Christmas Eve In The Kitchen

Merry Christmas!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve, although it got a bit dicey in the morning when I was in the kitchen with my daughter and we were both stressed about getting everything done in time. We worked through it and ended up having a nice time together. I think some Christmas angels must have intervened!

I woke up @ 5:30 (I had my alarm set for 6:00) and decided to get up and go out for my “Christmas Eve” run. I love my Christmas playlist (featuring an electic mix of Harry Connick, Jr., Elvis, and The Blind Boys of Alabama) and that helps get me out the door.  I was aiming for 6 miles, which means I had to take my hilly route.  I was really pumped up and happy and had a great run. There was one stretch when I was going up hill and into the wind so I felt like I was doing resistance training too! My ITB did feel tight, so when I got back I did lots of stretching – felt sooo goooood! Then it was time for a shower, coffee and the marathon of Christmas Eve in the kitchen.

My daughter made two batches of mini loaves of pumpkin bread to give away, a double batch of jam thumbprint cookies, and our apple pie.

At the same time, I was slicing brussel sprouts for a raw brussel sprout salad for our dinner, helping my daughter where she would let me, and getting the table set up (although my husband was a big help and ironed the tablecloth once I realized that the one I had gotten ready was too small!).

That came right after my freak-out moment. The mail had come and he said that there were a bunch of Christmas cards. My reply:

Maybe I can enjoy them tomorrow. I can’t do ONE MORE THING today.

Yeah, I was feeling stressed. But really, just one freak-out moment is a pretty good record for me getting ready for a big family dinner. And, I did get to enjoy the cards before going to bed last night.

I managed to get everything ready before my parents arrived, and was able to enjoy some cheese & crackers and veggies & dip while we opened presents with them before I had to do the rest of the dinner preparations. My kids were a big help too, although I have to wonder if they were joining me in the kitchen to get a break from the grandparents!

I had wanted to be eating @ 6:00 and we came pretty close by sitting down at 6:15.  I felt amazingly relaxed (much more so than at Thanksgiving for some reason) and really enjoyed our meal.  We had a Honeybaked ham and lots of side dishes.  I had mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, that brussel sprout salad and my mom’s whole cranberry sauce.  After a break it was time for dessert, and I did have a slice of both the apple pie and the pecan pie (my first and it turned out perfectly!) with a small scoop of ice cream.

Yes, I was stuffed, but ’tis the season!

I was worried about wrapping up dinner and being able to clean up the kitchen in time for our Christmas Eve candlelight service @ 10:00, but we were finished eating by around 8:00, so the bigger challenge was staying energized until our 9:30 departure time. I had told my son early in the evening that he was going to be our designated driver so my husband and I could both have a drink or two (we try not to drink AT ALL in front of the kids if we are going to drive). He knew it was a ploy to make sure he went to church, but he went along. We also got my parents to come, so it was a nice end to the evening. We got home @ 11:30 and I pretty much went straight to bed!

My daughter wants to do presents early today so she can go to her boyfriend’s family’s house @ 10.  So, I set my alarm for 6:00 to do final “Santa” stuff and I finally needed it to wake up! My husband and I got the stockings stuffed and now are sitting side-by-side on the sofa enjoying the glow of the Christmas tree with all the pretty presents before the Christmas chaos begins!

Yesterday I was cursing having our family dinner on Christmas Eve–I was so stressed in the morning and wished I had more time to get ready at a slower pace–but now that I don’t have any kitchen duties today I think it will be nice– it gives me an extra day to relax!

Merry Christmas!