“Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.”
—Margaret Thatcher
Christmas can feel like a lot of work, particularly for our daughter Michelle’s mother-in-law Kim, and her husband Al Chien, who go "all out" when hosting holiday events to create an atmosphere of Peace, Love, Joy, and Abundance. From the glitter and glow of the tree ornaments, collections of Santa Clauses, colorful, decorative, nutcracker dolls, and, other seasonal decor displayed around their home, they sure know how to bring out the spirit of the season.
This year Cecile and I had the pleasure of sharing the evening with Kim’s cousin Lynne, her husband Pete Metrulas and their wonderful children: Elisabeth, Alex and Anthony. Of course, our children Jason, his partner Alex, our daughter Michelle, husband Kyle, his brother Chip, and, last but not least, our granddaughters Lyla who recently turned 4, and her baby sister Emmy who will be 2 in February were part of our family gathering.
The appetizers we enjoyed with cocktails and wine, the main meal, side dishes that other family members provided, and the speciality desserts were exceptional as always.
Watching the girls open their gifts in their matching outfits, and later matching PJs while holding matching dolls [one of their Christmas gifts] made our hearts melt. They were also the entertainment for the evening, which involved singing, and dancing to the “Yellow Submarine,” by the Beatles—not necessarily a Christmas song—but fun nevertheless. They roughed house with their uncle Chip, and I must say, he got the worse of it, and we have witnesses to prove it:-).
As I have posted in the past, you never leave the party without gift bags, when celebrating at Chiens. This year it was a tin container of Christmas cookies and a loaf of banana bread. Thanks again to Kim and Al for your gracious and generous hospitality.
Merry Christmas to our family and friends, near and far. May you be happy, May you be healthy, May you be safe, May all your dreams come true, and, May your holidays be filled with friendship and loving kindness.
