Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The Tree Fell Down, and Other Tales: A Reeder Christmas in Review

Christmas Eve morning was calm at the Reeder homestead. Good thing, because the rest of it wasn't.  The table was set well ahead of time.


Charlie the borrowed cat checked in, peeking around the door frame, asking for goodies. She was rewarded. How could you not.
Thinking dinner was at 5:00, (it was set for 5:30), Jill and her tribe arrived about lunch time, without lunch, in a hurry to get the duck cooked.  I scrambled and they were provided for.

Tom stuffed the turkey and got it going on the charcoal grill.

Mid afternoon we put out appetizers. Jake had arrived and announced that he was hungry. Jan showed up too. I put Isaac and Irene to work assembling lefsa.

 Then things got really busy, preparing the duck for roasting (Isaac had decided he needed to try duck), peeling and dicing and otherwise preparing for cooking the big meal. 

It more or less came together about 5:30, with a bit of a delay for the carvers to finish their tasks. Tom advised Isaac on the carving of the duck, which of course Isaac gamely did, but based on no experience. 
 We all got all of it, and ourselves, to the table, and toasted ourselves for our good work, and "Merry Christmas"!

There were cookies, of course. 
Irene and I watched "Christmas on Sesame Street" (we love the music) while the rest put up with us and talked over it. Jill, the kids, and Jake all dispersed into the night.  Jan helped Tom load up the mini-van to haul all of our gifts over to Jill's house while the kids pretended to be asleep, thus preserving the belief in Santa. However, before we could leave, we got a text from Jill, something about a discussion in the car involving Big Bird, Santa, and Jesus. The upshot was we didn't have to be made to do all of that work late at night just to preserve something that didn't have to be sustained with such effort when it could all be ascribed to the magic of Christmas. Belief is in the believing, not the seeing. Thank you, Isaac. I think he also realized we are getting old. :-/

Christmas morning we three wise ones followed the star. 
Then we hauled the sleigh full of gifts to their destination, where everyone was still sleeping.

We didn't find Jill's text with photo until the morning, but when we did, we were prepared. Jill and the kids had a late night. The kids were in bed and Jill was stuffing gifts under the tree, when the tree must have groaned "No more", snapped off its stand, and came tumbling over. Jill sort of caught it, preventing disaster and resulting in  only one headless peacock ornament.  Wondering what to do and supporting a heavy tree, she called for back up. She and the kids finally decided to remove a few ornaments, lay the tree on its side, where it already was, put the angel on top, and call it a hedge.
We opened stocking after we got them stuffed and Jake arrived. They were well stuffed.

Brunch was prepared. Irene decorated the cardamom bread while Jill and I fixed the eggs and sausage and fresh fruit. 

Then we took our time, one at a time, opening a pile of gifts, enjoying the giving and the receiving. 



 Jill and kids are heading for a Mexican resort vacation tomorrow. Luggage was needed
 The gift givers, that's all of us, were very generous, and the receivers, that's all of us too, were very appreciative. Of course there were stories and explanations along the way. Very entertaining.

Of course there was more food later in the day, a "light" meal of steak, shrimp, and salmon (something for everyone) and salad.
And more cookies, and more talking, and a bit of napping, and just a good time.

Tom and I came home about 7:00, unloaded all of our new acquisitions, and then settled into our chairs to watch "Call the Midwives", always a happy ending,  and unwind, while also checking in on Facebook to see what friends and family had posted about their Christmas day. Keeping up with everyone across the miles is fun too. 

And there you have it, the 2018 Reeder Family Christmas. 

Today is Boxing Day. Are up boxing up, emptying boxes, or just collecting, storing or recycling boxes?

We have plenty of Amazon boxes to use again next year. :-)

15 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your family Christmas Day. Sorry about the tree calamity, but glad it didn't spoil the fun.

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  2. I had seen the tree hedge on Facebook and smiled at it again in this post. All that food is making me feel very fat! :-)

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  3. You had a wonderful Christmas. Jill's Christmas tree turned hedge was a bit of a set-back but it seems it was dealt with. Your food all looks so good.
    We watched The Midwives special too. I enjoy that show a lot.

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  4. You put lots of effort into something and you get great results. So you work hard on Christmas preparations and have a great time.

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  5. Love Jill's Christmas hedge! Thanks for sharing your wonderful family celebrations. Watching/listening to Christmas on Sesame Street on Youtube as I write this. It's been years and it's nice to see Oscar, Cookie Monster, and lots of the old gang again. Your table setting is gorgeous!

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  6. The photo with the tree down is the best in that there is a wealth of storytelling in that photo of the teenagers. Wonder what they were thinking...

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  7. You all certainly had a busy and marvelous Christmas. Had to laugh out loud at creating a hedge to explain the tree collapse. Lots of cool memories for all.

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  8. I think you are onto something with the Christmas Hedge - maybe we should all just start out that way - less problems with wobbles!

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  9. Wow, that was a busy Christmas! Everything was so beautiful - from the decorations to the food. I've done that - planned an evening meal and have everyone show up early and hungry. Now I just figure if everyone is coming at noon or earlier I need to plan at least two meals. :)

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  10. how funny to have the tree collapse, i thought it was probably a cat's fault. sounds like a very busy and full family holiday! Time to rest up now for the new year. I'm still recovering from a bad head cold and looking forward to feeling better in the new year!

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  11. Holidays with your family are always special and fun. Everything looks perfect, even the Christmas tree on it's side. How funny that it decided to fall on Christmas morning. Isn't it funny how grandchildren always show up at grandma's house hungry.

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  12. Quite a Christmas this year. You make it so enjoyable
    Blessed New Year to you all
    MB

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  13. Sounds all wonderful. Love the Christmas hedge!

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  14. Hi Linda! I just wanted to stop by and say Happy New Year! It was so fun reading your Christmas post. I can't believe how grown-up the grandkids are. ~ Kathy M.

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  15. Oh my gosh! What an amazing Christmas. I wish I was part of your family. Holy smokes! Just stopped by waiting for New Year. The skies are already bright with fireworks and smoke. And the noise! The noise! And it’s only 10:10 PM! Sheesh!

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