Christmas Day 2012

Posted by Nicole

Christmas seems to come and go each year, but I’m going to go back in time and pretend that it just happened yesterday, okay?

I have said it a few times and I’ll say it again – I love having two Christmases each year! For this year’s Christmas Day celebrations, Lauren and I went over to our Dad and Lauretta’s house for a day filled with games, presents, delicious food, and lots of family time. We had quite a crowd this year- Lauren and me, our Dad and Lauretta, stepsis Katie, stepbro Steve and his wife Amy, and Amy’s father and his wife… visiting all the way from Scotland!

The breakfast spread featured all the favorites: cinnamon rolls, fruit, blueberry coffee cake, and the cheese/jam pastry round. There were also some new foods on the table though, notably cantaloupe and pineapple with bits of mint leaves in the mix. The mint-filled fruit dish and a few dishes later in the day were Scotland-inspired, and so SO delicious!

We started the day by opening stockings.

To fuel ourselves for the annual game of Christmas Jeopardy, we filled our mugs with spiked “apple pies” and got to gaming. The game included Christmas-themed questions about movies, world traditions, song lyrics, etc. Our family sure can get competitive, and both teams ended up tied after the final jeopardy question.

We filled our plates with more food and then moved into the living room for some photos. It was nice to have a big live tree for the day, compared to our miniature one at my mom’s house the night before.

Then it was time to open presents! I loved all the gifts that I received, but I think that seeing people open the gifts that we got them was much better!

Of course I had to get my dad a USC related gift.

And Steve got a Slap Chop — one of the more important items on his Christmas list.

After opening presents, final touches were made in the kitchen.

Us kids decided to leave the kitchen work to the adults and headed out for a short walk to Starbucks. Ben (one of David’s sons) was working as a barista and it was fun to visit him and give him another tip Christmas gift, especially because he had to work on the holiday!

Back at the house, it was time to eat dinner!

Turkey stuffed with oranges

White Bean Salad – made by Amy’s dad – It was delicious and hopefully we will get the recipe to share!

Tabouleh Salad – also made by Amy’s dad – This dish was to.die.for.!!!!! I just finished all my leftovers and am looking forward to hopefully making some more for myself! I need the recipe stat.

Egg and Wine Walnut Breads from Le Boulanger

Cantaloupe, Banana Bread, Sour Cream (I think), Beets, Bacon

Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I also brought over a big container of leftover roasted vegetables from Christmas Eve dinner. This was my first plate:

You know that dinner and dessert are so good when you keep on eating despite stomach pains from being painfully full! Lauren and I definitely indulged, but how could we not? It was a tasty, tasty Christmas day.

We ended the night with Cards of Humanity. We are slightly obsessed with this game :)

Alright, time to publish the post and eat dinner! I just got to our cabin in Groveland/Yosemite with my mom, David, and two of his sons. We are snowshoeing and hiking tomorrow… should be an adventure!

- Nicole