Christmas highlights for most people have to do with food, family, and gifts.
I’m not saying those things are not important to us. Because they are.
But are they as important as the presentation of the finished (except for paint and railing) deck steps that Steve has been working on for the past few weeks? I think not.
To start our Christmas Day celebration, I thought taking a picture of each kid going down the steps for the first time would be fun. Fortunately, the grands were willing to humor their dotty grandma.
Then it was time for the parents to make their descent. I had to laugh because Meagan’s dramatic side came out–as it is wont to do. She started acting like she was coming down the steps at a royal gala, much to the amusement of us all. Have I ever mentioned we are easily entertained? And thankfully, Meagan is easily entertaining.
An hour before they arrived, my kitchen looked like this.
Belle arrived to offer assistance, which was good because she is every bit as helpful as a toddler.
I somehow managed to wrangle the mess and get everything squared away before our guests (Nathan’s family and Steve’s brother, Jeff) pulled up.
We opened a few grandkid gifts . . .
and enjoyed the food and time together. (Speaking of food, I have a food question for you at the end of this post.)
It was fun using Vernie’s beautiful pitcher and her red tablecloth that has graced our tables for decades
Belle declared herself The Cute Queen of the Proceedings and established herself upon the throne of blankets. (I have fewer photos of Tinker because he is usually secluded in his back bedroom monastery where he thinks deep and profound thoughts as he naps.)
Steve and I opened our gifts for each other after the family gathering. Over the past few months, I had heard him mention a particular book that he really wanted and so I ordered it for him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t scheduled to arrive until December 29.
But somehow, when he opened his gifts on Christmas, there was the book!
Sort of.
Underneath the fake book cover I printed out was a 50-year-old hymnal, one of the dozen or so hymnals that Ken and Vernie left behind. I love having those in our bookcase.
And I love the memory of us leaving this house on Christmases past and seeing this sight.
Hymnals and deck steps. Gifts given and received. Another Christmas come and gone.
Grateful for it all.
What about you?
What was your favorite Christmas memory this year?
What was your favorite gift this year? (Either given or received.)
I was reading a Facebook thread where a lot of people no longer did a traditional meal at Christmas, i.e., turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, potatoes and gravy, etc. I’d say 90% of the respondents were non-traditional. Do you still do the traditional meal or have you started doing something different? If so, I’m curious to know what you do.
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!!
Precious Memories! Best memories for this season was time we did get to be together. Games we played and time together! Seems like so much sickness surrounding us lately.
Most prize gifts received were an ornament from one daughter with all of our grandbabies as gingerbread people with their names, even our grand dog. 🙂
and 2 night lights made from a 3D printer with our grands pics on them from our other daughter. They are so precious!!
We sometimes have more traditional meals but have also went untraditional at times.
Lots of memories for you and your family to cherish and to make in your family home!
The stair pictures are so cute. Perhaps a new tradition? We don’t have a consistent tradition around Christmas dinner. Sometimes we don’t cook at all and order Chinese food–is surprisingly liberating! We made the rounds to all the family across the country and are finally home. It is a relief!
I love how you are incorporating Vernie’s beautiful treasures in your own celebrations. It’s all so special. About the food, we have shifted to a non-traditional meal on Christmas sort of. On the years that our extended family does not get together, we have begun having prime rib on Christmas Day for our immediate family. Since we have turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving and ham in New Years, this has been a nice change of pace when our immediate family is together.
Lisa,
Hmmm. It’s interesting how many people I hear about who have prime rib. That would be fun to try. Sometimes it just seems a bit much to have a turkey/ham feast twice in just a few weeks. A change of pace would be nice.
Yes, I do love incorporating Vernie’s belongings into my life; I like to think of Sarah and Meagan incorporating them down the road.
It was a low-key Christmas for us this year, with my husband ending up sick in bed with the “crud”. He finally started feeling back to normal Saturday. We gifted our older daughter a puppy this year. She found one on a rescue site and we paid the adoption fee. He had not been to the vet even though he had just turned 5 months old and was underweight. He had his first vet visit today, and except for hookworms which are of course being treated, he got a clean bill of health for which we are very thankful.
We still do a traditional Christmas meal so it was pretty much a repeat of Thanksgiving.
I hope you have a wonderful week welcoming in 2025! (And Steve’s stairs look very nice!)
Sue Ellen,
What a memorable gift for your daughter and what a joy to know that the little guy is going to be loved and well cared for from now on. That is such a great feeling and I know you were glad to be a part of making that happen. Puppies are so much fun!
Glad your husband is feeling better; not so great to get sick at Christmas!
