Christmas has come and gone. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We had a lot of fun moments, for sure. Here is my Christmas recap.
I want to start by saying that this had to be the least “Christmassy” Christmas in a very long time. Part of that could be that there was no snow on the ground and it was about 50 degrees. The sounds of the holidays were certainly there (musically), but it was very difficult to get into the Christmas “mood.”
That being said, I had Friday off and I needed to get a few last minute things for my sons. They had asked for a couple video games and I couldn’t find them. I could have ordered them, I suppose, but all the sites were saying that they would not arrive until January. So I improvised. I took Ella and Andrew with me and we went shopping. I found them some things (that I am sure they thought were not fun) that were more … adult.
Dante’ is 21 and Dimitri is 16 now. I got them things I knew that they could use or needed. It’s hard when you ask them what they want for Christmas in the fall and they have no clue. Or better yet, you find out that the thing they told you they wanted, they went out and bought for themselves with the money they made working. I didn’t want to do gift cards. That just seems easy, boring and requires no thought. I couldn’t help but remember when I started getting the more adult gifts….sigh. The Christmas magic fades too soon.
It was nice, however, to have all the kids together on the morning of Christmas Eve. I made a big breakfast and we had some good conversation. Dimitri had to work that day, so they weren’t at my house more than a few hours. It is a rare occurrence to have them all together in one place.
Christmas Eve night, we went to Sam’s folks for dinner. It was quite a spread: turkey, ham, meatballs, mac and cheese, baked bean, potatoes, and just about every dessert you can think of. Sam’s mom set up some cups on a table for the kids to toss cheese balls in to win prizes. Afterward, $200 in play money was handed to each person and gifts were auctioned off. I won the bid on a nice “evening in” bag – popcorn, candle, candy, hot cocoa and slipper socks. We also played a board game called “Something Fishy” or “Sounds Fishy” where you had to lie about a question that was asked. It was a fun night.
We left later than we expected and got home to get the kids in bed. Before we could do that, we had to leave out cookies and milk for Santa. One of our neighbors (the one who has the box to mail Santa letters – and answer them), messaged me to say that they had something special for Ella and Andrew. I went over Friday and they handed me a beautiful board for Santa’s milk and cookies.
Once the cookies and Egg Nog were in place (we were out of milk and I told them that Santa liked Egg Nog), the kids were off to bed. It was then that Santa began building toys! Ella asked for a Barbie Princess Castle and Andrew wanted a train table. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, as it only took me about 3 hours to put every thing together.
The dog started barking earlier than normal and I was up to let her out. Andrew was up first and he ran to get Ella because Santa had arrived. For one brief space of about an hour, we felt like it was Christmas. The magic of watching them walk out and seeing their toys ready for play! Wow, do I remember that feeling! It is one of the most powerful memories in my life. That initial walk out to the tree … pure magic!
They were so excited that they didn’t open another present for some time!
Ella got this HUGE Barbie. It is almost as big as her. She loves it!
Andrew loves to take pictures with our phones and his tablet. We found a cool camera that he had a lot of fun with.
Christmas day was nice because we just got to chill out at home. After we played a bit, we watched The Polar Express together. It is such a great movie. We napped because we were all up early, and then got ready for dinner. A Christmas Story was on and I had yet to see it this year, so I watched as we cooked up our ravioli dinner.
Sam’s folks stopped by to see they kids and what they got for Christmas. After they left, we ate and got ready to call it a night. Sam and Ella were in our room relaxing and I was out in the living room with Andrew. I was getting ready to turn off the TV, but he was engrossed in The Wizard of Oz. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. When the commercials came on, I told him we’d have to finish it another day and we went to bed.
I tried to be more in the moment this year. I neglected to take a lot of pictures. Playing with the kids, chasing them around the house, snuggling them in our bed….yeah, those were the moments! It was a Merry Christmas for us!
Oh, and as a Christmas bonus for guys like me who have been waiting a long time … The Detroit Lions clinched the division. Merry Christmas!!
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I can’t wait to read about it!
In a recent conversation with my brother, I was informed that Starbucks does not have their Egg Nog Latte on the holiday menu this year. This was a major disappointment. In all honesty, it was the ONLY reason I ever ventured out to Starbucks voluntarily. I suppose in the fall, I might go there for a Pumpkin Spice Latte’, but I can get those at other places. The only place I could get the Egg Nog Latte’ was Starbucks.
