop in for dessert.

New Years Eve isn't our thing but I was thinking maybe going out for a nice lunch somewhere with ocean views. Will probably go to bed at 10:00. May set the alarm for midnight, roll over say Happy New Year and go back to sleep.

I completely forgot about Boterkoek when we were in Aruba, I still haven't tried it! Your appetizers sound amazing, especially the chipolte meatballs.
I love your idea of doing lunch on the water somewhere for New Years Eve! We are keeping ours low key this year. We just aren't "late night" people. We have a few options, but staying home is sounding better and better.

[Traceyd14]

sounds like a blast. imagine 16 children (holy cow) they didn't have a tv in the bedroom then did they?

ya, once someone leaves in an ambulance means to take a year or 2 off

merry ho ho

I had no idea they had 16 children until today. I cannot imagine. My paternal grandpa who is no longer with us was one of 11 and I thought that was a lot. It was a different time, that's for sure! Someone put a book together with the family story and gave info on each of the children and their children. It was such a great idea!

I kind of liked hosting, there was a lot less running around.

Happy Holidays to you and Paul!

I would also like to wish all the forum members a joyous holiday season and best wishes for health and happiness in the New Year.

[Aruba4ever]

16 kids, wholy crap...lol.

[gaby]

Happy Holidays to everyone here. We go to my sister in law's house on Christmas and the kids come to our house Christmas Eve. I come from a large family. Dad's side had 13 kids, mom's side had 8 kids. I have probably about 35 first cousins, don't know how many second cousins.

And those on the island for the holidays, you are so lucky, enjoy!!!

[cpjones]

Andrea, I want to party with you! Crab quiche and stuffies?? OMG! We will be having a small family affair starting with a visit to see my FIL. He has been placed in hospice care and won't be able to join us this year. I wish all of the forum members a happy holiday season, and for those of you in Aruba, make us proud!

May your FIL be comfortable and peaceful..... hospice care is truly a blessing when the time comes that it's needed.

[cindyo]

I just want to say......
i got up this morning and thought about this group.
What a nice community of people here. We share in each other's happy and sad times.
Although I have only met a few I personally can feel the happiness and sadness in each one of your lives.
Christmas can be a tough time for a lot of people. Reaching out and sharing our holidays, celebrations, and sad times is what makes this core group great.
Andrea, group, friends, thank you for caring about each other.
A heartfelt wish for a great holiday season and a happy new year.

[Andrea J.]

well said cindy.

new members-old members, we are a group that continues to be kind to one another.

I just want to say......
i got up this morning and thought about this group.
What a nice community of people here. We share in each other's happy and sad times.
Although I have only met a few I personally can feel the happiness and sadness in each one of your lives.
Christmas can be a tough time for a lot of people. Reaching out and sharing our holidays, celebrations, and sad times is what makes this core group great.
Andrea, group, friends, thank you for caring about each other.
A heartfelt wish for a great holiday season and a happy new year.

[AUA1989]

I HOPE NO ONE DEMANDS TO INSTITUTE A WORD LIMIT AFTER THIS...

I haven't been on much recently. I've been pouting. When I told DH about the decent airfare rates I found for a possible Aruba trip over the holidays or next spring, he said, "let's finish helping our daughter pay for college". She's midway through junior year, and there is NO WAY kids can even begin to cover the cost of a college education these days.

He's right. I hate saying that.

Back to Christmas....

Anyone that has come from divorced parents and married someone with divorced parents will understand when I say we used to have craziness around the holidays with 4 Christmas celebrations when the kids were little. After about 5 years of that, DH and I took the kids out of town on Christmas day to a cabin in Cook Forest in PA. We still had the craziness of getting in time with all of the grandparents, but that made the quiet of the cabin that much more enjoyable. Those days are over. Everyone has different schedules now.

Anyhow, we've already had a Christmas get-together with FIL and his wife. They are headed to West Palm on the 26th, so we went to their house yesterday. I took cookies (notice I did not say "baked" cookies).

My sister arrives today from Chicago to spend the week at my house. She is single, just a few years younger than me and never had children. We exhaust her when she visits us.

Tomorrow we will have dinner with my step-mother. She only requested that I bring beer (again, notice no baking involved).

Christmas eve has been spent with my mom for quite a few years now. She started playing a game when the kids were about 10 and 12. Everyone brings a gift or two, something small, often a gag. Those gifts all go in a pile. We then take turns rolling dice. If you roll doubles, you pick a gift. After all the gifts have been taken, we in turn open them to see what everyone got. Then, we roll dice again, for exactly 15 min. If you roll doubles, you steal something from someone else. We eat and drink. Again, it was requested that I bring the beer and wine; and I'll probably come up with a Christmas martini concoction of some sort.

