BLOGMAS 2015 - DAY 5

This is another easy topic.  The one thing I am noticing as I type each entry is that by doing this, I am remembering so many silly stories and anecdotes about aunts, uncles, cousins and such that keep bringing a smile to my face.  These memories are part of what this season is all about to me.

I'd like to say that our table looked just like the one in the picture. Well Christmas day was close, but Christmas Eve was much more casual.

One of my earlier memories is of a very warm Christmas Day, a backed up sink/garbage disposal (I don't think we ever had a holiday in that house where the garbage disposal didn't have an issue of some sort) and having to transport all the prepared food from my parent's house to my granparent's house via my  grandmother's RED (kind of like a Christmas sleigh) Chevy station wagon (remember those?) while my uncle and I sat in the back keeping the food from toppling over.

CHRISTMAS EVE - Served Buffet style since this was the night we did most of the present opening and the adults didn't want to spend all their time in the kitchen - in later years we would have it catered (so to speak - they prepared the food, we picked it up and displayed it) from Rattler's BBQ.  We also began to use "FINE CHINA" as hubs calls it aka as decorated paper.

• Sandwich makings - roast beef, ham, cheeses
• Potato Salad
• See's Candy boxes
• Wintergreen ribbon candy
• Chocolate covered cherries

CHRISTMAS DAY - This is where we dug out the REAL fine china and crystal as well as the silver.  I loved setting the table for this meal. There were always enough people that we had a KID'S table too.  I hated the kid's table - all the good stuff was sitting at the grown-up's table.

• Roast Turkey
• Daddy's Stuffing - now recreated from scratch to taste virtually the same as my Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing
• Mashed Potatoes from scratch - it was these potato peels that were one of the biggest garbage disposal problems
• Giblet Gravy
• Cranberry Sauce - they used Ocean Spray from a can but we now use one of these 2 homemade recipes - Cranberry or Cranberry Pomegranate Tangerine
• Baked Ham - in later years it was always HONEYBAKED HAM and I loved making Split Pea soup with the left over bone.
• Glazed Carrots
• Green Bean Casserole
• Gran's cranberry salad - she'd make two, one for mom and aunt Liz and one for everone else.
• Rolls and butter
• Traditional pies like pumpkin, Cherry and as well as Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake.

When we go to my SIL's family for Christmas (or any other big family get together)  we do Hor'deouvres style.   The family is so big that over the years we have found that if each person brings an hor'deouvres to feed 10+ people that we can make a HUGE feast.  We just serve it buffet style and mingle and play - it is ALWAYS the best time.