Christmas ~ Play & Eat

December 31, 2011

I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to wrap up this trip down Christmas 2011 memory lane. Please bear with me as I share one more day of holiday photos and words.

Come Monday the writing will be all about living with intention, getting organized, how hiking changed our family, making dreams come true, getting up early (going to bed early), establishing our winter homeschool groove, and more.

Time to move beyond the crafty, cozy, maple caramel popcorn holiday goodness. Time to get to work on personal goals, homeschool goals, professional goals, health goals, organizing goals. You know, New Year's stuff.

One of the holiday highlights for my kids was the .99 car racing game Daddy purchased for the computer. The networked car racing game. Which meant with four computers in the house (my parents brought their laptops) four people could play at one time.

I don't know who liked this more Daddy or the kids, or Papa?

Honestly, it was a stroke of genius on Damien's part. We live in a very small house - no playroom, basement, or otherwise "kidspace", and those hours of anticipation leading up to Christmas Eve had children bouncing off the very close walls.

Playing computer car racing was a sanity saver. And so much fun - or so I've heard. I'm not into that kind of thing.

It wasn't just car racing though, there was chess. Papa is always a willing chess player (love 'im for that - I can't stand chess).

And there was the outdoors. Sledding, skiing, caroling on Christmas Eve. All of those had us bundling up each day to be in nature.

All that car racing and skiing makes a family hungry. So we ate, often and well. And we enjoyed holiday "spirits" and warm drinks.

Damien's stocking present

Early in the month Mom had committed to bringing a couple homemade ferments (kim chi & sauerkraut) and our traditional holiday fruit cake. The best fruit cake in the whole wide world, I should add.

I prepared the menu for their three day, four supper visit and mom helped by bringing a lot of the victuals. The happy farm chickens, bought from local NS farmer friends. Kale (can't find it here) for Christmas Eve kale chips, wine and a bunch of other goodies.

A few highlights from our three days of meals:

Our family's ritual - Friday night pizza the day of their arrival.
Baked apples & homemade (not by me) granola breakfast on Christmas Eve Day with a tapas-like supper meal, menu is listed on this post.
Christmas morning pomegranate muesli and toasted artisan bakery nut and fruit bread, topped with Nana's jam and Quebec made nutella-like spread (without the hydrogenated nasties).
Christmas Day supper, a traditional holiday feast meal of roasted bird, potatoes, gravy, jeweled rice & nut salad and sauerkraut.
Boxing Day roll-your-own maki sushi supper.
And lots of lunch leftovers.

We ate, we played games, we skied, we exchanged gifts, we ate some more, played more computer games.