list of nice things from christmas eve

  1. We had help in the form of Reg and Amber and Ella who all arrived about noon to put the finishing touches on the day. Ella even filled the bird feeder! Regis brought in the big table, Amber frosted cookies, and everyone pitched in to set up the table.
  2. Regis and Amber had great Christmas sweaters. They were a hoot....complete with ruffly collars, shoulder pads, and glitter.
  3. The two little boys played so nice together and shared their toys.
  4. Nobody had to battle icy roads or snow drifts to get here.
  5. Little boys like to lick things to see if they like the taste (cookies and vegetables) and if they don't...back on the plate it goes. It took a team effort to keep an eye on the table and remove the licked items! Ha!
  6. Ella decorated the rest of the gingerbread cookies with lots of sprinkles. She was content with the Christmas colors I picked even though she saw pink and purple in the drawer.
  7. I set off more than one smoke detector in the making of the meal but we didn't have to evacuate. Nice to wake up this morning to the smell of chicken fat.
  8. The food was delicious but we got a few reviews that the chicken wings were too spicy. This is a mostly Scandinavian crowd with no acquired taste for spice that burns the lips. 
  9. There was a minimum of tears. One adult and one child which isn't bad for an emotion-packed day at the end of a busy season.
  10. When three-year old children open presents, they are just amazed by each one. They tear the paper and stare with big eyes. It makes your heart ache to watch. I'm so glad they were here so I could see it. There were lots of trains and trucks and cars and books.
  11. One nice thing about Google tv (yes, I know....rant rant rant) is that we watched Santa cross the globe in his sleigh with Rudolph in the lead. The little ones were amazed and asked, "Where is Santa now? Where is Santa now?" There were some funny moments like when one of the adults said he's in Africa and Ella announced that Africa is south of Madelia.
  12. Toward the end of the evening, Bob and Reg were wrestling. Our fifty pound furry infant was so dismayed he jumped into my lap. Gus is not exactly a lap-fitting dog. He was so tired when everyone left that we could barely get him up to go outside.
  13. The pictures are a continuing source of amusement. I just looked at them again and noticed Reggie's happy face in this shot. Must be the Christmas sweater or a taste of pickled herring. ( That's our giant tv in the background with a yule log dvd playing. )

Merry Christmas, everyone! Happy last week of 2011!

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