In doing a quick search of the Internet, it seems they pulled it off them menu at some point last year. When they announced their holiday items this year, the Egg Nog Latte’ was absent. The articles I found were about how angry customers were that it was not on the menu.
I guess there are plenty of people making a big stink about it on the various social media sites. There are sites and campaigns calling for the return of the beloved drink, but I highly doubt it will return. It’s kind of like when a radio station fires a favorite personality – no matter how many people call, picket the station, or say they are boycotting the station – they aren’t coming back.
Good riddance, I say. I hated paying so much cash for the delicious drink anyway. I have always felt that Starbucks was overpriced and that their coffee tastes “burnt.” I would probably be able to do a quick Google search for an “Egg Nog Latte'” recipe online and it would be cheaper to make at home. As a matter of fact, I think that is what I will do.
Please don’t tell me that McDonald’s got rid of Egg Nog Shakes. I would really be upset about that ….
I’ve seen a couple bloggers I follow post this in one way, shape or form. I thought it would be a quick and fun thing to do. Two options are presented – you have to pick one. You are supposed to tag someone else to answer the questions, but I won’t do that. Feel free to chime in with whatever you want in the comments, if you wish.
UPDATE: After being tagged by Dave and Lisa (and seeing their responses), I thought I should go through and maybe expand on my brief answers).
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Christmas Eve has always been the bigger day in my family for as long as I can remember. I’m not saying Christmas Day is not as important, but Eve was just always the bigger celebration. We spent every Christmas Eve with my paternal grandparents. It was the Italian side of the family and there was always plenty of food, desserts and family.
We’d have an early dinner (and graze throughout the remainder of the night), and the adults would play pinochle while us kids played with toys, watched videos, or played video games. I would say many of my favorite Christmas memories stem from those Christmas Eves!
Real or Fake Tree?
I have never had a real tree. I know they smell wonderful, but the upkeep of them and the fear or a fire starting has me liking the fake one. When visiting family or friends with a real tree, I always thought they looked great. I was often wowed by the size of some of the trees.
The tree we have at our house now was left by the previous owner. Sam has been using it every year. It has lights on it already, but there is a short in the wires. So we just string a bunch of lights on it separately. For as old as it is, it still looks very full. We talked about getting a new tree this year, but once this one was up, I remember thinking it still looks good.
Snow Globe or Snowflakes?
I think snow globes are nice. We have one that plays music. However, nothing beats real snowflakes falling. I have always enjoyed watching it snow. There is something peaceful about it. Even when it is really coming down, I still find it calming. Unless, of course, I am driving!
Sledding or Ice Skating?
I tried to ice skate once. Once! I can’t do it. I can’t roller skate either. I love sledding. I love taking the kids around on a sled. There is a small hill near us that I can’t wait to take them to.
Before my divorce, we lived at the end of a cul de sac. When they would plow our street, they always just pushed it all to the end. This made a wonderful hill for the boys to sled down. There was also a big hill at one of the parks that we would go to and sled.
I need to go buy a good two person sled this year so I can pull the kids around on it, or ride down a hill with one of them in it with me.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Egg Nog hands down. I know a lot of people hate it, but it has long been a favorite of mine. I have blogged about this before, but my grandma used to by this instant egg nog in a pouch and make it. My brother and I loved that!
One year I found a custard egg nog that was absolutely delicious. I wish I could find it. It came in a container that looked like a nutcracker. The only thing I cannot do is low fat egg nog. There is something about it that tastes different.
Photo Taken In Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Do It Yourself Gift or Store Bought Gift?
I guess it depends. Gifts that were made by my kids will always mean more to me than store bought gifts. Either one works, as long as there is some though involved. My wife is the best gift giver and always seems to be able to find just the right gift for me. I wish I had that talent! I don’t know that my gifts to her, no matter how much I thought about it, are as good as the ones she has gotten for me.
Something Red or Something Green?
This is a stupid question. Christmas colors are red and green. A co-worker said “Green can be St. Patrick’s Day, so you have to pick red!” I don’t really know why you have to pick one at all. They go so well together.
Giving Gifts or Getting Gifts?
Personally, I think there is more joy in giving them than getting them. I have told my wife many times that I don’t need anything. I never really understood why my dad would say he didn’t want anything when I was a kid. Today I understand. While it is nice to receive a gift, I just get more joy out of actually giving one to someone.
White Christmas or No Snow?
