Christmas at the Walker House

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

This year, Jeff and I hosted Christmas at our house. Normally, we all pack up and head to Louisiana for Christmas celebrations. My Aunt Marion would host the Christmas Eve bash and my mom would host the Christmas Day gathering for all the cousins, grandkids, aunts, uncles, etc... We decided to do something a little different this year. Since my brother currently lives in Oklahoma and has a new job that does not allow him much vacation time, we decided to save costs and cut time off of his travels. Coming here would only take him 2.5 hours by car - going to my parents would have been more like 10 hours. We knew it was a matter of time before the traditional celebrations would come to an end. With Andrew getting older and soon to learn about Santa Claus, we figured we would want to celebrate at home in the years to come. But, we decided to start the new tradition early!

My parents arrived on December 23rd to an exhausted household. Andrew had been throwing up all night and we were about to take him to the doctor when they got in from their 7 hour drive. By the time Andrew and Jeff got back from the doctor, he was feeling better. But, it took some loving from Pappy and some time on his new Couch that he got from Granny and Pappy to make him back to his old self.

Christmas Eve was a day full of cooking. We invited a few people over but knew that we would not have a big showing. In fact, outside of the family, we had one couple join us. We actually knew that was going to be the case, but wanted to cook a lot anyway. Our spread of food and drink was obnoxious considering the amount of people we had. But, as my mom said, it's the start of a new tradition so it will grow. I enjoyed the cooking and getting out the party dishes - even if it was just for a few of us. The sad part was that we had all the food ready and the table set up but I would not let anyone eat until the one couple got there to "start" the party. Thanks to David and Sandi for coming and for being on time - holding off Dad, Matt and Jeff for much longer would have been a challenge.

Sandi and David - Our Christmas Eve Party

Our Spread for Christmas Eve

Christmas morning was fantastic. Sybil slept over on Christmas Eve so she was here and Mike got here around 9am. We gathered around the tree and passed out presents and began taking turns letting each person open their gifts. Andrew was a complete doll. He helped to unwrap gifts, he played with tissue paper and boxes and was extra lovable during the morning. Not to mention, got another haul of great gifts for himself.

Uncle Matt And Andrew

We set the table and had Christmas lunch/dinner around 4pm. A full spread of Turkey, Dressing, Homemade Rolls, Rice/Gravy, Broccoli Cheese Casserole and Cranberry Sauce. We used a new Turkey Brine recipe this year that made our turkey fantastic! Of course, it's a food network recipe. I can't get enough of Food Network recipes - only 5 stars though...anything else seems to be hit or miss.

Jeff and I working on the turkey.

 After we ate, we pulled out Mexican Train Dominoes and played for a few hours. Each round, one person would sit out and be the designated Andrew entertainment. He loved it - getting full attention for 20 minutes from each member of the family. We loved it because it did not make one person have to miss out on the fun of the game. Andrew went to bed at about 7pm and we started to play Oh Hell, the card game. 

All in all, the day was fantastic! We had a great time, ate way too much food and really enjoyed our first Christmas at the Walker's.