Christmas Day With the Family

Christmas Day dawned sunny and chilly but not too cold in Southern New Jersey. I wrote in my journal first before I made my way to the tree, where presents from my friends Linda & James Young awaited me. They usually give me books, and this year was no exception. I received the second book in the Nick of Time series, The Time Pirate, one of the Dear America series of stories about young girls in different time periods, this one focused on World War II, The Fences Between Us, and a Collier's Junior Classics book of short stories set around various holidays. They also gave me three DVDs. I don't have the Disney live-action movie The Island at the Top of the World or the first season of Night Court (I have the second, but not the first), but I do already have the Warner official copy of 'Till the Clouds Roll By. That last one will probably go to a library. My "stocking stuffer" was a mini version of Marie Grace, one of the two new American Girl historical characters who came out last summer. She traveled with me all day.

Normally on a Sunday, I would have gone into making pancakes and listening to the Beatles show right after finishing with my presents, but today I had a treat. Dad and his girlfriend Jodie had invited me, Rose, and her boys over for a breakfast of something Jodie called "French Toast Casserole." I went over earlier than planned, around 9AM. I had just enough time to round up my remaining gifts and watch Garfield's Christmas Special before Rose and her family drove us over to Dad's.

Jodie's "French Toast Casserole" was apparently something she'd gotten off of Paula Deen's show, and was more-or-less a bread pudding made with eggs and challah bread, with a crusty butter and sugar topping. It was delicious, especially with syrup. Dad, Jodie, my stepsister Jessa, Uncle Ken, and his girlfriend Dolores all had gifts for everyone. Khai loved his new chunky wooden puzzle and train set from Pop Pop Bruce and Grandma Jodie; he loved his big dump truck and plastic drill from Great-Uncle Ken and Dolores even more. Dad ran the 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story on TBS in the background all morning. Uncle Ken had Indiana Jones movies on.

I gave Jodie her pudding pie; she said she'd save it for her get-together with her aunt and her family later. I gave Dad cupcakes. Uncle Ken is a big fan of Rachel Ray and enjoyed his cookbook. Jessa got socks in funky patterns. I always give her weird socks. She loves them. She gave me a really cook retro Star Wars tin lunchbox...but instead of containing a Thermos, it came with cookie cutters in the shape of a TIE Fighter (bad-guy ship) and the Millenium Falcon (Han Solo's ship).

While Khai played happily with his new train set and his parents and grandparents cooed over how cute and well-behaved he was, I had a nice chat with Jessa. It turns out that she's off of her job as a cashier at a local car dealership tomorrow, too. We decided to get together tomorrow around noon for some serious shopping at the Cherry Hill Mall and the near-by Barnes and Noble.

Rose, Craig, and Khai left for Craig's mom's house around noon. Dad, Jodie, and I headed for my cousins Samantha and David's home in Chews Landing soon afterwards. Everyone was in high spirits when we arrived. Six-year-old Faith was thrilled to have gotten her first Barbie doll and accessories. In fact, she got the Barbie doll and playset for that Princess Charm School special I rented a few weeks ago. She also raved about her new Barbie-themed scooter ("Now I don't have to borrow Matt's anymore!"), the Disney Princess tent her brothers gave her, and a remote control My Little Pony airplane.

Oh, and she loved the vintage My Little Ponies I gave her. Ethan and Matt seemed to like the toss game I gave them, too. Samantha and David gave me a tin of cookies, like always. Sam makes great cookies. I liked the molasses cookies David's father made, too. Ethan and Matt were especially thrilled with their new Kirby Wii game. Dad somehow got Ethan and Matt's Game Stop gift cards and cards with money mixed up with each other and with another gift card, but I think he did get things settled.

We ran into Samntha's mother (and Uncle Ken's ex-wife) Jayne and her husband Mario on the way out. They live in Florida now and don't visit as often. I'm glad they'll at least get the card I left for them.

We relaxed at Uncle Ken's for a little while after getting back from Sam and David's. I read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and chatted with Jessa. Jess had gone up to Sam and David's on her own, but she doesn't know Jodie's family well and really had no desire to join us for dinner.

Maybe she was the smart one. Jodie's family is very sweet, but I don't know them well, either. I had no idea what to say to any of them. It was mostly teenagers and college students, including Jodie's sons Jesse and T.J, and middle-aged and elderly people like Dad and Jodie. I did tell Jodie and her Aunt Colleen that I still want to start my own business...but I want to take some non-credit business courses before I do anything major.

I did eat dinner with them. I had turkey, macaroni salad, three stuffed shells, garden salad, green bean casserole (apparently a request of one of Colleen's sons), and a roll downstairs in their huge den. It's so big, it includes full-sized exercise equipment, a bar, a 40-inch TV, a fireplace, and shelves and shelves of old books and toys. NBA games were running all during dinner. (The Miami Heat beat the Mavericks; the Lakers-Bulls game was just starting as dinner finished.)

Though I appreciated dinner, I was really getting bored. Jodie must have realized that. She asked her son Jesse and his girlfriend to take me home right after dinner ended. She and Dad were going to move onto her dad's later. They did just that, and I spent the rest of a quiet evening watching The House Without a Christmas Tree (another, less goofy story about a kid in the 40s who wants something special for Christmas) and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Here's hoping you had a lovely Christmas Day, with all of your own family!