White Christmas without a doubt. I think that snow just adds to the magic of the day. There is a certain sadness that I get when there is no snow on Christmas. I’m happy with just a dusting, or even flurries. There just has to be a little snow. I really don’t know how people in the south deal with it. When I hear “Let it Snow,” “Winter Wonderland,” or “White Christmas,” I immediately picture snow on the ground. Do they even play those songs in Texas or Mexico? LOL
Colored Lights or White Lights?
I think in certain situations white lights (or any other single color) can look very pretty. However, there is something about having the variety of colors that seems more festive to me.
I recently took the kids to Menards and walked through the Christmas decorations aisles. There are trees that look very nice with all one color – blue, green, or white. I am not sure I could do my tree that way. Perhaps I would do outdoor decorations that way, but on the tree they just have to be multi-colored.
Celebrating at Home or Celebrating Away From Home?
There is a similar question that asks whether you would rather host Christmas or go visiting. There are perks to both. I love being at home in PJ’s while the kids open gifts. I love being able to have breakfast and just watch them enjoy the day. At the same time, celebrating with family at a get together outside of the house is just as fun. Hosting is a bit much for me – too much responsibility.
Opening Gifts One at a Time or Opening All At Once?
We have always done them one at a time. I think it is important to see the receiver’s reactions to the gift they get. If everyone is opening all at once, you miss so much. Besides, I’m a picture taker. I like to capture reactions to gifts. One at a time makes that a whole lot easier. I also think that opening gifts one at a time allows the rest of the family to be joyful for you and what you received.
Gift Wrap or Gift Bags?
I suck at wrapping. I always let Sam do it. If I was responsible for wrapping – everything would be in bags! I think there is something to be said about a beautifully wrapped present under the tree. Wrap it is.
My mother was an amazing gift wrapper. I remember how she’d measure the paper on the box, skillfully slid the scissors along the paper to cut it, and used minimal amounts of tape to wrap something. My kids used to hate gifts I wrapped because I was using a LOT of tape. The corners were never perfect, the paper was never tight around the box, and it really was a shoddy job when I was the wrapper.
Wrap master – I was not.
Angel or Star Topper?
I am not sure we ever had an angel on the top of our tree. It was usually a star or no topper at all. Now, we have this cute snowman that sits on the top, which I really like a lot. I saw somewhere online a snowman topper that makes it look like the snowman is stuck in the tree. That would be very cool. I also saw on Facebook an ad for the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that you can put on the top of the tree. I’d get that too!
Wreath or Garland?
I don’t even know how these two relate to each other. My mom used garland all the time around the tree and would string it up on the walls and such. It’s pretty, but we don’t use it. I think a wreath can be very festive. I like them both.
We don’t have either at our house. The garland above isn’t the garland I remember. Mom and dad used to have gold or silver garland that was placed all over the house. Even little pieces of the stuff wound up somewhere. It seemed to be every where in the house.
Santa Wraps Gifts or Santa Leaves Gifts Unwrapped?
Growing up, gifts were always left unwrapped from Santa. The wrapped gifts were from mom and dad. I kinda like that. I know know why my folks were always so tired on Christmas morning. They were up the night before putting toys together! There were plenty of nights we didn’t get home from my grandmas until way after midnight. This freaked us out because all kids think that Santa comes at exactly midnight. If my dad had a dollar for every time he told us, “Don’t worry, Santa will come!” he would be a rich man!
Matching Pajamas or Ugly Sweaters?
As corny as it sounds, I think it can be very cute to have matching PJ’s. The kids had matching jammies for pictures. I think if we had extra money, we’d have bought matching ones for Sam and I. Ugly Sweaters are a party thing. I have one and I plan on wearing it to every ugly sweater party I every attend. LOL I need to get my money’s worth.
Cash or Gift Cards?
This depends. I know my son wants a video game this year. I can’t afford to buy it for him, but I will get him a gift card towards it. I think many folks would love cash, but I usually use any cash I get to pay bills. Not very Christmasy. “Hey, Pop. Thanks for helping me with the electric bill this year!” LOL
Mariah Carey or Michael Buble’?
Mr. Buble’! I love how he has brought back some of the great standards. I only really like the one Mariah Carey song, and they play it so much now it just drives me crazy. Buble’ has many great takes on holiday standards. He’s no Bing, Frank or Dean, but he still is one that I enjoy listening too!
Gloves or Mittens?
Gloves! I never cared for mittens. I never felt like my hands worked properly in them. LOL!
Grinch or Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown! The Grinch song is over played. There are so many reasons why Charlie Brown gets my vote. Linus’ speech tops the list!
