Saturday, December 26, 2015

Christmas Reflections~the best ever!

 Sitting with a cup of coffee in the dining room where all is quiet and bright.
We had back to back family parties starting on the Eve of the eve for Christmas,
which is what happens when you have to share family members after they marry.
Such is part of life, and as children grown into full fledged adult hood,
our roles as parents change with their growth.  So we are lucky to have 
them in our lives and watch them become happy in their own lives.  And thankful
to have the kids still at home that make holidays especially happy times.
 Our home was all set for the celebrations as this year I had every day
to focus on the needful, as my dad likes to call it.  And relish the needful
I did, as I love to entertain and set the stage for everyone to gather and have fun.
 From the meal planning and cooking to thinking of meaningful and thoughtful
gifts for those you want to remember, that is what this Christmas was about.
Mr. Maison Decor and I felt like we hit a home run, and although we 
didn't share a single gift with each other this day, we took great joy in seeing
the gifts we gave to our children bring them happiness.  And more than
that, it was the special activities we did together that made it 
one of our most favorite Christmases of all!  
Colby was our most favorite gift of the year, and we are so happy with
the little inquisitive but relaxed puppy he is becoming.   On the Eve of 
the Eve party he was out of his mind with excitement when Sylvia came
back to her original home to see us.  After the first hour of getting over the 
excitement they both settled down and shared the family party like they had
known each other forever.  Sylvia came into the house looking for Dillon and
Tobey, at least that's what Justin and I thought...and instead only found a very
perky pup that she really had no interest in dealing with.  After a few time outs
in his kennel, Colby realized that he had to be nice and calm when he got released
back into the party.  And since he is very smart, it didn't take long for that to happen.
The Eve of the Eve party may become a new tradition, and it really was 
nice having back to back parties as it extended the Christmas celebrating
which is often over way too quickly. My boy's father came bearing gifts and 
Justin and Madison and Sylvia were there to celebrate before they would go 
and see Taylor and Madison's parents in Maine on Christmas Eve.  
The end of the night family portrait was a bit of a challenge trying to get
the dogs in the mix, but Mr. Maison Decor did a great job taking one million
pics so I could choose one to share.  The next day would come quickly and 
and suddenly it was Christmas Eve and time for another party!
For Christmas Eve we had a small dinner party with just the two kids and my 
mother in law, who lives next doors.
I changed the decorations up a little bit for our formal sit down dinner.
Purple glitter snowflakes from Walmart hung from the chandelier.
A silver tray carried a bed of greens and ornaments as the centerpiece.
English crackers were laid out at each place setting. 
 We wore the English cracker paper crowns and instead of tiny novelty gifts, 
this years crackers had tiny horns in different tunes that required us all 
to toot our own notes to produce well known Christmas Carols.
 The number on your hat was related to the note you were to play.
We pretty much nailed White Christmas, but weren't so great at the rest.
It was pretty funny and made for a special time after dinner and before dessert.  
After dinner the men opened red plaid pajama bottoms
that Santa had left for them.  All cozied up, we watched a special movie together.
Truman Capote's 1963 narrated version of his short story, A Christmas Memory.
I had forgotten that it had a melancholy ending, but the heart of the story was
how Christmas is what you make of it, and it can be so very special without 
things and money.  Its a touching tale and one of my favorites.
We ate cannolis and drank eggnog and after the movie we all hit the hay.
Who says small gatherings can't be extra fun and meaningful?
Then Christmas morning arrived.   
We handed out some gifts and had more eggnog 
and coffee and even cookies from the night before.
 Even Colby got a Disney Pet Stocking from Santa, filled with "Frozen" toys.
Wearing the plaid PJ bottoms Santa handed out the night before,
the men in the house turned into a real life version of
Three Lords a Leaping!!  
(Of course I know its ten lords a leaping...)
 As Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas" began to
play in the background, the men leaped into full out dance mode!
This was a very happy Christmas, and our house was filled with love.
My husband's son's mom would come over for a Christmas coffee
and it really doesn't get any better than that for our kids.
Lucky are those that are in their original families, and luckier are those
that have created new "blended" families and found a way to respect 
family traditions that are important on both sides.  Its super special and a real gift
and one that all of our kids enjoy, thanks to all of their loving parents.
Later on Christmas day we took advantage of the bizarre and balmy 63 degree 
Boston weather and took Colin up on his great idea to take Colby 
for a walk along the Atlantic coast, where he took his first dip in the ocean.
We racked up a pile of incredible memories, and 
today hubs and I are talking about how special this Christmas was,
how blessed we are to have each other and our health and all those 
in our lives.  From both sides of our families, to our ever growing ones,
it just felt so perfect this year.
Wishing you also had a lovely and loving Christmas.
Looking forward to New Years and spending time with some
special friends to ring in the year 2016! Wow.

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6 comments:

  1. Great Christmas memories…Colby's puppy pic is priceless!!! Thank you for sharing!

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  2. It is inspirational to see how you have gotten it right -- the blended family. It's so lovely when it works.

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  3. Amy, this post just makes me happy and put a big smile on my face. This very post is what the true meaning of Christmas really is all about… Your pictures tell a beautiful story and I'm so happy to hear that it was such a special Christmas ! ours is a smaller group than usual but it was so relaxing, enjoyable and it meant a lot to spend a lot of quality family time… Cheers to a fantastic 2016 !!!

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  4. I loved all your photos of a happy Christmas, but my favorite is the 3 guys dancing in genuine holiday cheer! Made me smile. Happy New Year to you and the family.

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  5. Such a beautiful post of home and family! Happy New Year! Amy! xox

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  6. don't forget to sign the puppy up for obedience class in the new year, both pup and their people need them.

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