Family at Christmas

Christmas went pretty well as expected.  Around 4:00 Christmas Eve, Loren called to ask if we could take our folding table with us, as his lady would be joining us and Amber didn't have a big enough table. Say What!! A gift!  We need a gift!  So we jumped in the car, and headed for Tim's, thinking it closed at 6:00.  Nope. Closed at 3:00.  So we fixed up a bottle of home made wine with a shrink cap and label.   Reading your blog about Mike going to visit his lady's family, gave me a glimpse of the opposite perspective to that of the family being visited.  Sheila turned out to be a very sociable and pleasant lady, who fitted in quite well. You should have seen Amber's face when Sheila brought flowers for the hostess.

 We got to Amber's shortly after 4:00, and Judy, her MIL, had supper well in hand, so this year I took it easy,  helped a bit where I could, and kept out of the way the rest of the time. We had agreed to open gifts after eating, and right after supper Amber quietly asked me if we had a gift for Sheila, and then got in a bit of a tizzy until she remembered some Tim's gift certificates she had put aside for Jessica's Brownie leaders.  So once that was sorted out we settled down to gifts. The children had kept busy most of the day with Wii.  It was a version that allowed everyone to participate, and it was really hard to get them to the table or to participate in conversation.  But that just gave the adults chances to talk, and we ended up not playing any games at all.  David had a nice chat with Sheila about home made wine, and has promised her a bottle of his rhubarb (I don't even get that, unless I specifically ask)

Amber was in much less of a panic than last year.  It was a laid back casual dinner and evening.  Made me think of the panics we had when we were younger  ( The Spinsters are coming!  The Spinsters are coming!), Even the panics we had when we lived on Woodside, as that house was always the venue for family events.  We even talked about it a bit.  But--at the same time I enjoy some of the fussy bits of a gathering.  The nice china , with serving dishes that match.  Tablecloths and napkins.  A table center, even if it is the same one we've used for 10 years.  The things that made it a special meal.  But the torch has been passed to the next generation, and my good Royal Albert china is in the garage.  Maybe it's true that the dinner is incidental to the family being together.