Merry Almost Christmas

Started a clear, sunny, and thankfully cold Christmas Eve with a stroll to the bank to deposit my paycheck. It felt nice to be out and about on such a lovely day. It wasn't even that windy. The bank was a little busy when I got in, but it wasn't as bad as I figured they would be; the line was short, and I was in and out. (I figured it would be much worse, since Monday is counted as a government holiday and the banks won't be open.)

When I got in, I organized the presents for the Cape May County side of the family and watched The Bishop's Wife. One of four popular holiday movies released in 1946-1947, Bishop's Wife is the sweet tale of Dudley, an angel (Cary Grant) sent to earth to help a frazzled man-of-the-cloth (David Niven) figure out what's really important in life - the love of his daughter and his beautiful wife Julia (Loretta Young). I enjoy this one, and may look around for the remake with an equally debonair Denzel Washington as well, The Preacher's Wife.

Poor Rose finally picked me up around quarter after 11. She'd spent the morning rushing around, trying to buy last-minute gifts and food for both the get-together at Mom's and the dinner she, her boyfriend Craig, and their son Khai are attending at Craig's mother's house in Camden tomorrow. It took us ten minutes to find a parking spot on Haddon Avenue in Collingswood so Rose could pick up a cheese basket for Dad and Jodie.

After a brief stop at Rose and Craig's apartment, we were finally off to Erma around noon. As at Thanksgiving, there were no problems on the way there. The weather was beautiful, the traffic was minimal, and Khai got a nice little nap in.

We made another brief stop at Winterwood, the Christmas shop on Route 9 in Rio Grande. I'm glad we did stop there. Rose got to finish her Christmas shopping, and the rest of us got to browse in the coolest Christmas store anywhere. Not many Christmas stores can claim to be housed in the oldest farmhouse in the area. It's so old, it has its own ghost. Every bit of the house that's open to the public is jam-packed with Christmas decorations of all shapes and sizes, from glass baubles to goofy ornaments depicting Santa on vacation or driving weird vehicles, from Victorian fans and old-fashioned St. Nicks to familiar characters. I admired the various Christmas houses. Craig showed Khai the cute candles in the shape of characters from the Pixar movie Cars. A whole room was devoted to ornaments and gift items made from seashells and beach-themed ornaments (naturally, being so close to several Jersey Shore resort towns).

We finally arrived at Mom and Dad's sometime around 2. Turns out Mom also got a late start, so we showed up at the right time after all. Anny, her sons Skylar and Collyn, and Collyn's dad Mike were playing with Hot Wheels cars in the living room. Mom was putting the finishing touches on our buffet meal. We had ham, a vegetable platter with two kinds of dips (ranch and spinach), a meat and cheese tray (I loved the Garlic Monterrey Jack cheese), whole-wheat and white rolls from Shop Rite in Rio Grande, a salad with fresh green and red lettuce and onions, and gigantic shrimp with home-made cocktail sauce.

After we all finished eating, we let the little boys open presents first. When they were largely done, the rest of us did ours. Sky loved his book on space from me. He sat in Dad's big chair and read it for a good half-hour. Collyn was especially fond of the skateboard/scooter he got from his grandparents. Khai's favorite present by far was a Percy the Little Green Engine toy from Thomas the Tank Engine that his grandparents gave him. He kept pushing the button to make Percy talk and his face light up for the rest of the evening.

Us adults got some pretty nice stuff, too. Anny spent the rest of the evening paging through the coffee-table book The Art of Tim Burton that Mom gave her. (She can be a bit goth-y at times and adores his movies.) Mom was thrilled with the poetry books she got from Rose and me. She says she's been reading poetry at night, before she goes to bed. Keefe's favorites were the goofy fuzzy hats Anny gave him, especially the ones with the curved antlers. Dad gave me a big hug for his new Special Edition DVD copy of the 1983 Al Pacino Scarface.

I did pretty darn well myself. Mom and Dad gave me a soft red and green plaid robe from the Vermont Country Store and a bright red nightshirt from Land's End. Mom gave me the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song on DVD. I've seen that one, but not since I was a kid, when it would run occasionally on AMC. Keefe gave me Captain America: The First Avenger, which I've wanted to see since it came out last summer. The director who made that also did the wonderful The Rocketeer, which I really enjoyed. Rose and her boys gave me a Hungry Girl cookbook. (I hope it's better than the one I took out of the library earlier in the year.) Anny and her boys gave me a Pilsbury Cookie cookbook (hey, I have a Betty Crocker cookie book - might as well be democratic) and an awesome Fozzie Bear stuffed toy that I just love. (Anny said she was dying to see the expression on my face when I opened that. She knows I love bears, and that Foz has always been my favorite Muppet, along with Miss Piggy.) Keefe's girlfriend Vicki gave me a soft fuzzy maroon blanket. Mike and Collyn gave everybody tree-shaped containers of Ferrero Rocher chocolate-and-nut candies. Mom's sister Aunt Terri gave us older girls more of that soap her friend in Virginia makes, along with tubes of all-natural lip gloss.


Later, Mom gave me a pair of Ugg-style fur-lined suede boots she had only worn once or twice. She said that the sheepskin used for the lining made her legs itch. I have no such problems. They were wonderfully soft and comfortable. I changed into them and wore them for the rest of the evening (and will probably wear them tomorrow).

Mom and Keefe set out dessert while Mike took the older boys outside to play, Anny read The Art of Tim Burton, Khai played with Percy, and the rest of us watched the Giants-Jets game. (They won 29-14, which, alas, ends the Eagles' playoff hopes.) Dessert started around the same time Fox switched to the Eagles-Cowboys showdown. Mom had her own famous peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. (Khai actually sneaked up to the peanut butter cookies and snitched one when everyone was paying attention to the TV!) A neighbor had dropped off a divine carrot cake. Rose brought a rich chocolate mousse bombe (a frequent request of Keefe's) and a fruit tart. There was the big Currier and Ives tin of cookies I gave Mom and Dad, too.

We finally left around quarter after 5. Khai needed to get to bed, and Rose and Craig still had to prepare for tomorrow's festivities. Other than hitting some mild traffic around the Deptford Mall (which is hardly a surprise on Christmas Eve), there was once again no trouble. Once Khai got tired of making Percy light up, he passed out for the rest of the ride home.

When I got in, I put everything away and ran A Disney Channel Christmas while taking a look at that Pilsbury cookie cookbook, then went online. Oh, and the Eagles did wallop the Cowboys, 20-7, which makes me happy no matter what they do in the post-season.

And speaking of Disney Channel Christmas, I think Jiminy Cricket says it all in the finale. From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas and a very happy holiday season!