As I mentioned before, I was really happy the Christmas holiday feel on a weekend this year, it meant we had a long weekend so my family got to come up and stay with us a little longer! We rode the train together and the next day Mom & Dad came up for Christmas Eve. Here are some pics of the fun we had!
Here is Hubby getting his ham ready, and you'll this is a HALF ham, can you imagine how big a whole one would have been?!
Here is the ham after he seasoned it and put the clove's in, he picked this up from Publix. For the sides we ordered some green beans, hash browns, stuffing and mashed potatoes from Cracker Barrel, everything was cooked and all we had to do was heat it up for Christmas Eve dinner!
I found another easy and yummy recipe from Jennifer at Dimples and Tangles, its called Iced Tea Punch and all you need is the items pictured above!!
-1 cup of Lipton Instant Iced Tea Mix with Lemon ( I used the raspberry flavor)
-(1) 2 liter of Ginger Ale
-Lots of crushed ice
Pour everything into a punch bowl and enjoy!! My parents and Hubby seemed to like it, I did too! I had a couple of glasses myself!
I cleared off our kitchen table to make room for lots of festive snacks! All it it I picked up a Walmart! We had summer sausage with assorted cheeses, egg nog, punch, tea, Omma's Chex Mix, Edwards pie, white chocolate Oreo's and Mrs. Mary's spice bread, YUM!
Mom also surprised me by bringing up a lovely yellow bed skirt for our guest room, doesn't it look great?! It really completes the bed, I love it!! Now I just need to find some nice matching sheets!
One paycheck at a time :-)
Uncle G had to work on Christmas Eve but was sweet enough to make the 2 hour trip north to spend the night with us. Our dinner started late, I had wanted to take everyone to see some really cool Christmas lights that were synchronized to the radio, but we were a little too late getting there and they closed, maybe next year! We did have time for Daddy to read The Night Before Christmas, does your family do this too? Here are some pics of Daddy reading thru the years I love:
After we read our story the girls went to bed and waiting for Santa to come, YEAH!!
It was defiantly a Paw Patrol Christmas at our house! Taylor got the Paw Patroller, the tower and some other gifts. Nicole got a popper and pop up animal thing, see Gigi playing with it in the background?
Nicole and her new Peppa Pig blanket from Gigi and Granddaddy!
For breakfast we went as easy as possible. I put together my crock pot cheese grits that night. I've have made these twice this Christmas season and they are great! Get a big crock pot and add:
-12 cups of water
-3 cups of grits
-1 stick of butter
-2 cups heavy cream
-4 tablespoons salt
-4 cups of cheese
They come out really creamy and tasty!! Cook on low for 8 hours
These 3 make Christmas so special for me and the girls, we always have fun and laugh! They also give some of the best gifts, its a great time!! I can't say enough how thankful I am for all their love and support, especially this year, they have been there for me and the girls and I am so grateful for them all.
I mentioned earlier we got Cracker Barrel for our side dishes, well I also ordered this chocolate chip pecan pie and it is SO very good!! I am not a huge fan of pecan's BUT this is one of the best pie's ever! If you live near Cracker Barrel you most try this ASAP!!
My parents left that afternoon and the girls played with all their new toys, I guess it wore them out cause Nicole feel asleep in my lap while I watched one of my favorite movies, Love Actually!
Later that night one of my best bud's Demetrius (pictured above) asked if I had heard about George Michael. I was heartbroken to hear of his passing. I grew up a huge George Michael fan!! I thought he was so good looking and so talented!! I even went to his concert a few years ago and danced the night away to all his classics. He will be missed for sure!
Christmas 2016 was a lot of fun, I am thankful for another year to celebrate with my family!!
