my dad’s annual family christmas party was at our place this year, my mom volunteered our house with the incentive that there would be a vegetarian feast! mathew and i have had so much going on this month that we didn’t allow ourselves to think, plan or stress about it until that day. the work started in the morning but we didn’t have time for photos until the sun was setting and guests were arriving. there was shopping, cleaning and cooking to do. and mathew took advantage of another break from the rain to put in a few more hours of work on those stairs.
my brother justin putting up some twinkle lights and having fun with mathew and slow exposure photography.
(left) i’m still prepping upstairs while family is arriving and taking a tour of the house. (right) my sister-in-law najia and my cousin julie (and me in the background!)
my parents cooked and prepped in popo’s downstairs kitchen.
(left to right) steve, najia, warren, alvin, janet, walt and chet.
(left) sisters! (right) sisters! and lots of food… in the end my dad insisted on serving some meat, so they hid that in the corner.
dinner time! (left to right) najia, justin, jason, sherry, janet, walt, chet, popo (popo = grandma. aka: muriel.)
(left to right) darren, steve, alvin, warren, mathew, mathew, kayleigh, landon, deb, lynne.
(left) sherry, kayleigh and landon. kayleigh loved playing on the daybed and with popo’s musical rudolph. but she wouldn’t let you turn it off, so there was constant noise. i’ve repressed it now, i’m sure rudolph was singing that reindeer song over and over and over again. (right) alyssa and deb.
(left) alyssa showing off her portrait drawn by kayleigh. quite a surprising likeness! (right) mom, julie, mathew and linda congregating in the hall.
my aunt janet knitted and crocheted hats and/or scarves for EVERYONE! my family felt the need to pose with our gifts. perhaps this will be my family’s holiday card photo? perhaps not.
(left) the girl cousins on the daybed. (right) the boy cousins in the hall because the girls would not leave the daybed. where is mathew? why isn’t he in this photo?
(left) popo and justin listen as kayleigh gives an impromptu christmas medley concert. (right) a round of applause for kayleigh.
mathew said it was another test run to have 24 people over for a party. the house held up fine and i hope everyone had a good time.
mole enjoying a mellow sunday afternoon. it was a nice christmas party. but turtle never rests, the sander was buzzing on the steps outside…
hope everyone is having a happy and healthy holiday season!