The menu for our Christmas Eve celebration was an ethnic hodgepodge of seasonally inappropriate entrees:
Boiled crawfish Louisiana style
Duck soup served with rice noodles
Mung bean sweet rice paired with BBQ pork
Side dishes: Potatoes; Butternut squash; Carrots
Nothing went with anything, but the Christmas spread sure looked colorful and appetizing!
Crawfish and potatoes
Duck meat
The crawfish received mixed reviews... my dad deemed it too troublesome for too little meat (sort of like the poor man's lobster), and my mom complained the broth tasted "muddy", but the young crowd loved this dish. We concurred that the duck soup was under par this time. Because of the recent rainstorms that blanketed Orange County and the surrounding areas over the holidays, Doca's nanny had to buy a frozen duck from Albertson's instead of the live poultry market she'd often frequented. Apparently we all could tell the difference!
Gisele had just recovered after two miserable weeks of fighting the flu, but was quick to join in the fun with her cousins again.
Gisele in our family room
To reduce chaos and clutter, Doca suggested a family Christmas gift exchange for the first time this year. It was the traditional gift exchange with a twist. First the kids got to take their picks of gifts, then the adults. After everyone has had a chance to open their presents, four names were picked from a hat and those lucky few had the opportunity to steal/trade if they weren't happy with what they've got. Amazingly, although there was a certain white elephant component to this sort of "blind" gift exchange, almost everyone ended up with a gender-appropriate present and there was practically no griping.
Natasha wondered why there was still clutter and chaos?!
Lauren helping Grandma unwrap her loot
Andrea taking her time to decide
Audrey checking out her pick
Lauren still fished for a kiss from her little cousin even though Gisele unceremoniously "stole" her cool gift of a Pottery Barn Teen magnifying makeup mirror...
After wrapping up our celebration around 8 PM, the kids skipped over to their dad's place in the same neighborhood to begin the festivities anew.
No comments:
Post a Comment