On Christmas morning the kids gave us the most welcome present of sleeping in. We didn’t get started on the morning until around 8:30, and the kids didn’t start opening presents until 9am.
I was a little apprehensive because I scaled back a little this year on presents; we are short on money and we don’t have space in the house for more stuff. All of the kids were so wonderful and didn’t appear to notice that there were slightly fewer presents. They admired each present they got and warmed our hearts with their appreciation.
Honestly, I could probably have just gotten Mary one coloring book and she would have been happy. She had to be reminded to open her other presents because she liked coloring in her new book so much, and later when she headed into the snow, she declared that snow was the only thing she really wanted for Christmas–and she got it!
Nick joined us for lunch. We had soufflé, citrus salad, panetone, spiced nuts, wassail and homemade hot cocoa.
Then Abe, Clarissa, and I napped during Ammon’s quiet time. The girls played nicely together while we napped, and then I got up and cooked The Feast of the Seven Fishes. Originally I thought I hadn’t succeeded and only cooked six fishes, but I tallied it after the fact and realized that indeed, we made it to seven! Here’s how:
Cioppino: Mussels, clams, halibut, and shrimp
Spaghetti with anchovy sauce: Anchovies
Arugula, blood orange, and scallop salad: Scallops
Slow roasted salmon with lemon and thyme: Salmon.
See? Seven!
After dinner we exchanged gifts and ate Karin’s dessert, a berry cake and berry turnovers.
This was truly a delightful Christmas. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel too crazy even with all of the cooking and celebrating. I just loved the whole day.