After all the presents were finally opened on Christmas morning, we helped clean up the brunch dishes, filled several boxes and bags with wrapping and Ty, Adam and Zack took everything combustible down to the barn incinerator. They played some catch with the nerf football Zack had given Ty. They all played left handed so they looked like a bunch of doofuses.
I removed all the stockings from the wall where I’d hung them, taking down the sticky hooks I’d put up. Those things really came in handy! We hung ten stockings on the half wall above the stairway so Santa had stockings to stuff. I didn’t make all those needlepoint stockings so they could hang here at the house while I was off doing Christmas somewhere else.
All the Christmas needlepoint was a hit. Zack didn’t remember his idea for a Gollum bear so when he opened his he was shocked and horrified. As soon as he realized what it was, he said he loved it. It is probably the ugliest ornament I’ve ever done but not even close to the ugliest needlepoint design I’ve ever painted. I once did three huge Basquiats for some lady. Nightmare.
The kids were able to go down for naps around the usual time as the rest of us headed out.
Katie came to our house but Adam went home to take a nap. The whole family for two straight days is a bit much. No one blamed him for needing a break. Jay took a nap, too.
The rest of us watched Ant Man, which I’d given Zack. Most of us hadn’t seen it yet.
Thumbs up! It’s very good, funny and both Katie and I said the special effects were much better than those for Interstellar. The scenes where Paul Rudd (as Ant man) goes sub atomic were very similar to the scenes in Interstellar when Matthew McConaughey goes through the worm hole but better.
A little after 4, we got dressed back up and headed over to my brother Bill’s place in Plymouth. He and Jen took over Christmas night a few years ago and it’s great; their house is perfect for this kind of gathering. A huge, open kitchen/living room with a few smaller rooms nearby for those who’d rather not have to shout to be heard above the crowd. The younger kids usually commandeer the lower level of the house to do whatever it is they do. Run around, screaming and laughing most likely.
Like the Pivec gathering the night before, everyone brought elements of the meal. It was a traditional Holiday dinner with both turkey and ham and several iterations of all the fixin’s. There were so many desserts that I didn’t even bother to bring my cookies in from the car.
Long before the hoopla of the gift exchange, MJ and I ran off into a corner to exchange gifts. She’s the only one of my sisters I always buy for because she’s my Goddaughter. I made her a Firefly ornament and gave her all four seasons of Heart of Dixie. She gave me a vintage Star Wars jigsaw puzzle from 1977!
Later on, after we’d eaten, the general gift exchange went on. It’s kind of a melee with no organization at all but tons of fun. There’s no formal structure to it. Mom and Dad give all the married couples a Christmas ornament. Each family gives Mom and Dad something and Godparents/children usually exchange presents. Aside from that, individuals exchange, like Josie and Meg. Everyone gets something. The gifts aren’t nearly as central to the evening as the games we play after dinner. Last year, after we’d all eaten ourselves into near comatose states, board games were played in five different spots in the house. This year, we had a huge game of Catch Phrase that was great fun.
I have no idea how long we stayed. I’m pretty sure we were home by ten. It’s hard to party long into the night two nights in a row.
We awoke the morning of the 26th to two inches of fresh snow; the first significant snowfall of the winter!
Christmas is full of miracles.