On Christmas day, Ben drove me to the Acton house in the afternoon, where the family festivities began.
Chapter 1: Opening Ceremonies
We arrived to stockings hung with care, and dad soon started a fire to accent them.
All three of us kids still have the stockings that our Aunt Karen made for us when we were very little, but for some reason mine is the only one to have shed letters.
We actually helped decorate the tree on Thanskgiving, but now I added my presents (in silver) to the mix.
Karen loves to set an elaborate table, and so ample dishes and cutlery awaited dinner.
Karen was out picking up Larry (her ex husband, current friend) when we arrived, so Ben, Courtney, dad and I talked over hors d'oeuvres laid out in the living room until Karen and Larry joined us.
Chapter 2: Opening Presents
Once everyone had arrived, we could get down to business and begin gift opening. Since I have traditionally cared most about making the most of the process (and making it organized), I have long been the family present-time organizer. We began with the stockings, which is a free-for-all (all of us simultaneously opening and admiring). As a result, it was all a blur.
Then it was on to the main course: the presents from under the tree. For this section, I pass out gifts in rounds (one for everyone), and then we take turns opening them around the circle.
I'm not sure what Ben is opening here:
But his theme for the day was all things that might maximize enjoyment of his new car, including window scraper and cleaning "sponge."
My main gift was an external hard drive with a terabite (!) of space, but I also received some additional useful gadgets, including an apparently fascinating LED flashlight.
Courtney has some fun and games in her future, one involving magnets, and another that will take advantage of her archery skills.
I gave Ben and Courtney Amazon Gift Certificates, and they returned the favor (sometimes pragmatism trumps creativity).
Karen received a classic pearl earring and necklace set for which she had been hoping, and likewise a Panini sandwhich maker from Williams and Sonoma (a company that apparently has a pineapple theme?--there are tiny ones on the wrapping paper and a pineapple cookie cutter on top) that she dubbed "her dream."
Courtney and Ben got her matching sauces from the same company to "paint the bread" before pressing it in the grill.
Since she owns and loves birds, I got her a multimedia book that features 200 bird calls. There is a page about each bird (organized by area of the world), and then a number on the page that corresponds to the number you select to hear the call.
We inundated my dad with WWII documentaries, mathematical puzzle books, and this fat volume on Einstein:
Meanwhile, my siblings had plenty to chew on.
Chapter 3: Feasting
Dinner was a Cornish game hen for each, plus vegetables, stuffing, and an elaborate salad (including avacado and sunflower seeds). Sadly, we were all too busy consuming to capture the process in images.
Chapter 4: Digesting and Enjoying the New Toys
After dinner, there was much to be done with what we had accumulated.
Courtney and Larry lingered at the table to engage in intellectual discourse,
while Dad and Ben figured out how to reconfigure my new hard drive so that it would work with a Mac computer.
Since Ben had brought his hard drive to watch a movie the night before, once they accomplished this I was able to copy music and movies from his to mine.
After they had sorted out my hardware, Dad helped Ben put his new hubcaps on his car.
Look at the difference!
Hoping for some exercise, I encouraged dad to set up his computer version of dance dance revolution, a game where you follow arrows (which are in time with the music) with your feet.
As we were hopping, Dad took a spare moment to browse his new expert-level sudoku.
And of course, no evening would be complete these days without sharing some of the delightful things we had recently found on YouTube.
Chapter 5: Pie and Goodbye
Karen had baked an apple pie, and used some cookie cutters to cut out apple shapes on the top crust. She had also picked up a vegan raspberry chocolate cake at Whole Foods (friendly to her lactose intolerance since vegans avoid dairy).
After dessert and more congenial lounging, we finally headed out late into the night. Ben drove himself back to Amherst, and Dad and Karen returned Larry and me. And to all a good night.
Really nice to share. And funny. Thanks for posting all of this. But Grandma actually had the stockings made for each of you in time. (your letters are older, by the way . . .) and it would be Aunt Kim, not Aunt Karen. love, mom
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