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Christmas (or Holiday) traditions...what are yours.

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Well, we are off tonight for our family Christmas Dinner. We have to do it early in December because Jon's family is so big, with so many newly married couples or new babies that it is a real stretch to get everyone in one place at once. His two sisters share the holiday meals, we had Thanksgiving at the farm and now we are going to his other sister's just a short way out in the countryside (not a farm.) This is a massive undertaking for Jon's sisters. Just try to seat 35 to 45 people for supper, and manage the house and decorations and the parking and...and...and.... I LOVE MY SISTERS-IN-LAWS. If we had more than two parking spaces, we'd help, but...we are limited in space and you wouldn't be able to breath if you squished his family in here. Heck, we'd have to seat people for dinner rotationally. It just wouldn't work.

So, I get off easy, but I do add to the festivities and the food. I bring my famous potato dish (small potatoes halved, baby carrots, both red and white onions and big chunks of sweet potato all cooked down at a low heat with lots of olive oil and Vegeta spice., it's loved by everyone. And tonight I'm bringing a spinach dip with spiced Nan bread toast points for the appetizers. My other sister-in-law is bringing a 26 lb turkey with stuffing and gravy and her famous Caesar salad. Ah, the food just flows and flows, and the drink (burp)...it's yummy and lovely and the decorations are beautiful and the children are all amazed, and happy. It's a wonderful night. And eventually, Jon's brother-in-law gets out his guitar and sings for everyone, and we all join in. It's a great night.

After the meal the men disappear downstairs to play cards and the women clean up and talk; the young marrieds and the few young singles play pool or just sit and chat. And, of course, the very heart of the family, the babies and toddlers play with their toys and amuse everyone with their childlike joy. For me this is Christmas.... Christmas is Family, and Love, and Tolerance, and the certainty that the Best is Yet to Be.

Blessing on you and your family this Christmas Season, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, Blessings on your festivities, whatever they may be. And, especially, Blessings on our Mastiff Family, both far and near. May your celebrations be bright, and full of happiness and may our Mastiffs enjoy every minute in the loving glow of their families.

Poor Bailey is left behind tonight (no dogs allowed), but she is being entertained by our friends and will have a nice evening with her friend Molly dog.... No Sad Mastiffs tonight. And, I think, a small piece of turkey might make its way home to brighten her spirits when we pick her up.
 

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
No singing last night; brother-in-law had pneumonia, but the family roared and played and the children ran and screamed with delight non stop. Husband won four or five games of cards (an avalanche) and came home satiated and happy on both physical and emotional levels. (Beat his brother and brother-in-law AGAIN!) I bathed in the light of family love and concern and felt loved and cared for, which is the whole point behind family gatherings.

******THOUGHTS ON THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

All of us, all our Mastiff family is so blessed, we have our dogs, our close and extended families, our joy in each other and the HOPE and PRAYERS for good day to come for all of us.

Blessings on all of you, on all your family both two- and four-legged, and on your futures. May the New Year find you better off and happier than the old year that is passing. AMEN!
 

Michele

Super Moderator
Staff member
We do the fish on Christmas Eve. I'll be hosting this year. Christmas day I will relax.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I grew up doing fish on Christmas Eve and we also left an empty place at the table for a stranger. My mom also used to walk around saying that whatever you did on Christmas Eve you would do the rest of the year. She meant things like if the house was unsettled or there was fighting. My brother and I made so much fun of that. "Oh no! You farted. You're going to fart all year long!" "You stepped in dog poo! You're going to have poo on your shoe all year long!" She'd get so mad at us. Lol. We also decorated the tree on the day of the 24th and did gifts after supper that night. The tree stayed up until January 6th. Xmas day was nothing until we had a regular ham and turkey dinner in the evening.

Those aren't traditions that have carried over to my own family, and I do miss them. My family decorates the tree the day after Thanksgiving. The kids put up all the ridiculous ornaments they made as children and put the ones they know I think are hideous right in front. They leave and I move them to the back. They come home and move them back to the front. We laugh a lot. Now that one is married and the other is working at the emergency vet we do Xmas when it's convenient for everyone. Younger daughter always offers to work the holidays because she doesn't have kids and older daughter has another family to visit out of state. Christmas is whenever both kids can be home. As for extended family, we go to my husband's family on Xmas morning.
 

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
My side of the family is small, and some are out-of-country, some are across country on the coast, but we try to get together and share a laugh or two (or a phone call full of love.)

My brother holds Christmas dinner and we will go there, though, we have already celebrated with Jon's very large extended family.

What do we miss? My mom used to make the very best hard sauce for the Christmas Pudding, and even though we have her old cookbook and we've tried, neither my sister or I can make it taste the way she did. And whenever we bring this topic up with other people, we hear the same thing from them. Grandma's cookies, or their mom's stuffing, or Auntie's Christmas Ham.... Every Christmas comes complete with memories...sweet memories of those no longer with us. I know we will be sharing Christmas with them again this year, and remembering the good times, and revering those that have gone beyond everything but our memories.
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
We have four families to visit for Christmas (both hubby and i have divorced parents).

Christmas eve is always his dad's family and we always have tacos. I think because the family is so big and it is an easy food to make for many people and serve.

Christmas day is always a stressful running around thing as we have both our moms and my dad to figure out how to split.

I look forward to a day when we can have a quiet family Christmas just him and I and our furries and our own spawn and visit the other families over a greater spread out time. Then again I am an extreme introvert and as much as I may love our families visiting four groups of people in a span of two days is a little much for my poor introverted socially anxious self. I am much happier when I can spread out my socializing with large chunks of recovery time. :p
 

Nik

Well-Known Member
Save some for me, Michele, my hubby doesn't like fish so it is rarely on the menu. :(

Aw sorry you miss out on all the fish. Luckily my husband likes almost everything (except for peas and carrots). He is the one that suffers for my pickyness. Poor guy.