christmas lunch

...originally planned for 3pm (I'm guessing because having it at lunchtime would have meant waking up early to start cooking) was held at 6pm instead due to the small matter of the turkey not being put into the oven. Minor glitch...could happen to anyone. ^_^

It was well worth the wait though ~ everything was done just right. It was all pretty traditional: turkey with yummy stuffing, ham, roasted vegetables, gravy, cauliflower with cheese sauce, etc, and bowls of cherries and cashews, lollies and chocolate. I love cherries! They just look and taste festive. It's the best thing about having Christmas in summer. Speaking of which, the weather was kind to us. Usually Christmas Day is a scorcher, but it was overcast today and quite cool.

There were presents. I got a pair of slippers that massage your feet, a necklace, a handbag that's a little bit out there but okay, and most surprisingly a palm pilot. My friends also thought it would be hilarious good fun to give me one of these calendars. Twelve months worth of Mormon ex-missionaries in beefcake frat boy poses ~ good for a laugh, but seriously not likely to make it onto one of my walls anytime soon. The worst (and funniest) part of it was that there were actual missionaries in the room spending Christmas Day with us. So embarrassing. *^_^*

Keyboard Kid got one of those video games where you dance on a mat and a RoboRaptor. I told him to bring both over to my place ASAP!! Drummer Boy got an awesome amplifier and consequently spent half the evening playing rock riffs on his electric guitar. Gangsta Girl was most happy to get a mobile phone to replace the one she recently dropped into the toilet accidentally. I think she was having severe withdrawals symptoms. They all also got fun presents like little lava lamps and a game where you have to retrieve pirate treasure from a skull full of green goo. It was a fun day ~ relaxing, a lot of laughs, and no drama. Even the turkey timing mishap was just brushed aside and everyone passed the extra time with a few games of Uno and no complaints.

I called my folks and my sister, and spoke briefly to my aunt in Denmark. Tomorrow I'm going to try to ring some American friends (you know who you are). But don't worry, if I catch you in the middle of Christmas celebrations I'll just say 'Merry Christmas' and leave you be. Eventually my late Christmas cards will reach you, too.

The one thing I really missed this year was Christmas carols. Somehow carols were missing from every celebration I went to and I forgot to check out when our local Carols By Candlelight was happening. It was actually pretty disappointing because that is one of my favourite things about Christmas. When I was about fourteen I spent a few Christmas Eves with a friend's family who were of German origin. Christmas Eve is a bigger deal than Christmas Day in Germany and they went all out. We trimmed the tree that night, drank eggnog and ate German gingerbread (made each year with German Christmas carols playing as they baked...no lie). We read the Christmas story, stopping every so often to sing an appropriate Christmas carol for whatever part of the story we had reached. It sounds a bit Norman Rockwell, but actually it was beautiful and I loved spending that time with them. Anyway I love carols and so I'm listening to them now as Christmas Day comes to a close.

And to anyone who reads this blog, thanks for connecting with me across this year. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with people you care about. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas I just hope the day itself is a good one in some magical way.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.