It was pointed out to me that the Grinch does come around and loves Christmas much like Scrooge does. True – but Charlie Brown still wins this battle.
Turkey or Ham?
Neither! On Christmas, it is always ravioli for me!! It’s a Christmas Eve Tradition!!
There were many other choices, but I think that is enough for now.
How would you answer “This or That?” Do you have two choices you’d like me to answer?
Here we are less than 2 weeks away from Christmas. No doubt things have gotta be pretty hectic up at the North Pole as they prepare for their long night of massive deliveries! That, however, didn’t stop a jolly old elf from making his way to our house this weekend!
Recently I mentioned in a blog how sad it was that Santa is being placed behind glass or in snow globes due to the pandemic. Many Santa visits are being done virtually on the computer. Sam and I were a bit disappointed that because of the pandemic, we may not be able to even get Ella’s picture with Santa. Someone must have sent word to the North Pole, because we had a special visitor drop by the house Saturday afternoon.
I’m not sure where he parked his reindeer, because I didn’t see them. I heard sleigh bells on the porch and when I opened the door, there in the flesh was Santa Claus! We let him in immediately, and apologized for not having milk and cookies because we hadn’t done our grocery shopping yet. Believe it or not, this didn’t phase him at all!
He made himself at home, sat down in a comfy chair and began his visit with Ella. At first, she wasn’t sure what to make of him. She sat on the floor next to him, looking up and giving him the once over…
It didn’t take but a minute or two for her to figure out he was the real deal! She proceeded to crawl up on Santa’s lap and tell him everything on her Christmas list! She may have added a few things to her list at the spur of the moment, I mean, she had his undivided attention, so you may as well shoot for the moon!
After some time, and very good conversation, Santa got a call from Mrs. Claus and he had to be on his way back to the North Pole. He mentioned he had to stop on his way back for egg nog and reindeer treats. Before he left, he passed out candy canes, and thanked Ella for being such a good girl all year. He reminded her to be in bed nice and early Christmas Eve. With that, he wished us Merry Christmas and was on his way.
He was gracious enough to let us snap some pictures of his visit! I mean, it’s not every day Santa makes home visits!
I have to be honest … I think this is the start of a wonderful friendship…
It feels like I haven’t blogged in forever. Usually Christmas brings about many topics and many memories to write about and I felt like I had dropped the ball. However, as I looked back over the last 7 blogs – 6 of the 7 were Christmas related, so I guess I’m not as “Grinchy” as I thought.
It’s been a busy week for me. Last Monday, we had our company Christmas party. This year the theme was “Hawaiian Christmas”. I used to have a Hawaiian shirt, a few actually, but my ex hated them and made me donate them to good will. I was telling Sam about the theme, and my mother in law told her she had a grass skirt, coconut bra, lei, and Hawaiian hat at her house. I borrowed them for the party and wore them all – including the coconut bra (it’s always about getting a laugh!). There’s a story behind it, which many of my coworkers know, but some do not, so I won’t tell it here…but one of our coworkers came dressed as Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s! This, in itself is hilarious, but factor in that the coworker who did it is female makes it even funnier!!
One of the highlights of the get together over the past couple years has been the White Elephant gift exchange. This always reminds me of that Christmas Episode of The Office where everyone has a specific person they are to buy for and then it becomes “Yankee Swap” with everyone getting gifts that were meant for someone else. One of my favorite episodes of that show.
With our party, everyone brings a gift. Everyone choses a number and then gets to pick a gift. No one unwraps them until the end. A gift can be stolen three times. This can be very misleading, as some of the biggest and prettiest gifts are often crap! Last year, one coworker got a toilet seat and accessories (This year, he got a HUGE can of Bush’s Baked Beans!). Another got bunny slippers made from tampons. This year, I found a silly picture of my boss (Amy) from last year’s party. I blew it up into an 11 x 14 picture and had a caption on it “Who needs an Elf on the Shelf? You now have Amy in a Framey!” Lots of laughs … and I wasn’t fired, so that’s good!
For the gift exchange, I got the LAST number! Really, this is the worst because, all the gifts worth stealing have been stolen three times and not going anywhere! As they got closer to my number, I kept looking to see what one I might want to steal. When they finally got to my number, I was handed a gift. I didn’t get to chose one. I was like “What the hell?!? What if I didn’t want this one?!” I was basically told that “this is the gift that you get!” Then, I opened it….
