Christmas Day!

We had a very pleasant Christmas Day. It began early with Esther coming in to wake us up at 7am. Not too bad, but we had been counting on her sleeping in like Nathan - 8:45! We opened stockings and presents and finally got to breakfast just before noon!
Sleeping bags from Grandma and Grandpa Janis. The kids were very excited!
Can you tell she adores the Barbie Rapunzel from Grama Brown?
Cute kiddos being sweet to each other.
Trying a new tradition for Christmas breakfast, Daron prepared a yummy Middle Eastern spread. Oranges, berries, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, pita, cheeses, and hot chocolate. Yeah, not Middle Eastern but the kids really wanted it. We dipped the pita in olive oil and za'tar, a mixture of toasted sesame seeds, thyme, ground sumac, and salt. We would break off a piece of pita, wrap some cheese and an olive in it, then dip into the olive oil and za'tar. Delicious!

The kids played so nicely together all afternoon with their new toys. It was such a pleasure. Daron even got down on the floor with them and played. They loved that.

Dinner was a little more simplistic than Thanksgiving, though it still took awhile to prepare. We did a Colonial tavern meal, complete with checked tablecloth and our special pewter candlesticks from Williamsburg. The ham with Clementine glaze was slightly overdone, but tasted delicious. Green beans, mashed and carmelized sweet potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, gingered pumpkin soup, and syllabub rounded out our meal.
Syllabub, a Colonial drink/dessert usually made with wine and sherry and cream. Ours was made with pomegranate soda, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cream - topped with mint and sugar coated cranberries.


My only regret was that the plum pudding wasn't done on time and we had to switch to dessert plan B - hot cocoa and biscotti. Not really Colonial, but yum all the same. Once the guests left and the kitchen cleaned up, we dug into the plum pudding. Served with the sauce!





Merry Christmas!!!