(Christmas Day)
(Post-blogged Tuesday, 12/27/2005)
7:00am, exactly 7am. Excited children - all ready to head down the stairs ready to rip into the presents. I wish I had their enthusiasm, even before being jaded or before the need for a cup of coffee. But they had a year to think of this morning. So let them at it, but make sure mom has her videocam ready to capture their hongry eyes and dissappointment... Which is what usually transpires...I escaped into the kitchen to make some coffee and make provisions for breakfast as they ripped into all the presents like lions on a herd of gazelles...the hunt was like shooting fish in a barrel. I was brewing coffee and listening to the "why didn't santa know that I DIDN'T want the...blah blah blah...." "I really wanted the BLAH BLAH BLAH...why doesn't santa know this already? This sucks"......I went ahead and started on breakfast...it was gonna be a long day.

Coffee kicked in....a slow breakfast of adults while the kids played with new toys while we started to cook the Christmas dinner...huge undertaking. The stage was already set, my brother and his wife already had the Christmas tables set, complete with the best silver & crystal. We spent the entire morning and afternoon cooking everything under the sun. It was a lotta farkin fun. My parents came first, full of smiles and granparental skillset kicked in. Then my older brother and his family came in - a full house. We took a break in the kitchen to exchange and open a few gifts. It was a wild flurry of more children unwrapping gifts and the polite exchange of gifts between adults. Everyone loved all the presents. I fared out very well with a huge new professional chef knife set (20 knives), and a really nice Williams-Sonoma NYC Cookbook from my parents, my brothers and their families both got me these wonderful gift baskets comeplete with all sorts of dipping oils, cooking oils, sauces, spices, all cooking related. The funniest gift I got was from my parents - a yellow hard hat that says "FRANKENSCOTT" (to wear in the shower, so I don't have any more Xtreme Bathing accidents).

Went back to cooking with my sister in law and my brother, we finished in perfect timing for the formal sit down at 5pm. A prayer was made, a few toasts - then total silence as 22 people all shovelled food in their faces. More wine, more stories, more laughter and some photos. Dinner lasted a while, kids were excused, more rounds of desserts served. My parents and my older brother and family eventually hit the road as the remainining of us spent the next 3 hours washing dishes, and putting things away. It almost reminded me of that scene in the movie "The Big Chill", where people were all cooperating and dancing & drinking wine while cleaning up after a dinner party.

The evening wound down, kids put to bed, and we settled in for a cozy night of story telling and then we all went to bed utterly exhausted.

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