For me, Christmas dinner represents everything about the festive season perfectly. Several weeks of planning, shopping for the ingredients, a few hours of prep followed by the whole cooking with different temperatures and timing debacle… and it’s all done and finished in seemingly the blink of an eye, leaving behind an epic amount of washing up and a personal vow never to eat that much in one sitting again.
Christmas was awesome, but was over far too quickly.
Despite the minor panic in the last few days leading up to it, I somehow managed to end the day before Christmas Eve with a full fridge, wrapped presents and some clean laundry. The Bloke and I stayed at home for the third year in a row, and we decided that we would have a much more relaxed approach to the holiday, spending most of the time on the couch with the cat (who had a rather fetching new hat that he was obviously delighted with) on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and popping in to feed Paddy (my friend’s bunny that hates me).
We exchanged gifts (I was spoilt rotten as usual), the turkey for dinner was perfectly cooked, I didn’t burn the roast potatoes, we watched A Muppets Christmas Carol, Batman Returns, Groundhog Day, Trading Places and – of course – The Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special that was so beautifully done that I had to fight back tears and then promptly yelled at the TV in response to the unbelievably frustrating cliffhanger at the end. They CAN’T leave it like that, surely?
And just like that, it’s over for another year. We’ve still got a little bit of time to enjoy the lights and candles around the room before I take everything down, but in a weird way I’m sort of looking forward to starting afresh in 2020. I always feel like this time of year is in limbo – now the big festive celebration is over there’s a waiting period until New Year’s Eve and then WHAM! GOALS EVERYWHERE!
So, while it’s a little belated, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I’m off to start on the rather neglected cheeseboard…
Suzie Speaks 
Merry Christmas to you both 💜🎅🎄
And to you, Ritu!
When I was a kid my dad and my sister’s husband would have eating contests until they couldn’t move they were so full. My dad, a good fifty pounds less, always beat my brother-in-law. In his sixties, my dad also had heart disease.
My focus as a kid was to eat as many slices of pie as possible, after a plate of turkey, ham, and all the other stuff.
But, here is a good reason why you might want to stick to your wanting-to-eat-less during next year’s holiday season feasts.
“Holiday season increases heart attack risk, Swedish study says
“The risk increases as the holiday season progresses, researchers says, with the chance for heart attack jumping by 40 percent on Christmas Eve.
“Whether it’s the stress of choosing the right gift, drinking and eating too much, or fighting with relatives about politics, the holidays can be hard on your heart.
“In fact, new research from Sweden found the odds of a heart attack jump nearly 40 percent on Christmas Eve.”
erm, thanks Lloyd haha! Did you have a Christmas?
The holiday season is a mental state, so I treat every day as a holiday as if every day was Thanksgiving and/or Christmas so when the real “crowded” holidays come around, I take a step or two back and avoid the crowds. When the people are out in mass, I stay home and if I go out to see a film or eat, I do it during the slowest hours of the day, early or mid-afternoon.
Why be in the holiday mood only near the end of the year? My holiday mood doesn’t include maxing out my credit cards.
For instance, on Christmas day, I went to see the new Star Wars film at 9 in the morning and there were about six of us in the theater hundreds of empty seats. When the film ended, the lobby was packed and people were waiting in line for flims. I walked out with a big smile plastered on my face. This multiplex has 14 theaters inside.
On the 26th, I waited until 1 PM to eat out, to have my feast. I arrived soon after the lunch rush and most of the tables hadn’t been cleaned off yet. It was obvious they had been really busy for a couple of hours. I picked my favorite table, bussed it myself, and enjoyed a peaceful, uncrowded lunch.
When I was a kid, my older sister had the families (us and her husbands) over for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some of them drove hundreds of miles. Big feast. Crowded house. That all changed after her divorce. But that was ages ago.
Merry Christmas to you and the Bloke Susie. I can relate to it all being over too quickly and I’m still too full to each much. It was lovely to be over here in England and to experience a different sort of Christmas. All the best to you for 2020.
Thanks Debs – and to you too! It must be a bit strange to go from 40 degree heat at this time of year to grey and damp haha! How was yours?
Happy holidays, Suzie! Hope you have a wonderful 2020!
I’m laughing at your cat’s hat. I bought the “naughty kitty” box of toys for my boy, but he could have used the naughty hat too.
And to you too! Bless him – he wasn’t impressed but I saw it as payback for him singing the songs of his ancestors at 4.00am every day…