Christmas Eve 2021

After canceling our Christmas Eve celebration with the family last year because of COVID-19, I was determined that this year's was going to be special.  I never imagined that it would be this wonderful.  This is going to be a long post, so get ready, you might want to go get a cup of coffee . . .

The first thing we did was prepare a Children's Table.  My brother's six grandchildren were expected to come, and it had been year's since I had to prepare a special table for several little ones.  This was going to be fun!  I was warned not to use real dishes or glasses, but I often think that sometimes adults underestimate how well children can behave.  In all the years I prepared separate tables for kids, not once did I have any dishes break.  We occasionally had a spilled drink, but nothing broke.  As for spilled drinks, I have wood floors, no carpeting.

I decided to risk it.  So I set the table with Villeroy and Boch Winter Bakery Delight porcelain salad plates, and our everyday Picardie juice glasses, which in addition to being indestructible, have indentations that make it easy for little hands to hold.  

The red napkins were a 20" x 20" linen from my stash, with which I had to play a while to make them smaller to be in proper proportion to the plate, and with a simple fold for the kiddos to handle.  There would be nothing for them to cut, so I just inserted a salad fork, and a candy cane.

I truly love these dishes with the well-named delightful border that includes treats like cookies, candy canes, oranges, and some festive holly and red stripes.  It has a definite European feel, a throw back to a more innocent time, and then, I centered a milk chocolate, orange flavored “orange” in the center of the plate.

Nothing says Christmas like a red plaid, and it was what gave the table that extra punch to make it more cheerful.  I was able to find wrapping paper in the same color and pattern as the runner, which I used to wrap another Christmas ornament for each of the children.  As their great-aunt, I reserve the right to spoil them all I want. 

It was put together from two vases.  On the outer vase, I hung candy canes all the way around.  On the inner vase, I added a floral oasis, and inserted hypericum berries, and alstroemeria from the grocery store, and holly from my yard.  I dug through my stash of picks, and added gingerbread snowflakes and glittery red spikes.  The pictures really don't do it justice.  It turned out quite adorable.

Then, at each place setting, I set a gingerbread Christmas ornament, personalized with their individual names, which also served as a place holder.  I found these at Etsy.  Eureka!

The chair covers hid an unmatched set of folding chairs.  They were made of a stretchy material that didn't seem to provide any difficulties for the kids.  For a bit of kitsch, each of them also got battery-operated Christmas lights necklaces.

The bottom front of the chair covers arched upwards, so the kiddos could still kick their legs backwards and not hit the covers.

I'll never forget the look on their faces when they saw their table, the best seats in the house.  I wish I had sat with them at their table!

At the last minute, Sofia, one of the children, was unable to make it.  All of her goodies went home with the parents.  Aren't they adorable?  Oh, it was such a blast having them here!  Christmas is so special when there are children around.

And with the Children's Table taken care of, I now turned my attention to the Adult Table.  Robert, my long-time friend and florist has retired, leaving me on my own for my arrangements.  The nerve, how dare he?  Nowadays my flowers are a hit or miss situation, since there are so few independent florist shops by me, I have to rely on supermarket flowers, which means not the best quality, or the most variety, so I made do with what I found.  

But I think I did okay!  These dahlias were spectacular, and became the pièce de résistance of the centerpiece.

The supermarket had the base with the greenery all ready to go, all I had to request were the extra flowers.  So I added white roses, pinecones, and red hypericum berries.  The glittery spikes I added myself at home.

We ended up having eleven adults and five children that night.  The adult table was expanded with all four leaves, and, when adding two people at one end, it sat all of us quite comfortably with plenty of room.

I started collecting the Woodland Berry dishes from Williams-Sonoma a couple of years ago.  In 2019 I only used the salad plates, but this year I also added the dinner plates, and the woodland theme completely took over the table.

The napkins were simply rolled up and secured with antler napkin rings, and I used the Spode Woodland flatware depicting woodland creatures on the handles.  Quail and geese on the forks . . .

And deer on the knives.

I used my wedding goblets, Chartres by Atlantis, and, since I didn't have enough, I interspersed them with red Italian goblets from HomeGoods.  The wine glasses were from Dollar Tree.

Does anything say Christmas like a red plaid does?  I also added my Cape Fear pewter candlesticks, with 14" white tapers.  I love the drama long tapers bring to the table!

And here are both tables, the children's closer to the Christmas tree in the living room.  We had to take out the coffee table and a club chair to be able to fit the table, but it was worth it to have the little ones close by.

