MY CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR....QUIET
Dec. 31st, 2011 08:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
There are some pics below from my Christmas at home this year. We didn't know how many people to expect for dinner...it could have been anywhere from 8 to 3. It ended up being 3. :(
I don't want to sound depressed or anything, but my daughter, fiance and baby left just before Christmas for Vancouver. Her fiance got a new job out west, but I thought they would wait until after the holidays to actually leave. Maybe it was the nice weather we were having that made them think they should leave right away...it only snowed for the first time this past Wednesday and now the temperature has gone up again. But with the three of them gone, we were down 3 people at home here. Then my son Jamie and his gf might have made 5 for dinner, but she and her family had been vacationing in Cuba until the Thursday before Christmas. Jamie had to stay behind to write an exam so he couldn't join them. When they came back, they decided to have Christmas dinner at their cottage up north, so Jamie went with them. However, he spent all day with us, sleeping here on Christmas Eve and opening his presents with us in the morning. :)
The cats were the first to awake. These two like to sleep together, with their feet touching. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Next, Sean woke up and came to bring me downstairs.

I let him open a few of his gifts. It was still dark outside even though it was around 8:00 am by this time.






Jamie was still sleeping on the sofa when the sun came up.

Sean and Eddie played air hockey, Monopoly and a Lego game.

I only needed to set 3 places for dinner. :(

Some of the gifts I received: L-R: some books, a collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies (they have been monopolizing my free time this week), a cute holiday movie called 'The Holiday'...

Other gifts include some chocolates and some kitchen stuff, including a tablecloth from Australia!

Some more! From top down: a brown shirt, dark brown shiny vest, pretty brown beaded necklace, cute teddy bear, DVD sets of the 1st and 4th seasons of 'Big Bang Theory', and a cardboard snowman which held the makings of hot chocolate - cocoa powder, marshmallows and chocolate chips. :P

More...in front of my favourite old Nativity set are some Playmobil sets...I love collecting Playmobil. At one point I was hooked on it. Behind them is a cardboard Christmas tree that Sean made for me at school! :)

I received more gifts that are not represented here because I forgot to put them out since I was already eating/using them, and I thank the senders for their kindness and generosity. :)
One last pic of my sideboard:

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmases too! XD
I don't want to sound depressed or anything, but my daughter, fiance and baby left just before Christmas for Vancouver. Her fiance got a new job out west, but I thought they would wait until after the holidays to actually leave. Maybe it was the nice weather we were having that made them think they should leave right away...it only snowed for the first time this past Wednesday and now the temperature has gone up again. But with the three of them gone, we were down 3 people at home here. Then my son Jamie and his gf might have made 5 for dinner, but she and her family had been vacationing in Cuba until the Thursday before Christmas. Jamie had to stay behind to write an exam so he couldn't join them. When they came back, they decided to have Christmas dinner at their cottage up north, so Jamie went with them. However, he spent all day with us, sleeping here on Christmas Eve and opening his presents with us in the morning. :)
The cats were the first to awake. These two like to sleep together, with their feet touching. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Next, Sean woke up and came to bring me downstairs.

I let him open a few of his gifts. It was still dark outside even though it was around 8:00 am by this time.






Jamie was still sleeping on the sofa when the sun came up.

Sean and Eddie played air hockey, Monopoly and a Lego game.

I only needed to set 3 places for dinner. :(

Some of the gifts I received: L-R: some books, a collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies (they have been monopolizing my free time this week), a cute holiday movie called 'The Holiday'...

Other gifts include some chocolates and some kitchen stuff, including a tablecloth from Australia!

Some more! From top down: a brown shirt, dark brown shiny vest, pretty brown beaded necklace, cute teddy bear, DVD sets of the 1st and 4th seasons of 'Big Bang Theory', and a cardboard snowman which held the makings of hot chocolate - cocoa powder, marshmallows and chocolate chips. :P

More...in front of my favourite old Nativity set are some Playmobil sets...I love collecting Playmobil. At one point I was hooked on it. Behind them is a cardboard Christmas tree that Sean made for me at school! :)

I received more gifts that are not represented here because I forgot to put them out since I was already eating/using them, and I thank the senders for their kindness and generosity. :)
One last pic of my sideboard:

