Turkey Time

Where have I been?

Well, nowhere actually. Certainly not off relaxing in exotic Cozumel like Jen.

Me, I’ve been lost in the whirlwind time vortex of Christmas preparations. Busy, busy, busy!

But it all paid off last night, when we had one of the bestest Christmas dinners. Ever since the Hubster and I moved out here to Calgary from Toronto nine years ago (nine! has it been that long?), we’ve gotten used to having a low-key, quiet Christmas dinner. I had even given up on cooking a turkey…I’d buy some sliced turkey breast, and warm it up in the microwave, make some stuffing on the stove, mash a couple of potatoes and prepare the gravy from a packet. Still Christmas dinner, but just – well, less so. Faded.

This year, we had good friends of ours over for dinner, and I cooked up a real, traditional Yuletide feast. We had a fresh bird (not overcooked, either, a small miracle for me), real stuffing (yes, I made my own) that was really stuffed inside the turkey. Mashed potatoes made with butter, cream and sour cream. Oven-baked dinner rolls, carrots, corn and homemade gravy not from a packet (thanks to my friend for taking that one on). For dessert, we even had mince tarts. YUU-UM!

The best part, though, was having good friends to share the day with us. My kids were so excited. They set the table, poured the drinks (they got peach juice in champagne flutes) and served appetizers. I think all four kids (our two girls and our friends’ daughters) ate about seven bites between them…they were so excited to try out the Wii – our bounty from Santa.

So, from our beautiful table

to our delicious dinner, to hours of fun for kids and adults alike on the Wii, it was a very Merry Christmas after all.