This year it's going to be different for Mom, she's getting us 1 big present each and that's it, although for some reason I think she'll get a couple little things. So I know what I'm getting for Christmas. I need to talk to Dad and see if he's going to be doing the same thing.

my brother wont' be here so I'm not sure what's going to happen. Maybe I'll have my parents over here and do something. My place is more..nuetral ground.

In recent years my parents give me whatever gift I buy for myself then hand them the receipt and Dad writes a check. Usually it gets wrapped and put under the tree. One year I just didnt bother to play the game and I got nothing. From anyone. Last year I made sure my niece knew I had an Amazon wish list so I got a few things off that.

I'm happy that what seems to be working out is that Kristin and I take a vacation after Christmas.

Annabel and her cousin at Thanksgiving: [link]

Annabel on her trike: [link]

talented and cute Annabel!

Kyle is an awesome nephlet.

How goes the boxes moving istas?

I should say that the worst clueless grump DH has ever had from me (DH=clueless, me=grump) was a Christmas morning at my parents, before we were married, but while we were living together [and my mom was still phoning the house and, when DH picked up, saying "Oh. You're still there. May I speak with my daughter please?" (Even though she really, really liked him. She just wanted it to be legal.) But I digress.]. He'd been saying for a couple of weeks that I was getting coal. Well. He's a chemist. Coal = carbon. In my immature brain, the next step was easy. What was in my stocking? Yup. Coal.

Let's see...

Tree went up Christmas Eve. We went to bed with it undecorated and no presents in sight. We hung our stockings and opened our new Christmas nighties. We put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots and apples for the deer. Daddy would read us T'was The Night Before Christmas.

When we woke up in the morning, my angel was on my nightstand playing music.

We went downstairs and CHRISTMAS HAD HAPPENED. The tree was decorated, music was playing, there were presents everywhere. opened our stockings and played with them. When we couldn't stand it another minute we woke up our parents.

[Mom had crocheted our stockings and they are color coordinated and among the few things that survived our house fire in '94. A few years ago when Foster Sis joined our family Mom wasn't feeling up to making a new one so we were considering not hanging them at all so she wouldn't feel left out. Libkitty made a coordianting stocking for FS and mailed it to us FROM THE GOSH DANGED NORTH POLE!!!!! (well, Alaska). This is one of my favorite Buffista Stories EVAH ]

(In later years a "breakfast stocking" was added... it was full of fruit and yogurt and muffins and the sort of thing we could eat by ourselves and buy Mom a little more sleep -- at this point she was doing Christmas by herself so this was particularly clever of her.)

Presents were opened one at a time. It took HOURS. We'd stop and eat something at some point. Some were from people, some were from Santa. My sisters and I each have a color of tissue paper for our Santa presents. Mine is red, S is green, R is white and FS is black or silver (for she is funky).

Later in the day we'd go to my Father's parents for the extended family Christmas. Even after my parents split we did this. My Grandparents' solution to "Who do our married kids spend Christmas with?" was to invite the in-laws as well so it was pretty natural that Mom just kept coming and sometimes with HER Mom too. Several years my Father wasn't around anyway. My Grandparents' house was very small, but somehow it was always big enough.

When we were little, Gramma would have cookie day. I looooooved cookie day. Turns out, and I never knew this, that she did it so our parents could go shopping. The year my Grandparents died when my Aunt cleaned up the house, she made piles of various things that we could take. I got the cookie cutters.

Now the extended family Christmas is at a different Aunt or Uncle's house each year within a week or so of Christmas. And Christmas morning at my Mom's still goes on the better part of the day. It will be a shock if I am out of my pajamas before 3:00.

Daniel just asked me how long he had to wait for a "Harvey eats canned mushrooms" post.

So here it is.

Darn cat reaches up sooooooo high to Daniel's fork to hijack the mushrooms. Pretty funny to watch, but I may have to point and laugh when Daniel gets frustrated that the cat always wants to be climbing up him and getting on his desk when he is noshing at the computer.

Niece aside, sometimes I just want to kick Drew's family.

Stockings, then breakfast, then presents. Breakfast is german pancake with berries and bacon, mimosas if we remembered to buy champagne, otherwise just the fresh oj that's too pricey to buy on a regular basis.

Annabel on her trike

Dude, I've been in Minearverse too much, I was expecting to see a toddler on a picket line.

Niece aside, sometimes I just want to kick Drew's family.

We decorated the tree at some point, and then we'd put on the 'special' ornaments, like the bell my bro made when he was three. Then, either my bro or I would put the star on the tree, alternating even and odd years. In the morning, there would be unwrapped presents from Santa (always with batteries in them, ready to go, very key) At some point, my mother would make us shower and get dressed, then we would have Christmas dinner (at 2PM or so). We then unwrapped presents, and had dessert after.