The "Where are we going to spend Christmas" Mystery has been solved. We will have be having our Family gathering on Christmas Eve at our Oldest daughter's home. Now that she is finished teaching school and is on holiday vacation for two weeks she has let us know today that her house will be the place for us to gather. Now it's beginning to feel like Christmas!
Thanks @Honey Gee My oldest daughter hates to have Family gatherings at her house and she already had the Thanksgiving gathering at her place....so none of us were counting on her to volunteer to do Christmas too. My middle daughgter (whose home flooded) is the one who loves to have all the gatherings at her house and will again as soon as all the renovations are finished and they can move back in their home. Hopefully we will be able to have our New Year's Day traditional meal of ham, black-eyed peas, cole slaw, and seafood jambalaya in her newly renovated home! It is a relief to know where we will be gathering for Christmas finally. And I think I will go out this week and get my oldest daughter a special gift for "sacrificing" for her Family. Maybe a nice bottle of wine for her to drink after we all have departed.
Though we had part of the Family missing this Christmas Eve they did show via FaceTime and on my oldest daughter's large IPad we were able to all watch them open their presents from all of us and chat for awhile. It was alot like the missing ones were right in the room with us and this is one tech advancement we all enjoyed. This Christmas Eve was quieter than usual but one of the most relaxing and peaceful ones we have shared together. Having a simple menu gave us so much more time to sit down and actually catch up with one another and I loved it. I also looked at our grandkids that were there and realized how big they all are getting. Part of the joy for me this Christmas Eve was just watching how much the kids love each other and enjoy being together. They got to play their own stealin' Santa game for the first time this year and their gifts were gag gifts that made everyone laugh...even the grownups. My son-in-law did everyone's steaks just the way they like them (no burnt meat this year) and with baked potatoes, salad, and cheesy garlic bread...it was a simple but delicious meal for us all. Our Happy Birthday Jesus cake was chocolate with barvarian cream filling, and what I call the "cool whip" icing was a wonderful dessert that we all enjoyed and many had seconds on. The guys played a few games of horseshoes, the kids rode around on the golf cart, on their scooters, etc. while my daughters and I spent time just catching up with each other's lives. And a good time was had by all. Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you!
Wonderful family pictures, @Babs Hunt , everyone looks so happy and like they are having a great time together. Being able to use FaceTime for the family that is not there is a blessing as well. Since most of my family is still out in the Pacific Northwest (Idaho and Washington), that is how we usually keep in touch and share things, too. When my son Michael got married, my grandson put it on FaceTime, and we watched the whole thing from here. Since we had Apple TV, we just put the picture up on the television, and it was almost like being there to see the wedding in person. It is warm again here this morning thankfully, and supposed to get up to 70 later in the day. We don't have anything planned, so it will just be a quiet day here at home for us. Merry Christmas to everyone ! !