Beautiful pictures – especially the stairs – didn’t realize there could be so much drama on those stairs “I’m ready for my closeup Mr. DeMille. (Probably not many what that sentence was about with Gloria Swanson – think it has been ground into the ground enough times – it must age me I guess). It was just my husband and myself again this year -a quiet time. A blessed and Happy New Year to the Smith Family!
Sharyn,
I knew the quote but couldn’t have told you it was Gloria Swanson. I learned something!
And yes, our family can make a little drama out of just about anything.
I hope the quietness of you and your husband’s Christmas was refreshing and not too lonely. It’s hard when the chicks fly away and family scatters. Hugs.
I began doing non-traditional meals over a decade ago as the traditional meal in our family was turkey … for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Traditions are sometimes hard to give up and can leave a feeling of guilt. So one early December I gave my young son a few choices (roast beef, ham, homemade meatballs and sauce, homemade lasagna) and we’ve been changing it up ever since! On Christmas we also began to put out a breakfast charcuterie board so there were munchies available until afternoon dinner was served. Two months of back to back turkey just was too much!
Guerrina,
What a great idea to give your son some choices and let him be a part of the menu planning. A terrific mom-move!
And a charcuterie board is a fun idea, as well. I’ve never made one but I could probably pull off a simple one.
My favorite gift was new cookware!! Now I can throw away the pans with the round bottoms and no handles. I’m so happy!!
Our family just celebrated Christmas at a hotel this past weekend. We had so much fun! The kids swam, we went out to eat and played games. We’re all about making memories instead of giving them ‘stuff’. No one really needs anything and this is our gift to them. We’ve been doing this for several years now and everyone loves it!
LeeAnne,
Ooh, I love new cookware. I remember when I saw the cookware Sarah and Meagan got for their weddings, I was so jealous that everything was so new and fresh. Enjoy, enjoy!
Love the idea of celebrating in a non-traditional, non-stressful way. A great way to make fabulous family memories!
My family never did ham. My mom always made oyster soup the night before. I’m not sure if that’s a New England tradition or just a thing my own family did, but it sure was good. And then we’d normally have a Thanksgiving type meal on Christmas Day, with turkey and such.
I dreaded this Christmas absolutely all year thinking it was going to be one of the worst of my life. It was to be the first time my 7-year-old and I would be apart on Christmas, and for a whole week. I thought I was going to spend it weepy and alone. However, I ended up spending it with an old high school friend and it was actually quite lovely.
Ellen,
I could go for some oyster soup!
“Quite lovely” is a wonderful description for a holiday you thought would be awful. I’m glad you had an old friend to hang out with and take your mind (a little bit) off your child. It’s always so great to have a sweet reunion with a child after you’re apart from each other. 💗
What fun you create with simple steps.
Favorite memory-our pastor’s 3 year old putting the papers on the candles and handing them to each person.
Favorite gift-a start at The Wander Club-and a engraved token for the trip to Montreal with my daughter-in-law.
Before I was married we did several country Christmases and served that countries food specialties. Italian, German, Mexican, and Fondue a couple years. Husband now prefers traditional ham.
Patti,
I had to look up what The Wander Club was. What a fun idea!
You have been very adventurous to serve food from all those countries; it must have taken a lot of research and being willing to try brand new recipes. Sounds like a cool thing to do!
A number of years ago I started making prime rib for Christmas. We have prime rib, potatoes (twice baked or mashed), green bean bundles, squash casserole, etc. My husband doesn’t love ham so we never have ham for the main course of a holiday meal, but sometimes I get one as an additional choice—and for the leftovers!
We are having Christmas today so I don’t know about gifts yet. 😂 A stomach bug invaded one family so we postponed until today.
Always love reading your posts, Becky!
DeLyn,
Do you have a failsafe recipe for prime rib? I’m always afraid to even try it for fear I will cook it wrong and ruin it. Steve would love that at Christmas!
Some of my family in WI got the stomach bug pretty bad, too. ‘Tis the season.
Thanks so much for your encouragement about my posts; I truly appreciate it.
I do have a fail-safe recipe! I agree that it is scary …. but I have used Chef Gruel’s method two years in a row with perfect results. (Before using his method I tried a few different ways and it always worked out, but his method makes so much sense — I will continue this way!) I don’t know if you have an @X account, but if you do, look up his account — you will see many posts thanking him for his instructions and showing him their results. I have also learned from him how to cook great steak at home — I am grateful for that, too. He is a wonderful teacher — shares his knowledge kindly!
https://substack.com/@andrewgruel/note/p-153394710?r=5hi0h&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
DeLyn,
Thank you so much for this reference! I just read through his instructions for the prime rib and he writes in a way that is not scary or intimidating; very down to earth. I will definitely follow up with some of his other instructions and recipes.
Thanks again!