Fun Friday – Turkey, Tinsel, and Total Chaos – My Family’s Christmas Dinner Adventures

 

Ah, the Christmas season – twinkle lights, scented pinecones, and family gatherings. This is my favorite time of year – sitting quietly at home, watching the colorful lights on my Christmas tree, sipping a warm beverage, and listening to the soulful sounds of the Temptations Christmas. Suddenly, I’m snatched/jerked from that relaxing state and begin to dash around the house in preparation for a visit from family.

At my family Christmas gatherings there is often turkey, tinsel, and total chaos. The turkey was juicy, my aunt and uncle gobbled it up right away (they were also the ones who cooked it). The tinsel was decoratively thrown into one section of my Christmas tree, thanks to my younger niece and nephews who wanted to help. This was the foundation that our chaotic meal was built upon.

Here's how our afternoon unfolded:

Sibling Shenanigans

Do you remember running around your yard or the school gym, playing tag with your friends? Well, that was the scene of my living room and dining room on that frigid Saturday afternoon of our family dinner. The younger kids were running from room to room chasing each other. They were snagging candy canes from the Christmas tree and grabbing Hershey’s kisses from a candy dish.

Every family member joined in the fun. My brother and I have this thing we do that stems from a cartoon from the 1970’s called Super Friends. We like to imitate the Wonder Twins; We bump fists with each other and say, “Wonder Twins, activate.” We are not twins, nor can we transform into anything, but it was a good excuse to be silly.

Holiday Karaoke

Our version of holiday karaoke was a finish the lyrics activity. As I was planning this activity, I shared it with my mom and she said, “We’re going to have to write things down, are we back in school?” So, I tweaked the activity a little to make it more fun and less like work.

Each team had to complete the lyrics to the songs listed on their sheets (all had the same songs). My adult niece was the most competitive. She and her family completed the sheet, then rushed over to hand it to me. She said, “I’ll put my name on my sheet, so you can identify the winner easily.”

 I smiled and handed it back to her saying, “the game is not over yet,”

To be crowned the winner, the team had to sing their answers…and boy, did they sing…off-key, loudly, and with animation. Yes, Team Norma was the winner.

Below are a couple of the songs we used, see if you can finish the lyrics:

1.      I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…

2.      Dashing through the snow…

3.      Rudolph the Red nose reindeer….

Did you just sing the lyrics to each one of those songs? It’s okay, it’s hard not to.

Photo Fiasco

You can’t have a holiday gathering without having proof that you survived the chaos. Well, you could, but where’s the fun is that? There was no need to stress over striking the perfect pose with our crew. They posed, and I continuously clicked the photo button. I like to use the phrase one of the kids in my Sunday school class once said, “you get what you get, and don’t have a fit.”

And that was the simple philosophy I used when planning this year’s gathering, “you get what you get, and don’t have a fit.” I had to remind myself not to stress over trying to make my house perfect for my guests; it was clean and welcoming. Our purpose was to come together for fellowship and fun.

Wishing you and your family a season filled with joy and a prosperous new year.

Monday Musings – How to have a Hassle-Free Holiday Gathering – 3 Easy Tips

Deck the halls with friends and family, fa la,la, la la, la,la lal la. What makes the Holiday fun for you? Perhaps it’s shopping for others, volunteering, spending time with loved ones, or simply relaxing. You can experience all of these when you find balance.

Are you in charge of hosting your family gathering? Go easy on yourself and enjoy the process.

There are 3 easy ways to have a hassle-free Holiday gathering:

1.      Relax

2.      Keep it simple

3.      Make it fun

Think about the things that you find fun when you go to a family gathering and incorporate them in the event you’re planning. The Holiday season should not cause us extra stress. Make a promise to yourself that you will relax more and stress less. Do not overthink things, your guest will not think any less of you if you keep things simple.

When you combine simple and fun you have a winning combination. This year my family Christmas was a hybrid event – my brother and I were at mom’s house and the rest of the family was on Zoom. Our theme was a Pajama Party. It was simple – wear your favorite (warm) pajamas.

We played bingo, family trivia, and had a fuzzy sock, and gingerbread house contest. My family was quite the competitive group. To participate in the fuzzy sock contest, each person had to text a picture of their socks on their feet. Nothing else could be in the photo. I didn’t want any identifying factors that would sway the judge. We had first through third place winners and an honorable mention.

Construction of the gingerbread houses brought a lot of joy to the event. The houses had to be assembled during the event. After a few games of bingo, we took a 20-minute intermission to allow contestants to construct their houses. They remained on Zoom as they squeezed icing, erected walls, and added a roof. One family member even video recorded his final structure; he was one of our millennials.

Mom peaked over at my brothers’ house as she struggled to determine how close to build her walls. Exasperated she said, “I think my house was hit by a tornado, but that’s okay Jesus was a carpenter, He will take care of it.”

After looking at my nieces’ house I said, “Oh, Norma’s house must have been on the same street as yours. Her roof is missing.” As it turned out, one  of her kids had eaten the roof before a photo could be taken.

We had prizes that included things like pocket sized hand sanitizers, small decorative candles, Coco in a tin, and instant lottery tickets. It’s up to you the type prizes to offer. You could also include things like free baby sitting for a relative, offer to run errands for a day, or something else that doesn’t cost money but offers value.

Our family Pajama Party was a success for me. There was no need to dress up, not much clean-up required, and I was already dressed for bed at the end of the event.

What tips do you have for a hassle-free Holiday gathering? 

Fun Friday – 25 Fun things to do this fall

Fall colors

Time seems to slip away so quickly, leaving one with the feeling of “I wish I had taken time to…” Fall is in the air why not take the time to do some fun things with the family? Here is a list of things I gathered from other bloggers.

1.      Get lost in a corn maze.

2.      Go for a hike

3.      Go on a hayride

4.      Jump in a pile of leaves

5.      Bake an apple pie or pumpkin pie (top with a scoop of ice cream)

6.      Eat a caramel apple

7.      Make a batch of chili

8.      Eat a slice of warm pumpkin bread

9.      Get spooked in a haunted house

10.  Watch your favorite scary movie on Halloween

11.  Make a gingerbread house (make it scary)

12.  Make playdo (or slime) and play with it

13.  Make a pinecone birdfeeder and hang it in your yard

14.  Have a pajama day at home as a family

15.  Decorate the outside of your house with orange lights and bales of hay

16.  Rake leaves for an elderly person

17.  Carve a pumpkin

18.  Volunteer as a screamer at a haunted house

19.  Create a thankful tree

20.  Gaze at the stars

21.  Create a top 10 list of things you love about each of your kids, frame it and put it in each of you kids rooms

22.  Create a list with your family of five things you want to do this fall

23.  Go on a nature scavenger hunt

24.  Write a thank you note to someone who has helped you

25.  Sit or look outside and write a poem, song, or story

Cherish each day and do something you enjoy doing, but most of all cherish time with your family. What would you add to this list?