We prepared a Moscow Mule bar, and offered regular Mules and Cranberry.  They were a huge hit!

As usual, I didn't take many pictures of the food, but here are the wines that my son, John, brought us from Virginia wineries to enjoy with dinner, a Lemberger and a Merlot.

For dessert we had home baked cookies:  Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Almond Joy (Almonds, Chocolate Chips, and Coconut), and Butter Spritz in the shape of Christmas trees.

Honey Pecan Butterballs, our family's favorite.

Ashley, my nephew, Colin's wife, brought individual Custard-Berry Pies, baked in a cookie shell.  She owns a wonderful boutique bakery, and we were very appreciative that she was able to carve out time during one of her busy seasons to bake for tonight.

My nephew, Scott, brought a special Chocolate Pie that was egg-free, peanut-free, and nut-free.  One of his kids is highly allergic to those ingredients, so he's become an expert baker without those ingredients.  I had a piece of pie myself, and it was truly delicious!

The desserts were served on the kitchen table, presided by the Gingerbread King.

We ended the night drinking Mis Amigos Tequila Shots, a new tradition being introduced to our family by the newest member, Stephen, due to marry my nephew, Kevin, next year!  I had never had a tequila shot in my life, I poured myself a very little one, but even I participated.  It was actually pretty good!

One thing I didn't forget was to take lots of family pictures . . .

Here are my brother, Al, and sister-in-law, Kathy with their granddaughter, Maisie.  Little Maisie stole the show with her charming personality and delightful dress.  She was one busy little girl that night.  Our house hadn't experienced such a noisy Christmas in a long time.  It was wonderful!

My sister-in-law, Kathy, with her son, Scott, daughter-in-law, Jackie and oldest grandchild, Oliver.

To take this picture, my son stuck his iPhone to the wall with a Command strip, then pulled the trigger with his watch.  Such a geeky and marvelous idea!  We have taken this same shot every Christmas I've celebrated in this house.  Occasionally the people change a bit, but the love is the same.

With the exception of last Christmas, in which we cancelled all celebrations due to the pandemic, my brother and I have celebrated together every Christmas Eve since he was born.  What a tradition!

Merry Christmas!  May Jesus bless us all!

Halloweening With Madame Spider

 A book of haunting poems . . .

Some apple cider donuts, and a mug of freshly pressed hot apple cider to ward off the chill in the air.  Madame Spider approves.

An Interrupted Carol

There were no Christmas concerts this year.  No Christmas Afternoon Tea at the Drake Hotel with wondering carolers stopping by the table to wish us a Merry Christmas . . .

I wasn't enthused about setting a Christmas Eve table this year — my son wasn't able to fly in to be with us, and for the first time in our lives, my brother and I could not be together.  Out of an abundance of caution, my husband and I decided that it was best to cancel the celebrations, and spend it quietly at home, just the two of us.  Covid-19 has a lot to answer for!

At the last minute, I rallied, and remembered that old saying that my father quoted often:  "Al mal tiempo, buena cara" (“To bad times, a good face”) — the English aren't the only ones with a stiff upper lip.

I pulled out the red tablecloth that I had planned on using for Christmas Day breakfast, and a few other things and set a table that, while not particularly Christmasy, it hinted of it.

The plaid napkins matched the tablecloth perfectly, and I dug out the Dollar Tree black dinner plates that I've used here, here and here.

I decided to use my wedding crystal, Chartres by Atlantis.  After all these years, I'm still in love with these glasses, which reflect the pattern of a rose window at Chartres, when light shines through it.  

The table was set, so I turned my attention to what to put on the plates.  Unfortunately, food stubbornly refuses to simply appear on our plates, so I needed to head to the kitchen and whip up a few things.  Naturally, I thought of dessert first.

This is a tart recipe given to me by a dear friend, and I've wanted to try it for a while now.  It consists of layers of marzipan, vanilla custard, sliced pears, scattered cranberries, dotted with cubes of butter, and sprinkled with crushed Amaretti.  Then baked until the cranberries pop and the pears are tender.

My husband asked for the “Filet Dinner,” one of the standard meals in my repertoire, and that always starts with a Waldorf Salad, one of my favorite salads, actually — made with Romaine lettuce, Honeycrisp apple, Blue cheese crumbles, lightly toasted walnuts and and a dressing made with olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, herbs and spices.

