Family Christmas - the First of a Few!

Since getting married, we've grown accustomed to having multiple Christmases to accommodate the fact that our families are in different states.  There is always a Georgia Christmas, a Texas Christmas, and then maybe even a couple of straggler Christmas dinners if certain family members can't make it to the main event.  But who's complaining?  It just means more festivities for everyone! 

We started out the season this year with our Georgia Christmas this past Sunday.  (It was a little earlier than usual so that we could hit the road for Texas on Monday, but that deserves an entirely different post.)  We hosted the event at our house, despite the fact our decorations were completely minimal this year.  Although it was a practical decision (with the short Christmas season, plus the fact we're in Texas half the month), it definitely left us a little blue on a few occasions.  Fortunately it didn't seem to dampen anyone else's spirits!  Plus, it was JB's first Christmas dinner, and that's enough to make anything special.

James once again wowed with his mad Big Green Egg skills.  He smoked a ham that was covered in a homemade dry rub and homemade glaze - it was FANTASTIC (and this is coming from someone who only really digs pork if it's in bacon form.)  I made a wild mushroom 'pate' for an appetizer, and then that was the extent of our cooking contributions.  The rest of our family completely pitched in to make sure we had a wonderful spread! 

(Now, I did not get a picture of the "before" food line because little JB decided he wanted to eat right that very same second.  Hopefully the picture of the carnage is enough to convince that we had a very yummy meal.) 

I did something a little different this year for the place cards and blessing:  taking the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, I printed a verse on everyone's place card and arranged them at the table in the order of the story.  Before we said the prayer, everyone read their verse aloud.  Reading the Christmas story in this way was a beautiful reminder of the reason for our dinner - for the overall season! - and a tradition I hope to carry on.  I loved it! 

After dinner, it was time for the annual White Elephant game.  Lots of good gifts, lots of steals, and, in the end, James got a Lottery Ticket and I got a Chick Fila calendar and gift card.  Excellent! 

We were spoiled rotten with gifts, especially little JB who racked up lots of cute outfits, special ornaments, and books.  I received more accent plates from my china set, which means I'm nearly able to have a multi-course dinner for 12 (which is one of my ultimate goals as a Southern lady).  James also received some beautiful camellias for the backyard.   Enda even received some homemade dog treats!

For his first family Christmas, the little guy was a teeeeeeeeny bit fussy and not wanting much to do with the festivities.  We tried our best to get some photos before all the ladies took turns trying their hand at soothing Mr. Bah Humbug.  :) 

What a wonderful evening with our family, and great way to kick off the Christmas season.