what's your Xmas look like?

[Steve]

---  Sharon Hayes <s.hayes at ...> wrote:
>
> Hi all, I am wondering what other people's Xmas is looking 
> like.  Living in Australia, we are in the middle of summer 
> and so it's hot, rainy, and humid.  ...
> 
> 
> Sharon,
> who thinks Xmas in Scotland would be about the nicest, 
> cosiest, freezing cold way to spend the holidays, instead 
> of sweltering here with the aircon cranked on high.
>

bboyminn:

Our Christmas's used to be very traditional. When I was young
we always had a fresh pine tree; I miss the smell of that pine.
Later we had one of those hideous silver foil trees. They do
look nice, but they are about as unChristmasee as you can get.

Now every year on Thanksgiving day, after our food has settled,
we all gather round and decorate my mother's artificial but
still very nice green pine tree, and put up her other
decorations. That, for us, is the official beginning of the
Christmas season.

A typical old Christmas used to involve gathering around my
mother's house for a big meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes,
stuffing, scalped corn, yams, and other assorted side dishes
as well as assorted pies and other deserts. The most important
things that make Thanksgiving and Christmas are my mother's
home made lefse (Scandinavian flat bread made from potatoes)
and her cranberry relish (which we discussed her recently;
recipies included). 

Unfortunately our family has grown too big to be contained in
my mother's house. Initially we rented the American Legion Hall
to accommodate all the brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews,
grand nieces, and grand nephews, and assorted boyfriends and
girlfriends. My mother even enrolled me in the American 
Legion (without my knowledge) so she could keep getting the
Legion Hall at a member discount after my father passed
away.

Then she decide to change the venue to the Social Hall at our
local Church. Plenty of room for the kids to run and play, and
the open room at least lets you see everyone even if you don't 
get a chance to talk to them. 

It's actually worked out very nicely now for several years, but
as my brothers and sisters hav become grandparents, they wanted
to start a Christmas tradition of their own. So this year we are
having out extended Family Christmas on Sunday after Church in
the Social Hall. That allows the others to hold their own
Christmas on the 24th and 25th. 

Though we have started another tradition, after so many big
meals in the holiday season, we decided to make Christmas Eve
'Soup Day'. Everyone who is not otherwise occupied, comes to
Mom's house where we have several big pots of assorted soups. 
I'm debating between Chicken Noodle and Chili, but I think
Chicken Noodle is winning. My brother is bringing Potato
Cheese Soup, Mom will whip up a couple of her own soups, and
my sister will bring a soup. It actually turns out to be a
very fun time, and my mother finds out which kids really 
appreciate her and deserve to be in her Will (he said 
humorously).

Since my brothers and sisters now have their own extended 
families, we quit buying each other presents. I do give them
each a box of chocolates instead of a Christmas card, it's
about the same price but a lot less work. This year I am 
giving one sister a copy of The Sorcerer's Stone. She is a big
Eragon fan, and loves the HP movies, but can't bring herself
to read the books. I think she doesn't want to offend Eragon
by loving another character. Still maybe this will get her
started. I'm also getting (secretly) my favorite grand nephew
an Eragon/Eldest set. He loves to read, and anything I can do
to encourage that, I do. Unfortunately, my sister and her other
son love the Eragon books and I think my grand nephew is 
resisting reading them, thinking that he couldn't possibly like
anything his grandmother could like. Now that he has them 
though, he will eventually read them and see what a grand
adventure they are.

That's Christmas for me.

And for the record, here in sunny souther Minnesota there is 
about 6 inches of snow on the ground. The first time is snowed
it was really freezing rain which is miserable, and just a
few days ago it was 3dF (-16 dC), and remained in the range 
of 0 dF to 15 dF (-18 dC to -9 dC) for about a week. Although 
now it has warmed up to a balmy 30 dF (-1 dC). 

Christmas with a large family in southern Minnesota/northern
Iowa.

Steve/bboyminn