Christmas 2009 was very merry

Jeff, Sassy, Alley and I hosted Christmas at home with my sister Anne, her boyfriend Luke, aunt Anita, cousin Ian and his girlfriend Kim. Oh, and Anne and Luke's dogs Kapono and Maggie. On Christmas Eve, we had a few friends (Sonya, Alan and Kara) over.

The people had a great time eating turkey and ham, drinking wine and cocktails, wearing crowns and chatting. The dogs had a better time chasing each other, destroying stuffed toys, barking at nothing, fighting over crumbs and inhaling milk bones.

Here are a few photos from our Christmas gatherings. The crowns come from Christmas crackers which are an English tradition in our family. Christmas crackers are tube-shaped paper presents which make a popping sound (similar to a crackling fire) when opened. Each cracker contains a paper crown, a toy and a joke.

I hope you all had as lovely (and filling) a Christmas as we did. Happy holidays!


Dawn and Jeff are king and queen of Beaver Court on Christmas Eve.

Alan tried to get out of wearing his Christmas crown by saying his cracker didn't have one, but he couldn't fool Dawn who found a crown (in pink) for him to wear.

Don't be fooled by sweet-seeming Kara. The minute she received her Christmas Eve crown she made a run for the throne.

The centerpiece of our Christmas dinner was this... fried turkey. I was glad Jeff, Luke and Ian still had all their limbs when this bird was done. I have to admit that it was delicious.

Confession: A beautiful wood dining table doesn't exist under these linens. Hiding under tablecloths and chair covers are two card tables and seven folding chairs.

O.K. it's not the reason for the season, but eating is a huge part of the season. Here's our Christmas Day feast.



Alley waits patiently to see what presents Santa brought.

Merry first Christmas to Anne's puppy Maggie, who has quickly become best friends with Alley.


Sassy is tired after spending the day as a sizzlin' elf.


Alley wants to be one of the princesses (Anne, Anita, Kim and Dawn), but she doesn't want to wear the crown.


Oh, the kings (Luke, Jeff and Ian) do jest.


After attempting to play the role of king, Luke declares himself a reindeer.

Kapono refuses to share the chair with Anne. He says she sheds everywhere.


The dogs are sleeping after two days of Christmas celebrations and way too many milk bones.

A good time was had by all except this poor giraffe who lost his tail after one morning of "life."

All I want for Christmas is a better attitude

I might be a bad person. I have discovered that I don't like helping others.

I know, I am officially on Santa's naughty list. But, let's not kid ourselves. It's unlikely that I was ever on his nice list.

My recent bah-humbug attitude is due to this program at work where we get letters from folks who need clothes, food, shoes and coats. Oh, yeah, and video-game systems. (Oops that was another Grinch moment.) Anyway, the program is a great idea in theory. Those who have give to those who have not. But make a few follow-up phone calls, and you'll quickly wonder just how needy these folks are. For example, a 22-year-old mother of three told me that she'd never worked because the "government money was pretty good." Nice. I would now like to point out that when I was 17 years old, I worked at Steak and Shake and cleaned vomit off bathroom floors.

Some of these letter writers really bring out my inner Grinch.

Two years ago Jeff and I delivered gifts to a young couple who had a nicer TV than we had. Last year, we took presents to a grandmother who was using empty Smirnoff vodka bottles as her mantle-piece decor. The intoxicated not-yet-40-year-old grandma asked if "that was it" after we placed several bags of wrapped presents in her living room.

So, what do you think? Is my bah-humbug attitude justified?

No. Standing behind these dysfunctional adults are children. Young boys and girls deserve Christmas presents even if (and maybe especially if) their parents suck. After all, don't these kids need gifts the most?

I feel less bah-humbuggy, and maybe even a little Christmasy, when I remember the little girl who ran out of her grandma's house last year to say thanks and give me a hug.