1. Food. We eat grillades and grits, croissants, fruit and cajun cringle from Haydel's bakery in New Orleans. (They ship em...check the website!) If I have my act together, I order the croissants from Williams Sonoma...did not have my act together this year. We bake and share cookies, and we have big meals with my parents and whatever brothers and families are around. This year, we are going to Matt's for Christmas Eve. The Pesuts are coming, and all of Heather's family will be there. My dad brings oysters. I always make Lobster Stew, and this year I am bringing Shrimp and Mirliton Casserole (more New Orleans food).
2. Drink. Yes, please! We drink The Recipe. My dad makes it (it's booze with 'a splash of egg' as Mike says). It's egg nog. We also drink wine, beer, lots and lots of coffee and occasionally water. (When forced.) With that water we down a handful of tylenol or advil.
3. Presents. The kids can ask Santa for three gifts. Our thinking is that if three gifts were good enough for Jesus, then that's good enough for Charles and his sisters. We do supplement those gifts with our own. We buy way too many. We do go overboard...HOWEVER - we do no toy shopping for the rest of the year. We enjoy it. It's our deal.
4. Santa. We ALL believe in Santa in this house. Let me share with you a story. My dear wonderful friend, Elizabeth Milvid, is a pediatrician in New Orleans. She is also a Navy Wife. Her husband Ken, went to the Academy. She has four sons, and I treasure her friendship and advice. We were talking about Santa one day, and Elizabeth said, "Jennie! Don't ever EVER tell your kids that there isn't a Santa!!!" This surprised me. Elizabeth is very down to earth and matter-of-fact. "Why not?" I asked her. Well, she reported to me that her oldest son was starting to pester her about the validity of Santa.
"I thought he was about to ruin it for the younger boys," she said. "So, I pulled him aside and said, 'Okay, Will. You are right. It's Dad and me. Now please stop talking about it so that you don't ruin it for your younger brothers.'" Elizabeth then told me that Will looked at her, crushed and said, "Mom. Why did you tell me that?"
She then said, "So Jennie always tell your kids that there IS a Santa!" And we do. Oh, we make a BIG deal out of it. The kids write letters, and the three presents from Santa are beautifully wrapped and put in a different place than the rest of the gifts. We tell the kids that WE believe in Santa, and you know what? I really do. I believe in things that I can not see, and gifts that come from unexpected places. They may not come from a pot-bellied dude recklessly flying a pack of deer through outer-space - but they come. As a matter of fact, believing in the goodness of a spirit that we can not see is the cornerstone of our faith. Expecting gifts and living in a good way is too. And just as Santa forgives kids on that Naughty list, our faith teaches us to believe in the forgiveness that we are promised through Christ.
Christmastime is a wonderful time to be together and share the very best gifts - the ones that don't come from the mall, or online. The greatest gifts include the togetherness and the love that we share with family and friends. The gift of hope that we have for our neighbors and fellow human beings, and finally, the gift of faith - and that's a gift that comes personalized for each one of us.
I'd like to take just a minute to wish each of you a peaceful New Year, and a happy holiday season. I know that there are some old and new friends out there that follow me along on this blog, and I'd like to say how much I appreciate your company, and that I look forward to keeping up on YOUR blog someday soon. Until then, I'll be here, sharing my gift with you. And that comes With Love,
Jennie
