Keeping with tradition, Mary Ellen hosted Christmas Eve at her home for the extended family. By my count, one of her two brothers and five of her six sisters were there. (One brother lives in Colorado and one sister was sick.) Add in the spouses, children, and grandchildren and the result was one full, loud, happy party. The decor was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the company was great! The get-togethers in Buffalo are pretty different from those in Oklahoma with my mom's family; there, the loudest we get is at a hotly contested Scrabble session. Not better or worse, just different!
Dan and Ben had a great time, running up and down the stairs, playing with cars and trucks from Zach's childhood, stealing food from any table at their level. They loved opening their gift exchange present and just being around lots of people who can't get enough of them.
After the real presents were exchanged, we had a Yankee Swap (aka Dirty Santa aka White Elephant) gift exchange. You know, where someone opens a present, the next person can either open a new one or steal that one, and so on. We contributed some gas station wine-in-a-cup from a Virginia rest stop and we came out with a fancy painted Vegas wine glass. Win!
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| Love these old Buffalo houses! |
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| How embarrassing--they all wore striped sweaters. |
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| Back with the crackers, I see. |
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| Lay off the crackers, Ben! |
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| Moving on to desserts. Good man. |
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| And with this toy, Ben's lifetime hammer experience eclipses his father's. |
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| Thanks for a great Christmas Eve, extended Rashman-Doerr family! |
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