Christmas Day

[SavingSweetOneL]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all.

For those of you that Celebrate Christmas:

What did you get? What did you give? Did you do anything?

I recieved two gifts this year..an angel ornement, and a candle...from some good friends.

Yesterday, I ate dinner with a friend at a local resturant.

Today, I was just at home relaxing. Talked with my family on the phone.

I gave my clients candy, and some crafty things. Friends got cards, and a note pad with a calendar.

SweetOneL

[kork13]

I gave and received a variety of things... I gave out souvenirs for everyone from my time living in Japan, plus some jewelry for my mother, a watch for one brother, and snowboarding gear for my other brother. I've also been able to do alot of cooking (both meals & goodies) for my family, which I enjoy, and has definitely taken some strain off of my mother (who is currently undergoing chemo). On the receive side, I was given a good book, clothes, new journal, 2 games (board & dice), some cash/gift cards, and a few other random little things.

Christmas has always been fairly low-key for my family, so overall, we've had a quiet, enjoyable Christmas. Honestly, that in itself is what I'm most grateful for this year. I haven't been able to spend the holidays with my family for the last 4-5 years. Finally being able to see them all and spend time together again is worth more to me than anything that I actually received from my family. I've always seen the holidays (whether Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or otherwise) as times for family, friends, memories, and fun. Beyond that, the rest is gravy.

Merry Christmas everyone, and best wishes for the new year.

[Like2Plan]

Christmas Eve: We went to see a movie (The Impossible) in DC. After the movie, we went to see The National Christmas Tree over on the Elipse. (We've taken DS to see the National Christmas Tree every year since he was 3 months old. ) This year we parked right across from The Willard Hotel, so we stopped by for a hot chocolate to warm up before we headed home.
After we arrived back in our neighborhood, we drove around looking at all the houses decked out in Christmas decorations. There is a holiday decorating contest every year and they name the winners on Christmas Eve, so we had to check out the winners.

Christmas Day: We had a relaxed start to the day. I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and a pumpkin pie for dessert for later on. We opened presents and then after lunch we went to see Django. (It was opening day for this movie and every seat was taken in the theater! )
We had roast beef, potatoes, vegetables and pumpkin pie for dinner .

[EarlyRetirementJoy]

We gave gift cards to our adult DD's. We gave each other Kindle Fire's. I've been reading and web browsing on mine ever since.

I've been cooking and entertaining nonstop since Thanksgiving. Stayed on budget throughout however, due in large part to the things I've learned here on Saving Advice. Planned my master entertaining menu in November, and started stocking up on needed items as they went on sale. Made alcoholic cocktails rather than setting out beer and wine, which was a hit with all, and saved me a ton of money. I did Spanish sangria (infused with a touch of gin), Pomegranate martinis and hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps. Christmas dinner was pumpkin-mushroom-sage lasagna since almost all the adults are vegetarian. It's drop dead delicious, vegetarian or no.

Today I'm dedicating to a day in my p.j.'s. I'm exhausted!