FMM: Do you celebrate Christmas and/or Hanukkah? If so, tell us about your Holidays 2011 experience…Did you enjoy it? Do you wish it had been different?
The hubs and I celebrate our Christmas in Raleigh. We live in Raleigh, my in-laws live in Raleigh, and I don't really care to drive on Christmas. This is the one thing I would change about Christmas... My parents live at the beach - about 3 hours from Raleigh. While I would love to spend Christmas with them, the thought of spending 3 hours in the car on Christmas day is torturous. So, we go visit them for Christmas #2 the weekend of New Years. It allows us to spend several days with them, have a family gathering, and relax.
To recap our Christmas:
"Eve of Christmas Eve":
- The hubs and I went to the Angus Barn for dinner. The first Christmas we were married, we decided that was going to be our little tradition. We get to the Angus Barn early and enjoy drinks in the Wild Turkey Lounge. Then we enjoy a nice, relaxing dinner of steak, baked potato/baked sweet potato, roasted tomatoes, and yummy bread.
Christmas Eve:
- Debbie and I planned to run 8 or 9 miles on the Neuse River Trail. We met at 8 a.m. and were on our way. Unfortunately, we were only able to run about 3 1/2 miles before we had to turn around and walk back. This was a little bit of a downer, but we both realized the holiday eating and lack of drinking water were the cause of the issues.
- The hubs and I dawdled around the house for a while and got ready to head to the in-laws.
- The afternoon was spent with the boys watching football and Emily and I trying to act interested :-)
- That evening we went to NeoAsia for dinner. This was a bit of a shift from our normal Christmas Eve dinner, but a wonderful change. My mother-in-law tends to spend an un-Godly amount of time planning delicious, beautiful meals and going out to eat allowed her to actually enjoy the evening!
Christmas Day:
- The hubs and I tend to wake up pretty early to start the day. Yesterday was no different - 6:30 for me, 7 for the hubs. We get ready and begin the celebrations with the in-laws.
- We open enjoy a few Bloody Marys (or Cranberry and Vodka in my case), coffee, and open a few packages.
- Then it is time to fix brunch! Yesterday was spinach and artichoke quiche, Applegate Inn muffins, fruit, and mimosas.
- After brunch, it is time for more packages! We spend a lot of time opening packages. We open gifts one at a time and savor each gift, no matter how small.
- The late afternoon was spent watching basketball, enjoying a few drinks and preparing dinner.
- Around 7:30 or so, the preparations for dinner were complete. We enjoyed ham, wild rice pilaf, spinach crepes, and corn pudding. Of course, no dinner would be complete without wine!
It was an absolutely marvelous Christmas! I received a lot of wonderful gifts and cannot wait to use them all. I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas!!
A few pictures...
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| Tuscan Martini - my drink of choice |
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| The hubs got a personalized beer stein from his mom. He was happy as a clam! |
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| Delicious Christmas dinner! |
Sounds like you had a very nice Christmas! All the food sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteStopping in from FMM. Happy New Year!
Sounds like a good Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI was just going through my "followers" on my blog and saw you. So, here I am, playing catch-up. :)