It’s the Thursday before Christmas, and the house is about ready to receive guests. My fiance’s family will be arriving in a few hours and staying through the 26th. The house has been cleaned and a lovely festive flower arrangement sits on our coffee table… next to an animated “kids” book style edition of “Die Hard”. As a treat for the future in-laws, I made my favorite treat: apple cider donuts! They were made gluten-free, since my almost-father-in-law is gluten sensitive and my future brother-in-law has Celiac Disease. What it lacks in gluten it makes up for in taste! Now my whole house smells like apple cake. I know, apple is typically a Thanksgiving flavor, but I had apple pie at Christmas too when I was a kid. There’s no bad time for apple desserts, if you ask me!
I made a dozen, but the dough consistency made them all split slightly. One doughnut fell down fighting in a perfect half. I decided we would split it, as a taste test. And golly, was it delicious!
I’m spending time with other family at a wedding this weekend out of town, but my flight gets me home Sunday (before Christmas Eve)! I hope I get to watch “Love Actually” or something on my flight tomorrow. It’d be arduous to watch EVERY favorite Christmas movie Monday and Tuesday.
Growing up in a Jewish household (but with a Christian father), my experience of Christmas was strictly the capitalist version that some people think ruins the holiday. I love decorating trees, baking cookies, listening to Christmas music, and most of all, giving presents! Getting presents is fun, but… I think this meme sums it up best:
I wish I had a billion dollars to buy everything for the people I love. I wish I had a time machine so I could spend Christmas morning with my fiance’s family, my family, and my friends up north. Until I get those billion dollars and until Elon Musk stops messing around and does what I’m paying him to do, I will work with my holiday budget (?) and time management that I have now. I got most of my Christmas shopping done early this year, though one gift is coming later than the rest… a seasonal coffee gift that delivers coffee every month from a different corner of the world!
It really is the most wonderful time of the year. But, I am very sleepy and still have so much to do. I’m going to get the last of my to-dos taken care of and go to sleep a bit later than usual… with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. Sweet dreams!