Post-dejeuner
Dec. 25th, 2005 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsenWell, the family have left now, some to their repose, some on to other events. Mum, Dad, the Aunts, and my brother's family were all over here for "dinner", which was our planned afternoon-tea transposed an hour and a half earlier, because bro's family were all going off to in-laws for tea, which changed all the plans. We still over-catered, and the food was divvied up between three households at the end. There were three tables covered with snack-type food: corn chips, chips, dips, popcorn, a vegetable platter, cheese, crackers, a seafood platter, pretzels, dried apricots, cherries, strawberries and some shortbread. The only traditional thing was the Christmas pudding, which we had about 1:30.
I had woken up at about 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I had been expecting Mum and the Aunts to come at about 10am to set things up (I'd said I would provide the venue, but not organize the food, just the pudding). Dad and I went to church at 9:30, and when we got back, there was nobody there. So Dad went back home, and I started doing things, mending the picnic table, started putting stuff out, and getting more and more stressed as nobody came. They finally arrived at 12:10 -- and the others were supposed to come at 12:30! So when Dad asked some question or other, I completely lost it, couldn't stop crying. They had apparently been flat out themselves, doing something, I dunno what. Chopping up the cheese, maybe. Anyway, bro's family arrived while we were still doing stuff, so some stuff didn't get done, like the strawberries weren't hulled. I just put them out in their plastic container, tough.
But one of my Aunts said that she liked it better than the traditional Christmas dinner, it was more relaxed, you didn't have to wait for the food, it was just there on all the tables. Also much praise given for my ham+mustard dip that I'd made yesterday. Very simple, it was just cream cheese, sour cream, ham, and wholegrain mustard. Mind you, it was most excellent ham and mustard. 8-)
After we'd made initial forays into the food, and had the pudding, Dad handed out the presents, with assistance from neiflings. I got a lovely Paua-shell necklace from bro's family (well, they had just come back from New Zealand!), and a blue towel from my Aunts, and lots of nice things from my parents, including a nice black shawl with flowers embroidered on the edges. I am glad to say that the sword+gauntlet set I got for Nephew #2 was a hit -- though he did start hitting too many things with it...
Fortunately, folks rallied round to clean things up before they left, and didn't leave me holding the bag with piles of dishes and trash. Well, there's probably crumbs and bits of popcorn and the odd ribbon on the floor, but it's basically all okay. Which is just as well, because I am exhausted. Even though S-I-L was doing the dishes, and neiflings were drying up, there was a lot of "where does this go?" and "what do I do with this?" and of course we had to figure out who got what leftovers, and find missing lids and all that. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Though I have to. I'll have to think of something mindless to do.
Added: Oh, and my-brother-who-is-overseas rang and the cordless phone was passed around and people had a few words. Is good.
I had woken up at about 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I had been expecting Mum and the Aunts to come at about 10am to set things up (I'd said I would provide the venue, but not organize the food, just the pudding). Dad and I went to church at 9:30, and when we got back, there was nobody there. So Dad went back home, and I started doing things, mending the picnic table, started putting stuff out, and getting more and more stressed as nobody came. They finally arrived at 12:10 -- and the others were supposed to come at 12:30! So when Dad asked some question or other, I completely lost it, couldn't stop crying. They had apparently been flat out themselves, doing something, I dunno what. Chopping up the cheese, maybe. Anyway, bro's family arrived while we were still doing stuff, so some stuff didn't get done, like the strawberries weren't hulled. I just put them out in their plastic container, tough.
But one of my Aunts said that she liked it better than the traditional Christmas dinner, it was more relaxed, you didn't have to wait for the food, it was just there on all the tables. Also much praise given for my ham+mustard dip that I'd made yesterday. Very simple, it was just cream cheese, sour cream, ham, and wholegrain mustard. Mind you, it was most excellent ham and mustard. 8-)
After we'd made initial forays into the food, and had the pudding, Dad handed out the presents, with assistance from neiflings. I got a lovely Paua-shell necklace from bro's family (well, they had just come back from New Zealand!), and a blue towel from my Aunts, and lots of nice things from my parents, including a nice black shawl with flowers embroidered on the edges. I am glad to say that the sword+gauntlet set I got for Nephew #2 was a hit -- though he did start hitting too many things with it...
Fortunately, folks rallied round to clean things up before they left, and didn't leave me holding the bag with piles of dishes and trash. Well, there's probably crumbs and bits of popcorn and the odd ribbon on the floor, but it's basically all okay. Which is just as well, because I am exhausted. Even though S-I-L was doing the dishes, and neiflings were drying up, there was a lot of "where does this go?" and "what do I do with this?" and of course we had to figure out who got what leftovers, and find missing lids and all that. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Though I have to. I'll have to think of something mindless to do.
Added: Oh, and my-brother-who-is-overseas rang and the cordless phone was passed around and people had a few words. Is good.
