We picked up my Mom on the way to Katie and Adam's place and she brought along a package of ham sandwiches that she's made up out of the leftovers from her own party Saturday night. They made perfect appetizers for Katie's spread! We had another large silver tray packed with cookies in the back of the car, along with all the gifts for our kids and grandkids.
We'd planned it so our immediate family (there are 11 of us ) met an hour or so ahead of the crowd to exchange gifts. My kids and their spouses all drew secret Santas among each other and I must say, the gifts were thoughtful and wonderful! I had spent the year coming up with personal needlepoint ornaments for each of them and Jay had a blast out buying toys for all his grandkids. Everyone was thrilled with their haul!
No sooner had we disposed of the wrapping paper and tucked our piles of goodies away when the rest of the family began to appear, all bearing food, drink and goodwill. It was not as large a crowd as Mom had on Saturday because a few people came down with the flu, so those two branches of the family stayed home. This holiday sacrifice was appreciated, believe me!
Katie and Adam's house is designed in such a way that hosting a large party that feels like an intimate party is achievable! Several of the men headed down to Adam's man cave (office) to watch football and play pool while the kids had an entire level on which to play games, make crafts, eat, watch movies and play with Adam's VR head set. While all that was going on, a dozen or so of us gathered near the upper tree and fireplace to play games.
The kitchen and buffet were on our level so we got to see kids as they ran in and out, eating but they kept their noise and attendant chaos elsewhere. It was absolutely lovely!
Katie made sure that every level of the house was properly festive. She's up to 3 full sized Christmas trees, in addition to her other decorations.
It was not a late night for us. We simply can't go that hard or long for three straight days anymore. We were home, in our jammies and watching Christmas movies by 9.
It was perfect.
Merry Christmas!!