On Christmas Day, my college age children will sleep til well past noon. Their sleeping doesn't bother me one bit. They are good kids. My daughter has finished her 5th semester of college and has had nothing but As, and our son has gotten As in his first semester in engineering at OSU. I say let them sleep!!!!!! I guess I'll have to cook something for Christmas dinner that day. It will just be us, my sister and probably my mom.

On the 27th, we have to take my son back to OSU as the marching band will be heading Phoenix to perform at the Fiesta Bowl when the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame. A little side note, my son gave me a paper that said there is a package deal for parents of band members and cheerleaders who would like to go to the Fiesta Bowl. WOOOOHOOOO! We're going to Phoenix for our anniversary (12/30). Then I looked at the package deals. DEAL is not a descriptive term for the package. It included RT airfare, 3 nights at a really nice looking resort, tickets to the Fiesta Bowl, a special lanyard and tshirt for only........... $2245 per person. You probably guessed it, we're helping to pay for college so no Phoenix for us. Hopefully, the buckeyes will be in a bowl game or championship game again some day.

But we are going to spend our 26th anniversary in Cincinnati, Ohio on the 1st and 2nd. That way we can head home through Columbus to pick up that lucky duck son of ours when he returns from Phoenix.

[Traceyd14]

I can completely relate to the "4 Christmases" but now that there is a grandchild in the picture my parents are no longer satisfied with sharing him with their respective extended families and expect their own time with my brother and I and our spouses, so our 4 visits have turned into 6 and stretch well into January. I think I relate most to your sister...lol.

Congrats on the success of your kids! I hope they know how blessed they are to have parents who are both able and willing to help them!

I HOPE NO ONE DEMANDS TO INSTITUTE A WORD LIMIT AFTER THIS...

I haven't been on much recently. I've been pouting. When I told DH about the decent airfare rates I found for a possible Aruba trip over the holidays or next spring, he said, "let's finish helping our daughter pay for college". She's midway through junior year, and there is NO WAY kids can even begin to cover the cost of a college education these days.

He's right. I hate saying that.

Back to Christmas....

Anyone that has come from divorced parents and married someone with divorced parents will understand when I say we used to have craziness around the holidays with 4 Christmas celebrations when the kids were little. After about 5 years of that, DH and I took the kids out of town on Christmas day to a cabin in Cook Forest in PA. We still had the craziness of getting in time with all of the grandparents, but that made the quiet of the cabin that much more enjoyable. Those days are over. Everyone has different schedules now.

Anyhow, we've already had a Christmas get-together with FIL and his wife. They are headed to West Palm on the 26th, so we went to their house yesterday. I took cookies (notice I did not say "baked" cookies).

My sister arrives today from Chicago to spend the week at my house. She is single, just a few years younger than me and never had children. We exhaust her when she visits us.

Tomorrow we will have dinner with my step-mother. She only requested that I bring beer (again, notice no baking involved).

Christmas eve has been spent with my mom for quite a few years now. She started playing a game when the kids were about 10 and 12. Everyone brings a gift or two, something small, often a gag. Those gifts all go in a pile. We then take turns rolling dice. If you roll doubles, you pick a gift. After all the gifts have been taken, we in turn open them to see what everyone got. Then, we roll dice again, for exactly 15 min. If you roll doubles, you steal something from someone else. We eat and drink. Again, it was requested that I bring the beer and wine; and I'll probably come up with a Christmas martini concoction of some sort.

On Christmas Day, my college age children will sleep til well past noon. Their sleeping doesn't bother me one bit. They are good kids. My daughter has finished her 5th semester of college and has had nothing but As, and our son has gotten As in his first semester in engineering at OSU. I say let them sleep!!!!!! I guess I'll have to cook something for Christmas dinner that day. It will just be us, my sister and probably my mom.

On the 27th, we have to take my son back to OSU as the marching band will be heading Phoenix to perform at the Fiesta Bowl when the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame. A little side note, my son gave me a paper that said there is a package deal for parents of band members and cheerleaders who would like to go to the Fiesta Bowl. WOOOOHOOOO! We're going to Phoenix for our anniversary (12/30). Then I looked at the package deals. DEAL is not a descriptive term for the package. It included RT airfare, 3 nights at a really nice looking resort, tickets to the Fiesta Bowl, a special lanyard and tshirt for only........... $2245 per person. You probably guessed it, we're helping to pay for college so no Phoenix for us. Hopefully, the buckeyes will be in a bowl game or championship game again some day.

But we are going to spend our 26th anniversary in Cincinnati, Ohio on the 1st and 2nd. That way we can head home through Columbus to pick up that lucky duck son of ours when he returns from Phoenix.

[Pegmeister]

I like the dice game. Sounds like more fun than a Yankee Swap! Your children are very fortunate to have you helping them with college expenses. Aruba will still be there when you're ready. Enjoy the Holidays!