Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Sunday, January 1, 2012

A Merry Little Christmas

We began our Christmas a week early with a dinner with close friends.  This is the third Christmas we have celebrated with Amanda, Big N, and Little N. We also invited my cousin K and her friend C.  We had a huge spread of traditional holiday favorites.  We had homemade mac n cheese, dressing, green bean casserole, corn casserole, hashbrown casserole, ham, and rolls.  It was delicious.

Little N had a plateful.  It is so hard to watch him grow up.  Our first Christmas together, he was only a year old!  Time flies!

 I was extremely proud to duplicate my mom's chicken and dressing (minus the chicken).  It was my first attempt and a complete success.

We played Harry Potter themed Scene It.  Nicholas loves Harry Potter.

 Bobby shared his wand with Nicholas.  It made his night.


We had lunch on Christmas Eve with Hubs' aunt and her family.  We gathered at her house for another spread that included chicken and dressing, turkey, honey-glazed ham, green beans, and rolls.

 I have always loved this decoration that she hangs in her hallway.  One year, it might go home with me.
 I use almost the same decoration at home and I love this look.  Her tablescape was very festive.


Christmas Eve night is always spent at my parent's house.  We choose a food theme and chow down. In the past we have had a Mexican buffet and Chinese buffet.  This year, we chose snacks and had a HUGE variety of food including taco dip, meatballs, chicken fingers, taquitos, and so much more that I cannot even remember!
 Hubs was posing for the camera.
 My brother joined in on the posing.
 Layered Taco Dip.  Amazing.
 My parents' house is decorated top to bottom.  I love it. 

We enjoyed a busy Christmas weekend with lots of family time, food, and laughs.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Our White Christmas

  Our Christmas celebrations started on the Sunday before with a dinner and ornament exchange with friends.  I didn't take many pictures but I did get one with our favorite little boy and Hubs. 

For Christmas Eve with my family, we usually do a themed dinner (almost always mexican).  I offered to make homemade chinese food.  It turned out execellent if I do say so myself!

 Hubs favorite dish!  Chinese Chicken Salad.  Amazing.


My own stir fry experiment. It is a variation on General Tso's.  Turned out really good!
Never underestimate the power of ginger, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

Of course we had fried rice.  A TON of it!


And lastly, EGGROLLS!  I did not make these homemade due to time but aren't they pretty!?!



When we arrived at my parents' house early Christmas morning, they were watching home videos of Christmases past.  This video is from 1991 - one of several holidays we had in California - shows my mom and brother (only 3 at the time) opening presents on Christmas Eve from our family in Alabama.



Later in the morning at my in-laws house, the rain/snow mess started but we (me and the 9yr old) were ecstatic when we realized the rain stopped and it was all snow and it was sticking to the porch and yard.
Even the puppy, Merlin, got in on the action.  He LOVED eating snowballs.



Hubs wanted a snow picture.



Lovely White Christmas.




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