Dear Friends,
Last year, my wife and I hosted our respective families to an old-fashioned, home-cooked Christmas. There were 13 adults, 2 teenagers and 2 little kids. The ages ranged from 4 to 87.
All of the kids slept on the floor and Barbara’s 21 year old daughter slept on patio cushions. We put 14 people up in our 3-bedroom home, giving new meaning to the term “togetherness”.
My brother-in-law and I did the cooking and served rib-eye roast with cherry Cabernet sauce, potatoes Gruyere, numerous side dishes and fancy hors d’oeuvres.
Despite the fact that my wife’s beloved Dad had died on December 21st, we all managed to pull ourselves together and enjoy our time with each other as we knew he would have wanted.
The highlight of the evening occurred when one of the teenage boys locked himself in the trunk of the car after a minor tiff! He was discovered and brought back in, no worse for wear. And miraculously, that Christmas gathering brought together my two brothers-in-law who had been estranged for years.
So this year, we’re having a small, quiet dinner at Mom’s house –no sleepovers, no out of state guests and hopefully no refugees in the car trunk!
My message to you this year is: Whether you celebrate to the max or just spend a quiet Christmas together…
HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!
