More Lists.

Which of the many different holidays in December do you celebrate?
I celebrate Christmas. This year the girls and I got invited to a Kwanza celebration next Tuesday so we're going! I think that it will be wonderful for so many reasons.

What type of Christmas cards do you send out? Sentimental? Religious? Funny?
I actually have several varieties for different people...and usually I include a photo of my two darlings. This year all the cards are sitting addressed but I have no picture yet. Am working on it, but cards will be more like "Happy New Year" cards.

If you put up a tree, do you buy a special ornament for the year?
I don't buy ornaments. They are given to me. My grandmother has bought a spun-glass ornament for me every single year. Some have broken, but my tree has mostly sparkly ornaments from her. There are ornaments on my tree that I absolutely treasure...and each year as I put them up I remeber why they are special.

Do you do anything special on Christmas Eve?
Christmas Eve has always been THE night that our family celebrates Christmas. Starting way back when I was a little girl we had Christmas at my grandparent's house (hard for me to believe, but back then some of my mom's siblings were 10, 11, 13, 14, etc.) As a child, one of the traditions was that Santa would come to my grandparent's house and hand out the gifts. Santa was actually my mom's older brother Lee, but I had no idea. Santa was real!
Now we have Christmas Eve at my mom's (this year is the first year we'll celebrate sans my dad who is now officially divorced from my mom). Christmas Eve is the most fun night of the whole year. Admittidly we are excessive, but it is fun and wonderful and filled with spirit and love.

Here's how the day goes: I arrive to help mom finish cooking and setting the table. The girls organize the mountain of presents into piles for later. They are the designated "elves" as they hand out the presents to all the adults first, before they open any of their own. The "family" consists of our immediate family (this year my sister is staying in Seattle)-my grandmother, my great-aunt and uncle, another great aunt, my mom's cousins and three kids: Grace, Margaret, and my adorable nephew Preston (who is 22 months)! We all dress up. Suits for the boys and the girls wear party dresses. I am not sure when or why we started the fancy stuff, but it does make the night feel festive. Mom sets an amazing table (or more accurately, tables) with china and crystal and gorgeous flowers and candles. There are about 20 of us all told.

To start the evening we drink champagne and eat shrimp cocktail and stuffed mushrooms. There is also an array of candy and cookies supplied by my great aunt and her daughters.
For the main menu we eat stuffed tenderloin, a fabulous pork roast, scallops, double baked potatoes and our "special" vegetable medly with cashew butter. Dessert is a jello torte made by my other great aunt and then my mom makes grasshoppers. This year she also informed me that she is serving cosmos. (I didn't know that she knew what a cosmo even was). My brothers and I do several shots of goldschlagger (a tradition started when I was about 20).

After dinner we will all move into the living room. I will sit on the hearth of the fireplace all night (my throne!) and insist that my brothers keep refilling my coffee cup. We all take turns opening gifts in a most civilized way. Kids are last. And then we all just talk until the old people decide they need to go home. Sometimes I spend the night. Most times I go back to my house so that the girls can wake me up at some horribly early time! The evening revolves mostly around the friendly and funny banter of my siblings--we tell stories of our growing up, sometimes the same stories are told in six different versions. We laugh. We cry. Like I said, it is a magical night. And I can't imagine ever not being home for Christmas Eve.

Have you ever regifted a present in fun?
Sure.

If you could only have one gift this year, what would it be?
Right this moment I am happy with everything that I have. I feel like I have more than I deserve.