Writing from the perspective of one month removed from the Christmas festivities offers me a chance to review my photos and revisit the fun.
One of the absolute joys of being a grandparent is attending holiday school functions. December 9th found us enjoying Claire’s first holiday concert. She participated in the band portion, playing flute and also sang in the choir.
Another celebration in December is our sweet Gracie’s birthday.
Sunday December 15 we continued our tradition of choosing two trees for the house. We’ve been buying our trees from a small mom and pop garden center in Middle Island for about 15 years. When Grace and Charlotte were tiny we let them choose a small tree for our family room, in addition to the larger one in the living room. This year we were missing Isabel, who was not feeling well and Claire who had her first indoor soccer practice. Charlotte found the small tree and Timmy choose the larger. Gracie and I were in complete agreement.
It was a pretty warm(ish) afternoon.
Back home, I made the traditional lunch of pasta as we waited for James to drop Claire off after practice.
Once Claire arrived, the girls got right to work decorating. Here they are with the finished product. The last item on the tree is always the angel that James made in kindergarten in 1976. This year Claire had the honor.
Because they worked so rapidly, they were able to hang a few ornaments on the big tree. Grampy appreciated the assistance.
One of my all time favorite traditions is taking this photo in front of the tree on Christmas Eve. The genesis of this tradition began when James was five and Johnny not quite three years old. Look closely at the photo on the table in front of Charlotte and Grace and you will see my sons in front of my parents’ tree. We replicate the exact pose… Char looking at the camera…Grace looking at Charlotte.
One more with Gracie looking at Grandma. (I love how she indulges me).
The Littles turn.
All four cousins.
Finally one last photo with Grandma.
With the photos out of the way, we head to the kitchen to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the family. This tradition is also long-standing, dating back to when both Johnny and Gillian worked on Christmas Eve mornings. In order to alleviate the angst of waiting hours for the family (and presents) to arrive, we engaged the girls in preparations. When they were younger this included dusting and polishing silver, baking and other food prep. The routine has since distilled down to baking and salad making.
These few hours with all four cousins are beyond precious to me. They are the essence of the holiday, truly the happiest day of my year.
Each cousin has a defined role in Grandma’s kitchen on Christmas Eve. Gracie makes pumpkin bread, then she helps Isabel make cookies. Charlotte made brownies for the first time this year and they were yummy. Claire made a lovely fruit salad and the glaze for the ham.
This Lovebug is so proud of her effort
The next order of operations is the opening of stockings. Again, this tradition arose out of necessity… cooking and cleaning were adequate distractions at best for an hour or two when Grace and Charlotte were tiny waiting for the holiday to begin. So we tried to make the wait a bit more endurable by allowing them to “open” their stockings. We always tried to include a puzzle, game or Leggos.
Claire with her fuzzy socks.
These two!
Gracie made us smile when she recounted a question that one of her male friends asked her:
Friend:“So where do you and Charlotte go to buy your “Christmas outfits?” G: “What do you mean?” F: “You know, the dresses that you wear on Christmas.” G: “ummmm… like we stopped wearing matching outfits in like 3rd grade”.
Isabel attempting to simply dump everything out.
Claire requested a makeup mirror.
Nail polish is always a good idea, especially when you have a big cousin to help.
Done with the nails, we are now bored.
So let’s take a few more pics.
The baked goods are all out of the oven. Claire is documenting Isabel’s work.
Teamwork ❤️
Finally! Aunt Regina is here and so are T Parry and Parker.
Cousins bonding the way they do in 2019.
T helping Isabel with her leggos.
More tradition: Every Christmas we give the boy cousins a remote control vehicle. Claire had so much fun with Parker’s that she requested one for next Christmas.
Isabel received a somewhat larger car.
Scenes from the day.
Why would I take a pic of everyone’s back?
Timmy set up the tripod #familypic
Charlotte Mary has a great selfie game
The traditions just keep coming…here we are detonating the “poppers” You pull both ends and trinkets pop out.
Claire’s wearing a crown while the rest of the family examines their trinkets.
Sadly Gracie’s popper didn’t have a crown.
The final tradition: A dice game
When my siblings and I were younger, we played poker into the wee hours on Christmas night. We’ve modified that tradition because it’s Christmas Eve and we only have time for two games if we want to get home and in bed for Santa and Rudolph.
Claire won the first game. $43.00
So much fun
This is the last pic that I took …just makes me so happy …
