Gobble Gobble Gobble

Yesterday, we attended the first of two family Christmas dinners.

The next one will be at our  house on Christmas Day.  It will be chaotic but fun and a chance to give the new kitchen a test ride.  A turkey the size of an obese first grader is thawing in the fridge.  We think it might be fully thawed by March.

Anyone who has asked, “Can I….?” has had a quick “YES PLEASE!” in response.  I don’t have a need to do it all myself and besides, it’s more fun to have everybody pitch in.  I also don’t believe in necessarily doing everything from scratch if there’s a nice commercial version that’s even better.  Who would I sentence to stirring fat and flour for half an hour anyway?  Thank you store-bought gravy.

I’ve merged into a family that has many holiday traditions I’m only beginning to understand.  Treacle tarts taste, to me, like sugar mixed with  more sugar boiled in honey, but if that’s what they like well, they’re gonna get ’em!  I’m apparently the only one who likes actual cranberries in my cranberries so I’m also bringing in my own likes and dislikes.  It’s going to be a wonderfully noisy collection of family all together in one space, and really, that’s what it’s all about, and what makes it Christmas, to me.