My sneaky coworkers took up a collection and bought Sam and I stuff for the baby. The basket included teethers, rattles, onesies, some very cute outfits (one will probably be the “take home” from the hospital outfit), and an Amazon gift card. They knew we hadn’t received a mattress for the crib, and we are using the card to get one. It was pretty overwhelming and they are lucky I held it together. With as emotional as I have been lately, I could have easily cried at the party. I work with some pretty amazing people!
Ultrasound
We had a coupon for a return visit to the place that did our gender reveal ultrasound. It does 3D ultrasounds, so we can really see our baby’s face. I was so excited to go in and see her! We got there and found out that they had overbooked. They were going to get us in, it was just going to be a bit. When we finally got back, Sam got up on the table. We saw the baby’s face briefly, and did get a picture of her. We found out, however that the baby is breech. Frank breech to be exact. I had no idea that there were a few different “breeches”, but sure enough, there are!
So, basically, she is sitting in Sam’s pelvis with her legs up in the air. This made it difficult for them to get more pictures. They suggested we go walk and see if the baby would move. We went and had dinner and walked around the store. When we returned and got back up on the table, it was even harder to get pictures. We had to reschedule. We’re going to go back right after the first of the year. Sam said she hopes that she doesn’t come before then, as she’s starting to have cramping and contractions on occasion. She isn’t due to arrive until February, so I’d like her to wait a few weeks. Here is the picture we got to see. I think she looks like Sam, but she thinks that she has my facial features. One thing we did get to see was that she has hair. We could see it floating on the ultrasound. Pretty cool! The excitement continues!!!
I love that we can see her like this!! It really is amazing!!
Writing Prompt Extras
I get a daily writing prompt in my email. Many times I don’t feel like there is enough to write about in a full blog. There were two this week that I felt I could write about, but only as an “extra” to a longer blog, or a blog full of random things (like this one).
Prompt #1
“Besides a family member, what is something that used to be a part of your holiday celebration that is missing today?”
Instant Egg Nog. Really?! Yes! My brother and I recall this vividly! My grandmother used to buy it in a pouch and make it for us every year. It was VERY good. I have looked for it every year, but simply cannot find it. I recently came across a picture of the pouch and hoped that this would lead me to a website to buy it, but no such luck.
I have always loved Egg Nog – the non-alcoholic stuff, anyway. I never even knew that it was supposed to contain alcohol until just recently. When you go to the store today, you can find various kinds of Egg Nog’s, and I have to admit, I really like the Custard Nog. It has a very unique flavor to it. Please let me know if you ever see this instant stuff in a pouch, though!
Prompt #2
“What is the oldest Christmas Ornament on your Christmas Tree?”
I actually mention the ornament in the blog I wrote about Christmas Trees. When I was a 6 year old boy, I was going to catechism for church. They gave us all this baby Jesus ornament. My mom always hung it on the tree, and it eventually went with me when I moved out. The ornament get’s hung every year on the tree. I remember asking Sam if I could hang it when I moved in. It really doesn’t fit with any of the ornaments that she has, but she lets me hang it up there every year. The ornament is 43 years old. One day, I hope it will get passed down to one of my children, and then one of their children.
Good Grief
In between working my real job, filling in at the radio station, and working on the baby’s room, I finally got 30 minutes to sit down and watch a Charlie Brown Christmas. It is one of many Christmas specials I have to watch every year. Every time I hear Sally say, “Will you please write a letter to Santa Claus for me?” I chuckle. They had to feed so many of the child actors their lines a few words at a time and then piece it together to form a sentence. You can really hear it in that line. I love it!
I don’t care how many times I see it, I still love when Linus starts quoting the Bible and tells the Christmas story only to walk over to Charlie Brown and say, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
One of my favorite Charlie Brown quotes:
“It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters, it’s who’s around it.”
After work tonight, I will go home to sleep. I am excited because I get to have my sons tomorrow. Christmas Eve was always when we celebrated with my dad’s family, and it is when I get to celebrate with them. Christmas Eve morning is our Christmas. I can’t wait to pass out their presents and celebrate with them. My grandmother always made ravioli, and I plan on doing the same. My work schedule has prevented me from seeing them much this month, so I am extra excited to have the day with them.
Because I will be focused on my sons, and my family, I may not get the chance to blog before Christmas. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and that you are surrounded by friends and family. Whether you are celebrating, Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, or another holiday, I hope that your holiday is full of joy and that you make happy memories! Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 