Tuesday, December 25, 2018
Posted here March 31, 2022
Kayla’s text “Merry Christmas” woke me up at 8:31. I got up and wrapped all of our Christmas presents—12 packages—between 8:50 and 10:05. ~ Served breakfast for myself and Wendi just before 11:00… Butter Almond Stollen (from Germany, purchased at Aldi) and hot cocoa. ~ Joe, Elizabeth, and Asha chilled upstairs; they had already eaten a little bit.
Started the ham in the oven around noon. ~ The others came downstairs; we did our gift exchange between 12:45 and 1:00. Wendi exclaimed “Oh!” when she opened her package to find Michelle Obama’s new book, Becoming.
I prepped the Brussels sprouts and started them baking, then glazed the ham. ~ Cleared off the last of the stuff on the dining room table.
Served dinner at 2:15. We had glazed sliced ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, baked Brussels sprouts, fruit salad, deviled eggs, a vegetable tray with dip, and whole and jellied cranberry sauces. For dessert (3:15) we had pecan pie with whipped topping, and No Bake Cookies made with almond butter (so they were both peanut-free and gluten-free).
We watched the Doctor Who Christmas specials most of the day.
Around 4:25 Joe and Elizabeth gave out their presents. Like us, they had more items for Asha than for anyone else. I received two presents: a green T-shirt bearing a mock entry from the periodic table: Um, the Element of Confusion… and a thing to use for doing latte art.
Around 5:30 or so, I brought out my baritone ukulele and played some Christmas songs. I sang “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” a cappella so they could hear it, since they missed last night’s church service. Asha sang along with “Away in a Manger,” and Elizabeth posted a picture of it on social media.
I served dinner leftovers at 7:30.