JanuMerry 2024

Delaying "Christmas" is nothing new for us. So, after several text exchanges...among several people...we selected January 7, 2024 as the date to celebrate Christmas 2023. We also agreed to start gathering at 1 pm. 

Kelly and Rodney made it to St. Joseph at 12:50 but the last of the Kansas contingent didn't arrive until after 6 pm. Visits to Pudgie were made during the interval.

Seven adults and three children created a lively atmosphere and we enjoyed having the young ones to help hand out presents. Riley took his job very seriously, making sure he was delivering gifts to the right people. Best Gift Award goes to Kelly for Barbie dolls to Kaya and Nerf Blasters to Cameron. (Andrew especially enjoyed seeing how far he could fire the Nerf balls.)

 I got everything I wanted because I had added my own Wish List to Kelly and Rodney's Amazon account. But I was surprised by the air fryer that wasn't on my list.

After opening presents, we had dinner....the usual...ribs, turkey sliders, ham/cheese buns and various sides. Because of the expanded family this year (Andrew's Misti and her two children), I purchased a card table the day before and set up additional seating. 

Kelly, Rodney and I waved good-bye to Andrew, Adam and their families then settled in for some conversation before bedtime. (Kelly and I finished the Irish Creme left over from Christmas 2022.)

'T was the Day before Christmas

Our Christmas traditions continue evolving. 

Because the Chiefs would be playing on December 25th, Barney, Dorothy and I celebrated on Christmas Eve day. Some of us can't see to drive very well at night and some of us get sleepy not long after dark, so we held our celebration during the daylight hours.

I arrived at their home a few minutes after 11 am. Dot had fully decorated her house with items she has had for a long time as well as new things.  Her holiday decorations included a small tree adorned with her Hallmark Frosty Friends ornaments. Her Frosty Friends collection spans around 30 years. The tree is new.

After unwrapping presents, we had lunch. Barney made chili and cornbread. YUM! We agreed that our new tradition is chili on Christmas Eve day. Marcee joined us via Facetime after lunch so we could unwrap the presents she had sent. Later she confessed that she had already opened all our presents to her.  I went home around 4 and soon after was in my pjs, relaxing on my couch, watching Hallmark movies.

Dorothy gave me a new slide show program for Christmas. She said I could quickly make short videos with it. Ummmmm...here is the result of several days (learning curve) and overthinking on my part. Will I use it again? Yes. Will I use other programs? Yes. 

I am posting a video made with the new program (SlideShow Studio) and a video made with the old program (ProShow Producer). 

Slide show made with new program

Slide show made with old program

 

https://youtu.be/YsrdFjs9tTY

Christmas 2022 and Late'Mas 2023

Holiday preparations started in early November 2022 with outside lights strung up during the weeks before Thanksgiving. (Decoration takes longer as we get older. *sigh*)

 Mid-December events brought a sad end to some celebrations and sister Dot's rehabilitation changed several of our holiday plans, but we adapted by starting some new traditions.....all of which will finish by 5 p.m. or before it gets dark.

Scheduling the Kansas contingent for a December gathering was difficult, as usual, so we ended up with Late'mas in February 2023. Is this becoming a tradition??

Andrew couldn't stay in St. Joseph because of work the next day but Adam, Sarah and Riley spent the night....in the cold, downstairs bedroom. (Note to Adam for next year...blankets are in the closet)

Kelly and Rodney stayed an additional night. The next day, Rodney vacuumed carpets with the Shark cleaner he gave me for Christmas and did some odd jobs that I had requested earlier. Kelly and I didn't do anything constructive. Maybe the Irish Creme we drank the night before affected us ???

Christmas 2021

 We were able to celebrate Christmas in December 2021 on the day after Christmas (Dec. 26th) 2021. Good weather and a Sunday date allowed all to attend. Unfortunately, mom-to-be-soon Sarah didn't feel well so she stayed back in Lawrence. 

Snacks were available while we waited for all to arrive. Kelly and Rodney were first, coming in the afternoon so they could visit with Pudgie while in St. Joseph. 

