Christmas Eve 2014

Christmas 2014 was a wee bit...uh...different from what we usually do & all the things I typically make. Oddly enough, the kids and the hubby man loved it & didn't see anything wrong with it. I'll admit that once I stopped fussing with guilty Christmas-2014-only-happens-once-&-I'll-ruin-everyone-if-I-don't-create-magical-memories thoughts, & relaxed...I enjoyed it too.

We did our traditional meal of snacks including shrimp on Christmas Eve Eve. If I don't do any other traditions for the holidays, I cannot forget our traditional Christmas Eve Eve dinner. The children would never forgive me & would probably never speak to me ever again. Fer realz.

The differences this year? I didn't make dozens of varieties of cookies before Christmas. I made Christmas Crack & Turtles on Christmas Eve night because that's when I felt like doing it. Hubby & I made cut-out sugar cookies on Christmas night because that's when we had the energy to do it.

I didn't get a big tree. I didn't decorate the entire house. In fact, all of the buckets of Christmas decorations were brought in, Ginger Girl, Blondie, & I each grabbed a selection, & the rest went back to the garage. I emptied a total of 1 Christmas bucket. Out of 12.

Blondie decked
it out in candy
canes & Elf hat.

We didn't get a tree, we didn't decorate a tree, we didn't hang lights on a tree or outside anywhere. No garland. No candles in all the windows. No twinkly lights around every room & hall. The tree was a prelit 3' fake tree that I've had for years & use as a decoration. Hubby came home, I showed him what I'd set up, & he said, "It's perfect. When we're no longer both in school at the same time, we'll have a real tree again."

Of course no one wants a 3' tree just sitting on their floor because it's a tripping hazard, it would become a cat toy, & gifts have to go under tree & unless all the gifts are 1.5" tall, that's not going to happen. A normal person would use a table. I put it on something even better than a table:

An upside down hamper
covered with a tree skirt.
Not ghetto at all.

Recovery room at oral surgeon.

The week started with Amazing Grace having her wisdom teeth out, bright & early on Monday. The surgeon had to drill through bone (ow) to get to her teeth, so we were promised a wee bit of a rougher recovery than we had planned on. Poor girl.

Days of Vicodin, ibuprofen, & soft foods started our Christmas week. Thankfully hubby is on vacation, so he took care of Amazing Grace when I needed to do last minute shopping & had to wrap presents, so that she wasn't alone. 

Some of my last minute shopping on Monday afternoon was actually for Amazing Grace, with a list she had made me on Sunday night. One of those gifts was for her father. The thing she had put on the list for me to pick up wasn't available. Knowing she was either in pain or sleeping at home, & not wanting to bother her, I had to figure out a different gift by myself. I had to pick out a gift for her father. For my ex-husband. The man for whom there are many reasons I am no longer married to. I thought ending a marriage meant also an end to gift picking out & buying. 

The things I do for the love of my children. 

 

And I picked out something that was "so him" & even more "perfect" than Amazing Grace had on her list. Oh, how I am so torn over knowing him that well. At least it worked in my daughter's favor.

Amazing Grace was able to get up long enough to wrap her gifts on Tuesday. Watson made sure to help her.

Watson:
"I'll play with that long tube too!"

Amazing Grace:
"Stay away from the present!"

Wait for it...

"Watson!!"

Watson "hiding" after
diving into the paper.

Watching...

...waiting...

...diving.

Rather than my usual amount of craftiness, I only made a few, including...

Silver balls in wine glasses
on a wine rack. Gorgeous.

Totally looks like snow with
twinkly lights in it. Genius.

I learned a few things on Christmas Eve, while making the dinner with hubby...
1) a burner does not need to be on for a fire to start under it
2) it is possible to see the sparks through the glass stove top
3) the inside of the stove is made up of material that chars very easily & stinks as it does so
4) Watson stashed my felted wool balls under the oven
5) delicious gravy most definitely can be made in the microwave

Who knew??

Despite my minimal decorating, my minimal sugary foods, my exhaustion, my selective efforts, I had some really happy people Christmas Eve...

Blondie playing Elf,
delivering gifts. 

Presents, presents
everywhere!

First aid kit for Amazing Grace to
take to college with her. Goes along
with a special saying
you can read about here.

Boy Teenager &
Little Blondie.

Beautiful
Blondie.

A very happily surprised Big D. 

Hubby really
loves the smell
of leather.

Amazing Grace,
Boyfriend,
& Minions.

Amazing Grace, pretty
even 2 days post-op.

A happy, smiley Little
Blondie.

Little Blondie, Big
D, Ginger Girl.

Love that smile.

Little Blondie, Big D , &
a very happy Ginger Girl.

Pretty darn
excited
Ginger Girl.

What better way to finish off Christmas Eve night than with our very own concert of Christmas songs?

Blondie & her beloved sax.

I had a fear that my no-energy, no-time, finals-studying self would end up making our holiday something the Grinch would relish. I surprised myself. The lack of my usual turned out to make it the most relaxed Christmas ever.