The Terrible Catsafterme

Monday, December 24 was the first Christmas Eve that I had worked since 2000. Although there were a few store emergencies (one that 383 will likely never forget) and a meeting with the Key Retailing folks, the day just absolutely flew by - and by noon, my boss John told me to leave. I got out of there about 12:30pm and headed home. Briana was at my house by herself while Ashleigh was working a Noon-6:00 shift. She had put the Christmas cards up on the door and wrapped one of my gifts and was rarin’ to go.

Jackie had been running some errands when I got home and she too did a good share of the preparations, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, filling the rye bowl with a delcious spinach dip, and wrapping the last-minute gifts that showed up from Amazon during that very day’s mail run…thank heavens. Our friend Jennifer Katheiser also shipped us some peppermint bark, which I had never had before, but was eternally grateful to receive.

Mom and Bob arrived at about 5:45pm bringing Grandpa Murphy, lots of food, and a slew of gifts with them. I had purchased the ham and had a coupon for a free turkey, but Mom did all of the preparation of said food. Bill and Dottie followed them in the door. And then Denise, Aaron, and a slightly-grumpy-because-he-had-no-sleep-all-day Adam came along. Dad was the last to arrive, bringing Arline along with him. Grace got excited pretty quickly with all of the guests, the gifts, and Adam there to juice her up.

 Mom snaps Adam out of his bad mood

 The first injury of the evening - Denise’s paper cut

 Aaron caught with his hand in the peanut jar

Adam and Grace share a doll

The mellow Christmas music made its appearance right away and would continue to loop through the night with three playings of my homemade “Welcome Christmas Spectacle” that I had made several years ago. I also popped in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which although it had no sound, added to the ambiance.

The feast was spectacular. In addition to the aforementioned ham and turkey sandwiches and spinach dip, there was a spread that included Dottie’s scalloped potatoes, Arline’s pumpkin pie, Mom’s poppyseed cake and oriental salad, potato salad,chips, cookies including more pecan tarts, mixed nuts, raisins (how’d those get in there?), and streams of soda. One group of us ate downstairs in the basement and some sat at the kitchen table. Everything was great and I purposely stuffed myself to the gills.

 As tradition dictates, Mom kicks off the feast with the first bite

 As tradition dictates, Aaron, Grandpa, and Bob dig in first

 Dottie, Bill, and Dad eat in the kitchen sector

 The downstairs crew

 I’m leary about this shot taken from the other angle

Wait a second…that’s not Adam

Dinner was - as tradition dictates - followed by the opening of the gifts. As usual, there was loot galore and it took only minutes before I was surrounded by a stack of gifts, that just kept coming. Twice I thought I was all finished and then found more gifts that I hadn’t opened yet! Loot, loot, and more loot. Gimme gimme gimme.

 The tree surrounded by loot

 Denise interjects herself between Dottie and Arline

Santa Adam and regal Bree

Grace was thrilled to be opening presents and was genuinely excited about each and every one. Most of her gift opening was reserved for Christmas morning - from Santa - but I gave her a Barbie Doll and Rudolph ornament for Christmas Eve. Ashleigh loved her brand new digital camera that I got for her (from sponges on parade) - and I also bought her final high school yearbook for her. I gave Briana the complete set of the TV series Arrested Development, the movies The Out-of-Towners and The Princess Bride, and a gift card for Dick’s (these were from a flan high, the placemat sandwiches, thermometer junction, and the idiot who brought myhrr). Jackie got the new iPod which I am jealous of!

 Mom decides how best to tackle opening these gifts. Bob is too enthralled with the television (which was off)

 Grace gets ready to maul her first gift of the evening

 Ashleigh and Briana in gift-opening mode

 Grandpa and Bill survey the chaos

Tiny got in trouble several times throughout the day for biting the stuffing inside Jackie’s candle bag. As you can see, it didn’t deter her one bit

Denise got season one of I Love Lucy, season five of Monk, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and Shrek the Third. Aaron received The Simpsons season four from me. Adam’s gifts from me were a signed copy of the Caroline Kennedy book A Family Christmas, a toy farmhouse, The Jungle Book DVD, and some money for his stash. Mom and Bob received a pool cue rack and a set that included pool balls, a rack, chalk, and cue tips. Dad got a gift card to Olive Garden, Blazing Saddles on DVD, The Vanilla Fudge CD The Beat Goes On, and the Disney Treasures On the Front Lines set. I Grandpa Murphy the DVD Diabolique. Bill and Dottie got Esther Price candy and Arline got a cinnamon candle. Now don’t you wish you were one of my loved ones?

As for me, well let’s just say I got my fair share. Okay, you talked me into it. Here’s a list of my beloved loot. From Dad: Sorry Wrong Number, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Alfred Hitchcock Presents season three, a magazine Christmas ad for Ford from 1946, a megamix CD that he made, and $40. From Mom and Bob: 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time book, Paul McCartney’s Memory Almost Full, paperbacks of John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage and Why England Slept, a bottle of Dancing Bull Zinfandel, a 3-D Disney cup, a great Peanuts t-shirt, and $50. From Denise and Aaron: Three Fugitives, Freaky Friday, an orange Sonoma shirt, and a great Muppets t-shirt. From Ashleigh: two comfy pillows and a book of Pop Culture Crosswords. From Jackie: an awesome Sitcoms book, Gandhi, The Jerk, Monk season five, and a battery for my cordless phone. From Grace: a flashlight and batteries. From Bill and Dottie: a Red Lobster gift certificate. From Grandpa Murphy: Esther Price candy. And from Arline: $15.

Quite a great batch of gifts, combining all of my favorite media (movies, music, and books), great clothes, cash, food, and interesting curios. I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas. And Ashleigh and Briana once again spent the night here at home.

 Yaht and me

 Ashleigh and Briana - all my children

 Jackie and moi

Bob shows off his ’star princess’

 Grandpa Murphy in good spirits

Our now-traditional family photo

It wasn’t all that late by the time everyone had gotten their photos snapped and headed out, but I was rather exhausted. Jackie and I tried to keep our eyes opened as we played with her new iPod. Eventually Grace began to wear out and we sensed it was time to put out one lone chocolate chip cookie (her choice) and some milk for Santa Claus. We laid out her gifts (shhhh! don’t tell her it was us) and we eventually got to sleep not long after Christmas midnight had slipped by.

Up next: Christmas day…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 at 6:54 am and is filed under Family Life, Christmas, 2000's - Late. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.