*And so marks the end of the countdown to Christmas. Yes, it's just around the corner and though we still have time left in December, it just feels like everything is coming at us so fast. My San Diego Blog will be off Monday, Tuesday and (probably) Wednesday. I say this now, but watch, I'll need to escape from the great Holiday Traditions for a moment of zen which will eventually lead me to looking up news about San Diego and making comments about it. Until then I give you another list, the Things My Family Makes Me Do In The Name Of Tradition list.*
The Baking/ Icing/ Organizing of the kids cookie making morning. This used to be a big pain in my butt, as it would require me to get up at 8 in the morning and start making sugar cookie mix and lots of frosting. Instead of spending my morning sleeping in, I'd wake up, bake, bake some more and then wrangle a whole bunch of little kids around the table where they'd sneak gobs of frosting into their mouths and I'd do manual labor (AKA decorating cookies). I kind of look forward to it now, because it just means I get to spend my morning eating sugar cookies and calling it "helping."
The lighting of the candle/ saying who I miss/ trying to think of someone good/ introduction to Christmas Eve. This is my aunt's thing. There is one candle for those who have died, one for those who are there and one for those we wish were there but aren't there. Each and every year my brother stands in front of me and says exactly who he thinks I'm going to say. Last year he said my husband, and you'd think you'd always get to claim your husband but my brother claimed him first. Sadly, I will be able to say that I wish my brother was at Christmas this year as he will not be able to make it. CALLED IT, CALLED IT AHEAD OF TIME!
The eating of my Dad's guacamole. It's the best (and I don't just say that. I know San Diego is FILLED with guacamole, but guess what, I've already had the best and y'all just fooling yourselves). Each year people actually wait for the unveiling of it, his tub full of guacamole and each year it's scarfed down. Some people don't believe me, but once they have it, they too have to bow down to it's mastery. The man is a guacamole genius.
The making of the Egg Nog. My Uncle's domain, it involves something about eggs and nog. A little less egg, a little more nog." My Uncle says.
The abomination of drinking/ drunkenness by my mother and the total ignorance of said abomination by all those partaking in the nog. "You're Uncle is making that Egg Nog again." Rolls her eyes.
The singing of the Christmas Carols. Oh yes, you don't think this happens in real life but it does. There's the nogged up Uncle and Cousin playing the guitar and the rest of the family gathered around in a circle singing songs, each person has to pick one. Oh the weather outside is frightful, we wish you a merry Christmas, deck the halls with boughs of holly, oh holy night, I need some more egg noooooooog. Lets sing Patsy Cline!
The singing of the Twelve Days of Christmas. You see the family divides into groups, twelve total and then everyone gets their number. Five golden rings is reserved for the nogged up group of guys. Everybody has to sing (hear that husband, everybody), how loud depends on the nog in your noggin.
The gift exchange. Some call it a White Elephant gift exchange, something about a bunch of random gifts and then you pick one but the next person can steal it from you and then if it's stolen again you can't steal it any more. But we're all nogged up, so really it's just a "oh look a big tube of bubble gum, FIVE GOLDEN RINGS" kind of thing. Last year I got a pair of earrings, so that was nice. I think my Aunt actually stole this one bracelet from me, not so nice, but we deal, whatever.
The after party. Apparently it can continue late into the night, what with the singing of Patsy Cline and the guitar playing and the nog nogging and the lights flickering and then all of a sudden it's Christmas day and my Uncle shows for dinner a bit hungover and his kids laugh because they aren't, obviously their dad is a light weight. (Sometimes said after party can end up at one of the downtown bars. If you ever wanted to see EVERYONE you knew in high school you should really head downtown on Christmas Eve. I remember last year hearing "hey, you should have been there, everyone was asking about you." Clue my mother with her dirty looks because WHO goes to a bar on Christmas Eve. Apparently, everybody I went to high school with).
*Christmas morning we open gifts, ooo, ahh, and go back to sleep. We are all nogged out.*
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