We have a Christmas Eve tradition of going out to dinner, then returning home for our children to exchange gifts with one another. This year our daughters' boyfriends joined us. There were nine of us in all. We had a cozy table by the fireplace. The food was magnificent, the service outstanding, and the mood festive.
After dinner two of our daughters went with their boyfriends to visit their families. So, while we waited for their return, my other daughter and I prepared out traditional Christmas breakfast, Mainstay French Toast, that needed to sit in the fridge overnight. This dish is the recipe from a bed and breakfast in Cape May, NJ. I got it from my dear friend Denise. It is scrumptious!
About ten o'clock the girls returned and the kids opened their gifts. I love watching them open their gifts from one another. I love that they started this tradition completely on their own.
Finally, it was time for our "long winter's nap."
Christmas morning comes a bit later now that the house is filled with adults, but by nine o'clock we were all up opening the gifts that Santa brought. I am grateful that my husband and I were raised with wonderful Christmas traditions that we have passed to our children, and I am grateful for the new traditions that we have begun.
Another of our Christmas traditions is that my mother-in-law and father-in-law come over for brunch. When our children were little they would come over to watch the children open their gifts and for brunch, but now they just come for brunch. After brunch there are more gifts to open.
Two years ago I began another tradition - our annual Christmas Day Open House. At four o'clock we have an open house for our family and friends. We serve appetizers and dessert. Everyone can come and go as is best for them. Some come for the whole evening, while others stop by for a drink. I love every minute of our open house. I am grateful for the Divine Guidance that led us to decide to begin this tradition. I look forward to many more Christmases as our family grows and changes.
I lost both my mother and my father at Christmas-time. I was only eight years old when I realized, on Christmas Day, that my mother was dying. Christmas has not always been happy for me. I am abundantly grateful that my children have had wonderful Christmases all of their lives. My husband and I have worked hard to bless them with wonderful Christmas memories filled with family and friends and love and laughter. I thank God that my husband and I have always shared a vision of what we want for our family. My husband is a very good man. He has blessed me with wonderful Christmas memories.
Thank You, God.
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