Holiday Vacation: Christmas

This is the first time I've attended the Christmas Events that Hans' family creatively host when there is a large family gathering. A few days ago Hans' sister and I went a little wild with scraps of felt and made a lively skirt for the tree, which may or may not look like a cross between Santa and the Pope:

On Christmas Eve wonderful smells began to waft around the farm while the turkey cooked in The Fancy New Grill and we spent some time before dinner playing "Guess What's In The Sock". After a short prayer, we had a sumptuous meal (including some interesting Jell-O creations, a repeat from last year), followed by more silly games and a Euchre tournament. At first I was a little disappointed in missing out on the Major Award being offered to the winning team, but overcame those sentiments after seeing it consisted of matching rawhide bikini tops.

Christmas Day we opened presents at the farmhouse and then drove to Hans' aunt and uncle's place in Prairie du Chien. Hans' cousin had made wonderful gourmet pizzas for lunch. She and Hans' aunt had also organized an entire Christmas Olympics, which was really fun and at times very hilarious. No injuries were sustained as far as I know. At the end of the night we all received medals and a round of applause. Afterward, we exchanged gifts (again). Hans and I were surprised by the very thoughtful gifts we received this year. This Christmas has certainly been one of the more memorable ones for me.