We opened presents before the meal so we could take time afterward to enjoy the ribs, turkey in gravy, ham sliders and various sides.

Adam's offer to set up Chromewatch on the living room tv turned into a hilarious debate regarding Apple iPhones vs. Android operating systems. Adam succeeded in the installation, using my iPhone, despite the number of comments regarding how easy the setup is for Android users. We then watched past Christmas videos that I had uploaded to YouTube. (All are available on this blog)

Andrew, Alee, and Adam didn't stay all night but Kelly and Rodney did. The next day, Rodney had a Mom's Day with his mother while Kelly had a Mom's Day with me. 

FebMas2020-2021

Delaying Christmas until February has almost become traditional now that we've done it for the second time in two years. Also, by waiting, I was able to get both my Covid shots before we met.

Kelly and Rodney arrived EARLY. I wasn't finished dressing when they called to let me know they were in town. Andrew and Alee soon followed. Adam overslept and decided to come later...much later....like two weeks later.

We had snacks and a buffet meal then Rodney took over the clean-up chores before we opened presents.  Later in the evening, Andrew discovered that he had eaten over half of a 12 pack of rolls when fixing his favorite chicken and gravy sandwich.

Around midnight, Andrew and Alee decided to stay all night so we played games. Rodney gave up before we started, but the rest of us stayed up until 2 am. (I was the winner.)

After Andrew and Alee left the next morning, Rodney installed the carbon monoxide detectors they'd given me for Christmas. Then he tested my old batteries and arranged new ones in a plastic tub which was another gift.

The Christmas tree downstairs remained up until Adam was able to celebrate FebMas with me. He took me to dinner at Barbosa's--I hadn't eaten there for over a year--and then we opened presents and chatted. In fact, we chatted so late that Adam decided to spend the night. (He got to sleep in the big folk's bedroom.) Our conversation continued the next day until Adam left around 4 in the afternoon.

Any day can be a holiday when celebrating with family.

 

Christmas Day 2020

 With Covid concerns restricting get-togethers, we adjusted our traditional Christmas plans. Rather than attending Christmas Eve church services and opening presents afterwards, we decided to open presents after dinner on Christmas Day. 

This may become a new tradition! I especially liked not driving home at night.

Febru-Merry

Although we had planned to have Christmas 2019 in January 2020, scheduling conflicts pushed the celebration into February. The downstairs tree was already decorated in red and white, so creating a Valentine's theme was easily done by adding a paper heart and white roses to the December centerpiece on the dining room table.

Kelly and Rodney arrived around 4 in the afternoon, a little earlier than I had expected. Andrew and Alee came a few hours later. We snacked on celery (Alee's choice), chips, spinach and cheese dips and creme cheese topped with jalapeno jelly while waiting for Adam and Sarah.

I asked Rodney to be the official photographer and handed over my camera. Unfortunately, I hadn't used it for a long time and couldn't remember how to set it for still photos instead of video. Not a problem though and Rodney took video until the 4 gig card was full. Then we switched to our phones and captured more video and pictures.

After we opened presents, I read the notes from Andrew, Alee and Adam about the charities they had chosen this year. Their choices were deeply personal and sparked discussion and reflection.

Supper followed presents. Meat choices were pulled pork and turkey and gravy on buns (Andrew's favorite) and hot ham sliders. (The left-over ham sliders went home with Sarah.) Side dishes included baked beans, potato salad, pasta salad, and broccoli salad. During the after-dinner table conversations, Rodney cleared the table, loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen, giving me time to enjoy family. When we moved to the living room, Adam and I slipped away for a while to discuss stock investments.

The kids went back to Lawrence but Rodney and Kelly stayed all night.

The next morning, Rodney visited his mother while Kelly and I slept in. Rodney also went shopping and returned with a digital meat thermometer and a big bottle of dish detergent.  I had trouble getting the ham sliders baked to the right temperature the night before so he saw that I needed a good thermometer. And, he had run out of dish soap when cleaning up. Great after-Christmas presents!

Delaying Christmas until February resulted in a relaxed holiday. We should do this again!