One of the Christmas traditions for the family I started some years ago was taking my daughters, grand-daughters, daughter-in-law, step-granddaughter, grandson’s significant other, and my daughters’ more-or-less adopted sister out to High Tea on Christmas Eve.
It’s become a high point of the holiday season for me and some of the other ladies, giving us a chance to dress nicely and enjoy tea and dainty food as well as adult female conversation for a few hours in the midst of some of the busiest days of our lives.
Apparently we’re not alone in enjoying a Christmas Eve High Tea. For the past few years I’ve had to make the reservation well in advance to ensure we could get a time on the 24th. This year I signed up in September, almost as soon as the service made those dates available. I’ll do the same this coming year to ensure the tradition continues.
I’m not actually much a tea drinker – coffee is my preferred tipple – but I do like sampling the variety of interesting teas they offer. And I never thought I’d be enjoying a cucumber sandwich, but that was before I tried one and discovered they’re surprisingly delicious. As are the other dainty offerings – the ham and brie on a cracker, the salmon on cream cheese, and the mini-quiches. Plus a scone with either clotted cream or lemon curd and an assortment of cookies and mini-cakes. Most of the crew prefers the lemon curd on their scones, but I’m for clotted cream all the way.
The plates of goodies don’t look like they’d add up to a meal, but we’ve all noted that we’re feeling pretty full by the time we finish. It’s a lovely way to have a lunch on Christmas eve.
The weather blessed us with a couple of unusually nice days (for December) leading up to Christmas, so the children had a great opportunity to play outside. The swing and the balls all saw plenty of use, but the Cornhole set got the most interest this time.
In any case, my 12-year-old grandson decided to organize a Cornhole tournament and talked almost everyone in the house at the time into participating. He arranged pairings and brackets and tracked the winners of each round. I’m sorry to say I only made it to the second round, but my husband was the winner (and has a lovely certificate as a result).
My 10-year-old grandson got a build-it-yourself Foosball kit for Christmas and spent much of that day and the next putting it together. Based on his brother’s success with the Cornhole Tournament, he organized another one using his new game.
I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season, whether that means a quiet, relaxing day, time with family, or celebrating in whatever way you prefer.
Meanwhile, Christmas here was crowded and chaotic, but also a great deal of fun. I feel tremendously blessed that my children get along with each other well, as do their spouses and offspring. We’ve had the occasional drama and disagreements, but there have also been reconciliations. I also know how fortunate I am to have lived long enough to meet my first great-grandson.
I squeeze a lot of ornaments onto my tree. I’ve even occasionally called it cluttered. But I think it’s also a happy tree. Most of the ornaments have some personal meaning for me and/or my family. Some of them are heirlooms, having been handed down from my husband’s grandmother or my parents. Many are hand-made—by myself, my late mother, relatives, and particularly grandchildren. Actually, there are a lot of grandchildren-made ornaments on my tree. They’re some of the most special ones.
I’ve talked about this here before, but every year, I’m reminded afresh that one of the most wonderful and magical Christmas decorations I’ve ever encountered is something that happens right here in my own neighborhood!
This is my absolute favorite time of year. I love pretty much everything about Christmas celebrations: the lights, decorations, music, baking, and wrapping presents. Most of all, I enjoy getting together with friends and family, some of whom I may not have seen for a while.
I originally wrote this short story for an anthology that released a couple of years ago.