Followed by Roasted Filet of Beef with Mushroom Sauce, Cauliflower Au Gratin, and Steamed Asparagus.  I must say, for someone that was only half trying it all turned out rather well.

My son had promised to bring us several bottles of his favorite wine from one of the wineries in Virginia for our Christmas Eve dinner, he's become quite the wine aficionado.  Alas! No John, no wine, so we picked this one up at Costco, which turned out to be a complete delight!  

Here's how the tart turned out — a very photogenic dessert!

Then we topped it, as if it really needed the extra calories, with some whipped cream.

The best part of our night was when we gathered on a Zoom call, and I got to see all these beloved faces.  Even David, my youngest, got up at 2:00 A.M. Abu Dhabi time to be on the call with us.  It was a total surprise and brought tears to my eyes.

Although a bit melancholic, I went to bed grateful and at peace.  We will make it up next year.  We will sing our carol in full, and we will sing it Allegro.

The Apple Table Challenge

Fun with “More Fun Less Laundry” — Along with Mary, from "Home is Where the Boat Is," Linda, from "More Fun Less Laundry" has been my teacher and virtual mentor for beautiful living, from setting a lovely table that is charming, sentimental, beautiful and appealing, to picnicking with style, traveling, and just enjoying life.

The image below from Linda’s blog has captivated me for years. It’s a Fall table, but she avoids going too heavy on the oranges and rusts. Instead, she brings in some of her favorite colors, like greens, purples, and even a touch of pink! I’m not much a purple aficionada, but somehow this combination of rich colors and textures really appeals to me, as does the theme — Apples!

Delightfully, I either, already own many of the components of this table, or can come pretty close, so, why not? This is going to be a fun challenge for me! If you’d like to see Linda’s post, here's the link:  Apples of My Eye.

The inspiration for Linda's table, came from a picture of her children during an apple-picking expedition while they were young.  When I saw it, I remembered a similar experience with my own kids, and, well . . . hold my apple cider . . .

Here are my two sons, John and David, looking thrilled to be posing for photographs while bees buzzed around them, just so I could capture their cuteness.  They are dressed alike because these pictures were supposed to be for the Christmas card that year (although I ended up not using them).

Okay, back to the table.  Linda used a red and white plaid throw as tablecloth, and I went through my stash hoping to find something that would come close. Here’s the Royal Stewart that usually comes out at Christmastime. Nope. It feels too bright, and, well, too Christmas-y.

The Dress Stewart tartan. I used this one last January at our Three Kings Day Open House. Better, but it still doesn’t feel quite right. These are the only two red plaids I own. I didn’t think I’d be in trouble this soon . . .

The Buchanan Antique Tartan. The oranges and gold would work for a Fall table, but I wanted apples, not pumpkins. Nope.

The English Tartan, a gift from a friend.  Doesn't it remind you of a well-cut English suit?  My son, John, has had his eye on it for a while.  One of these days, I'll pack it in his suitcase before he notices and send it home with him.

It sure does feel cozy, and it's a possibility for this table because the colors are neutral.  Maybe.

The Burgundy Irish plaid throw, and my last one. It’s not red, but it does bring in many of the colors in Linda’s design, including a bit of pink! This is it.

Here’s another inspiration photo from Linda’s blog post.  Perfect.  

My rattan chargers match the napkin rings and will work; and the Spode Delamere Brown dishes are lovely to use in the Fall.  I'm not sure if Linda uses a real leaf under her apple, but mine is Cheese Paper from Sur La Table.  I use it on charcuterie boards all the time.

Here is my tribute to Linda's masterpiece. The centerpiece proved to be my undoing.

The flowers simply did not want to hang out with the apples.

They demanded a separate space!

These are the last of my Phantom Hydrangea, which we just planted this Spring. They range in color from white to pinks, to rusts. I wasn't expecting any blooms this year, so this is a special treat!

The Pommes (apples) dish towel is yet another towel in my collection. 

This one was sent along with a bushel of apples. But not these apples. These are new apples.

I looked for the Effervé everywhere, but did not find it. Linda's emerald tumblers are available through Overstock.com.

But I already had some lovely hand-blown green juice glasses from Mexico. The Trader Joe’s Apple Cider was delicious and made a nice substitute!

We are now ready for our hot apple cider and dessert.

I made Apple Pecan Crisp, topped with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and drizzled with homemade Dulce de Leche.  No calories or carbs were counted that day.  The only thing I counted was my husband's moans of delight.

My kids are out in the world now doing adult things, but in our house, this night, they were very much with us.