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmases too! XD
no subject
Date: 2011-12-31 06:08 pm (UTC)And you got amaziiing gifts, I'm jealous haha. The Christmas tree is so pretty, I'm kind of bad at decorating and stuff but I still managed to do a pretty San Lorenzo tree (all red and blue, of course).
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 01:04 pm (UTC)Awww...I always feel very spoiled at Christmas! Because I work in a doctor's office, people always give us gifts and we end up with so much more than we should have. :)
I didn't want to decorate the tree! I remember I was very tired that day. My husband had put on the lights and asked if I could put on the rest. I didn't feel like it at first, but I started slowly, and once I got going I managed to finish it off pretty well. The secret was not putting on everything, but just leaving it once it looked fairly full. XD
Your San Lorenzo tree sounds very nice! LOL. I like trees with themes...one year I saw a tree decorated all with teddy bears in a store...I loved it, so I bought lots of cheap, small bears and decorated our tree like that...there are only a couple of teddies left...you can see one on the left side of our tree this year...hahahaha!
Thanks for your comment. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-12-31 11:50 pm (UTC)I think it is nice that you had a smaller gathering for Christmas. There is much to be said for the all out huge family gatherings but usually you don't have enough time to spend with everyone individually at those types of events, and even more so if you are the hostess. The more intimate family Christmas allows time for all to really and truly enjoy each other's company and appreciate the time together.
I am happy that you had a great Christmas and I wish you the best of times in the New Year.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 12:59 pm (UTC)The Hitchcock movies are the really early ones...some I had never seen. So far I've watched 6 of them...the most impressive was one called 'Blackmail', made in 1929. Absolutely wonderful, and the first talking film Hitchcock ever made. In fact, I think it's the first talking film ever made in England. I'll have to write a review of it because it was outstanding on many levels. :)
The small group was actually very nice at Christmas. The intimacy made us share so much more everything we were feeling, and we enjoyed the food more too, I think, and playing games together. :)
Thank you so much, and same to you. XD
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 03:10 am (UTC)and aww what a cute tree!
and those pics of Sean are adorable XD
What's that Minotaurus thing?
ooo air hockey ♥
Wow your table setting is beautiful! Everything goes SO well together and it's really, really pretty! ♥
Oh, I've seen The Holiday!
omg LOL! I got Ferrero Rocher chocolates too XD haha
That tablecloth's really cool
ooo I like the bead necklace :D
Big Bang Theory! :D (1st and 4th? did you already have 2nd and 3rd?)
aww Bernie! (the Bayern teddybear XD) (is it a Bayern teddy bear?)
oo that cardboard snowman thing is such a cute idea
awww Sean's Christmas tree is awesome! So very well made, too! :D wow
The playmobil stuf is so cute. I love the sunflowers
and that Nativity scene set is soooo cute!!
I'm sorry the group was made smaller, but it must have also been very cozy and close, and then everyone gets to interact with everyone ♥ I hope you had a good time, and that you have a wonderful new year!! ♥
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 12:50 pm (UTC)Yes, the cats always sleep facing each other, feet touching. I always think they must have been that way in the womb (they're sisters). XD
Thank you...the tree turned out nice!
LOL...Sean had gotten such a horrible haircut...I wondered how the pics would turn out...he looks better with slightly longer hair. :)
The Minotaurus game is one of those new LEGO games...you put it together like regular LEGO...then you play the game...this one is sort of like chess, with mazes and specific moves for each piece.
Thank you re: the table setting. I would have gone more 'all out' if we'd had more for dinner. :/
The Holiday was a really cute movie to watch on Christmas night... :)
I love the tablecloth from Australia! A patient gave it to me...she married an Australian guy a few years ago, but she comes back every year at Christmas to visit her family, and she always brings me something!
My son gave me the necklace...he said his gf picked it out, though...XDD.
Ha! The Big Bang Theory DVDs have a story...my sister and I each bought two DVDs and gave them to each other! I got 1st and 4th and she got 2nd and 3rd...the reason for that was the pricing! The 1st season DVD was so cheap...and the 4th was the most expensive. The 2nd and 3rd were in between...so when you put them together like we did, they added up to about the same...it's okay...after we watch them all, we'll switch up! ;)
OMG, YES!!! The teddy bear is a Bayern one! (His name is Bernie?) Thank you. I had to hide him a bit, since I am a Schalke fan...I can't let people know I have a Bayern bear! LOL. My friend in Munich sent him to me! When I was there a couple of years ago I bought some Bayern Munich stuff because I didn't realize Bayern and Schalke were enemies!!!! O_O
I loved the cardboard Xmas tree that Sean made at school! I'll treasure it always! :)
I could easily get hooked again on Playmobil! :)
I'll admit that my daughter going to Vancouver so suddenly threw me for a bit of a loop...I miss the baby so much...but I realize it was the best for her. :(
no subject
Date: 2012-01-02 06:14 am (UTC)haha That's actually both a good idea and a really cute story about the BBT DVDs XD
Yep, Bayern's mascot is a teddy bear called Bernie XD
lol I don't ascribe to the whole rivalries philosophy :p So I at least am never going to think badly of someone if they like rival teams.
Bundesliga Mascotology Trivia: Hertha's is Brazilian (Herthinho XP another bear), Dortmund's bee is called Emma, but is male (as in, the character is male, not the person inside the costume - I don't know if that's a guy or a woman), and Koeln's is actually alive [Hennes the goat]
List of football mascots in Germany: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maskottchen#Fu.C3.9Fball
Erwin's a miner?! HOW?! I think that's a mistake.
OK, sorry, "Berni," no E :p
Here's the google translate version of that last link, but the translations are not very good [link]
but omg Jack the sparrow XD lol
I like those first two things from the very top of the article :p
no subject
Date: 2012-01-04 01:54 pm (UTC)I've watched almost ALL my DVDs now...O_O
Thanks for the info on Bayern's teddy bear! He's now sitting beside my Athletic Bilbao lion that I picked up while in Spain! :)
I hope to keep adding to my collection...wait...I do have a Real Betis teddy bear as well, and a Benfica eagle, somewhere... :)
Thanks for the info on the mascots as well! It's quite fascinating how the clubs came up with them! So much variety...LOL...some of them are so weird. XDDD
no subject
Date: 2012-01-05 04:55 am (UTC)awww I remember that lion! it's cute!
lol yeah and sometimes they do a mascot race (during the summer) of a whole bunch of team mascots together XD
no subject
Date: 2012-01-04 07:46 pm (UTC)What a haul of presents!! :D Awesome! And I'm glad you liked the little something I sent you! :)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-05 12:04 am (UTC)I got waaayyy too many presents! I LOVE the Basque address book you gave me!!! It was in my purse...I have already changed over from my OLD address book. This way I can take it out and look at the pics every day. *sigh*