Well, it’s that time of year…I want to talk about Christmas Eve, Christmas, Family and Traditions…as promised.

Here is it Christmas night, I’ve just gotten home, I have music from The Nutcracker Suite playing and I am smiling, both happy and a little bit sad and feeling wonderfully nostalgic. I am smiling and feeling nostalgic because going to see The Nutcracker performed by the City Company at Lincoln Center in New York City was something my family did every year around Christmas, I don’t remember, but we may have even gone on Christmas Eve. It was an annual family Chanukah present. (One year we got a Commodore 64, we were in the big time!).

Smiling, because it was something we did as a family; got dressed up, dinner and performance, it was wonderful. The sad part, it makes me miss my mom and right now the famous “Pas de Deux” is on and it is my dad’s favorite piece and one of my mom’s, the other was “Coffee” so I am sitting here smiling and sad at the same time.

That was a tradition we had, along with sometimes going to “The B’s” house to decorate the tree or have Christmas dinner, I think their tree was the first I ever helped to decorate. They always decorated so wonderfully for the holiday, the tree, lights, they have a huge bay window, always so warm and welcoming, the home as well as the family.

Everyone has different traditions and that one was a huge one from my childhood and as I’ve gotten older, there have been new traditions I have been privileged to be a part of.

The first, every Christmas Eve for the last five or six years, I celebrate with JT’s family. Well, the first tradition is that I go with JT shopping and help him choose some gifts for the family, I’ve gotten to know them quite well, so it’s fun to find things for them we know they are going to love. That tradition is usually Thanksgiving week/end or in November, this year it didn’t quite work out that way, so we went on the 23rd, it wasn’t bad at all! We ended up meeting his dad and brother and went out for lunch, it was fun.

Next, I show up about an hour or so early at his house to make a vegetarian lasagna and wrap the gifts he bought, everyone knows and loves to tease him, but it’s something we’ve been doing for years and I can’t imagine not doing it.

Then the festivities begin, everyone shows up, the drinks come out, the laughter and love and then it’s time to eat and they’re an Italian family, so it’s mange, mange! Usually lasagne, mine and a meat, Italian sausages, meatballs, salad, bread and wonderful desserts. After dinner we get settled in for an experience, opening presents. Due to ALL the people, which some years is more, there is almost no room to sit because of all the presents! I should have taken a picture!

Everyone’s name goes into a hat and the first person who opens presents, picks the next persons name and so on. Everyone has brought something for everyone and so you have at least six to ten presents each! All depending on who bought who what. The first year you are there, not everyone knows you, but ST, JT’s mom, makes sure to have something for you, she’s a fantastic hostess! Year after year, as you come back, you exchange more and more gifts and it really feels great, you are no longer a guest, you’re family.

The great thing is that even though not everyone is related, we’re all family and we treat each other that way, even if it’s your first time!

One of the special treats is DG’s cookies! Every year she makes about a gazillion cookies and every family gets a tin of cookies, yum! The catch: if you don’t give back the tin, you don’t get cookies the next year! Apparently a lot of people don’t give her back the tins, so she sends D to get more! One year it took me almost an entire year to get the tin back to her, I always tried to get it to her at the Super Bowl party. This year…she made it easy on us, we got a travel carton, no pressure!

We opened presents, thanked each other profusely, gave hugs and drove home, it was another wonderful and successful Christmas Eve.

Today was Christmas and we started off the day going to see KAB, JB and Baby A! We got to play and open presents and Grandpa, also known as DCM, got to put his car together and blow up his bounce house! see…useful as well as ornamental! They gave us a great picture they had blown up and modge-podged to a canvas, it was beautiful Baby A, awe. It was nice to spend some time with them.

Then it was off to see the rest of the kids for DCM and I was off to SDL’s house for my next tradition, Christmas with SDL, her sister, parents and of course Miss A! SDL used to go home to PA for the holidays, but since bringing Miss A home, Christmas has been at her house and her parents come down south. The first year was funny because she invited me, and my response was absolutely, but it wouldn’t have mattered, I was going to invite myself! Any opportunity with Miss A is a must!

I asked if she wanted me to being anything, without taking a breath, corn soufflé, did I really need to ask? I got there, made the soufflé, popped it in the oven and it was play time and time to catch up with the family. Her dad calls me Auntie G and so does her mom, you have no idea how much I love that! Everyone was in the kitchen playing and talking and laughing, is there anything better?

We sat down to eat to a feast! “Mom-mom” makes a pot roast, carrots and green beans, they are great to ensure that I have enough to eat, as the resident veg head! SDL made her famous mashed potatoes, she and her mom collaborated on the sweet potato with marshmallow dish, there was cranberry dressing, salad, crescent rolls (enough that we didn’t have to fight over the last one!) and for dessert…home made cheese cake and peach pie! Oh my!

Let’s just say after dinner, there was no room for dessert, just yet anyway! So we cleaned up and headed into the den with a nice fire going to get down to the business of opening presents. I’ll give you just one guess who had the most presents! There is always something hand knitted or crocheted from Mom-mom, and I’m in on it, so I am thrilled!

The absolute bestest present…the calendar that SDL makes every year of Miss A and her family and friends, it’s such a treat and honor to be a part of it, our birthdays are part of the calendar too! She didn’t want one of us to open that present without the others, so we had to wait until we had the go-ahead and then we went! We waited for each other to open it, then delved in, wow! I was laughing and crying at the same time, it was awesome! Thank you thank you thank you!

After all the presents were opened, it was bath time, for Miss A, of course! and then time for me to head out and go home, smiling the whole way with my wonderful treats in my bag.

Thank you to everyone who has made this holiday wonderful so far! But…it’s not over! I still get to see more friends this week, which is gift enough for me.

So, as Tiny Tim says “g-d bless us, everyone” and to you I say…”Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”