We are actually off work on Christmas Eve! The store closes at 6p and I will head home to cook while Tomas finishes stocking his area of the store. After Church we will eat prime rib, alaska king crab, and baked potatoes. YUM YUM! I'll have sappy Christmas movies on the tv. The city puts on a nice fireworks show which we can watch from my deck so we will be up most of the night.

Christmas Day is for exchanging a few gifts, including a few for the dog (LOL), and being lazy. Monkey bread will be served along with finger foods. Everyone wears their new Christmas PJs (a time honored tradition).

Dan and I will go to my daughter Tiara's place and have dinner there. We'll exchange gifts and have dessert...watch a movie. Then Dan and I will say our goodbyes and go home. I was hoping my youngest son would come down for Christmas...but I'm thankful that he at least made it down for Thanksgiving.

It looks like we'll have turkey again....I'll make pumpkin pies....and something else....which I have to figure out pretty soon. I'd make banana cream pies, but the kids won't try them. They sound pretty good to me...so maybe I'll make one for home...

Well, the first thing I am doing is heading to Chicago tomorrow morning with my husband.... it's our 16th year, a Christmas tradition.. We love to go the weekend before Christmas..... everything is so beautiful and the people are great..... not crazy about crowds of shoppers, but I better get crazy about it since I haven't started shopping yet! I have alot of shopping to do ...... may go to the Bears game. For Christmas, we all go to my parents. My twin sister will be in town for a week....... we just enjoy spending time together. We usually go to Christmas Mass Christmas Eve and my stepson comes in from Kentucky. I'm just happy and thankful my boys are home with me, that's gift enough for me. :0)

Our Christmas starts this weekend, we take gifts and dessert over to my sister's house, the nieces get to open their gifts early and so does Nana, my Mom, they love that. Hubby and I go out looking at holiday lights on Christams eve and have dinner, it has traditionally been at a truck stop, we used to drive long haul trucks and always seemed to be at a truck stop on holidays, but the local "Flying J" has a Denny's in it now, NOT the same thing:[ On Christmas day we pickup hubby's kids and we all go over to my inlaws, they live in a retirement community, so we have Christmas lunch in the community dining room. This year it will be 4 generations dining together, hubby's niece had a baby on 11/11/11. Hubby and I don't buy each other gifts, not sure why, just never have, I think it started when we were really broke and it was more important to get the kids something than ourselves. We're still broke and the gift list has grown:}

Well, for the first time in my entire life it looks like my brother will not be with us for Christmas day. He and his wife are hosting her family at their house on the holiday, so they will be coming over for Christmas Eve instead. The Giants are playing that afternoon though, so who knows when exactly they will be showing up, since my brother will likely be planted in front of his tv until the game is over.

Since my Dad just had back surgery, he can't travel which gets us all out of having to go to my Aunt June's and endure her terrible cooking. She and my Uncle Richard will be coming over on Christmas Day, but they tend to only stay 2 hours tops any given holiday so I expect most of the actual holiday to consist of a rush of gift exchanging with my parents, them being here for their allotted two hours, then either filling the rest of the day with watching taped holiday specials or (should I have the tv to myself for the afternoon) a viewing of the Doctor Who marathon on BBCA.

My husband, and I are going to my moms today and we are going to make kisses cookies, and no roll sugar cookies. Yummy! On December 21st, we will be at my best friends house and make cut out cookies and frost them with her three kids. It is going to be a mess but it will be a lot of fun. When we are down there we are going to see my husbands mom cause she lives around the place we are going to be. (She is dying and we can spend time with her.) He also has family to spend with down there. I am excited. I also have ordered my sewing machine and as soon as I get to my friends town we can go to Wal-Mart and get my stuff I ordered. It will be fun to spend time with everyone. I will create new memories instead of my mom yelling at me on Christmas. My counselor is happy I am spending time with my best friend and not my mom!!!

Don't know yet, probably go to folks house, as usual.

Aunt/uncle and my daughter, and with folks

Brendygurl sometimes I wish I could skip the family get together and spend it with friends, sorry that you have those memories, but hope your new ones are good

just staying home with my man and my roomates since I can't go home for the holidays to be with my family who I miss so much. :((

As part of my Christmas Celebration , I have spent this weekend with my two wonderful grand daughters, 7 & 8 , whom i see on a regular basis. This year, they are spending their Christmas Holiday out-of-state with my youngest daughter's future in-laws (?)..

We have had a great time, as their mother let me have them since Friday after-school! we have cooked, baked, crafted, read, watched Christmas movies, played keyboard, sang carols, and will later play Bingo !

Believe it or not, the Big Highlight for them is attending church with me! They LOVE going to my church with me. We sit up front , three rows back from the altar, so they can see everything well & fully participate in it all. Last week, my youngest exclaimed, "Oh No!" out loud when the priest said the mass had ended!

I only wish my other 10 grandchildren could enjoy my company as well. We are all being cheated in this Estrangement of Children. I feel REALLY Blessed to be able to enjoy this set of G/Kds..

I wish ALL of YOU & Yours the Best of Holidays!!

NDY

I am so happy for you! What a wonderful blessing to have these children experience life with you and all you have to give! All children should have the love and attention of their grandparents or someone who loves them completely and unconditionally. You are truly building a tremendous memory with them.

By the way, I love the new pic! Is this your Christmas red outfit? Good color for you. Wishing you many blessings this week and all year through.
marciainak

My husband and I will go to church at 5:15. After church we will probably drive around and look at lights. When we get home I will prepare some hordourves and my husband sets up a table for them and gets us each a glass of wine. We sit and open the gifts just the two of us to each other. It is intimate. On Sunday morning we will do our stockings and the kids will arrive between 9 and 10 for our family exchange. We always have a lot of hordourves. For lunch I prepare a primerib dinner. This year we plan to go to a movie as a family. This will be new.