Happy Christmas Eve! It’s been a long day and I am just about ready to pass out, especially since I know I have to get up at 0-dark thirty in the morning the next few days, but I’ll sneak in a quick entry anyway.

This morning we got up and puttered around, packing up cookies in various tins, making sure all the presents were wrapped and sorted into various bags and piles and boxes, loading things into our cars, and so on. We got another CSA box this morning, so had to take some time to sort through everything in that (more satsumas! more leeks! good grief, more bok choy!) and stash it in the fridge, where it will likely not be touched until next week some time. And then Richard headed off to his parents’ house for their traditional Christmas Eve festivities, and I headed off to my parents’ house for ours.

My youngest sister and her family flew down last night, so my niece answered the door when I rang the bell and there was hugging and bouncing (mostly on her part). I apparently missed all the excitement with the tree – it had been leaning precariously forward, but a day or so ago it fell completely over, and in the process of trying to right it again, my dad and brother-in-law discovered that the tree stand was slightly cracked, so there had been some leakage (all things that make me more and more glad we finally switched to the fake tree a few years back!). By the time I arrived it was still leaning forward, but at least it was no longer in any danger of crashing down again.

We all ate lunch and my niece played Christmas songs on the piano and we all chatted and I did a little knitting while she read her book. The older sister and her family showed up a few hours later, and I got to play with her shiny new Droid phone (I want one, but we aren’t due for upgrades for a while longer, so alas, we have to wait) and at some point all the kids went outside to run around and play, while most of us adults remained inside where it was warm and mostly quiet.

There was dinner and then it was time to bundle everyone into cars and head off to an early Christmas eve service. After that was done, the rest of the family headed back to my parents’ house to hang stockings and so forth, but I instead headed back home. I’d forgotten I was supposed to make pumpkin bread, so the instant I got home, I zipped immediately into the kitchen and threw a batch together. Only once that was in the oven to bake did I finally have a chance to open presents from his side of the family, and to sit down and pay attention to all the cats who were desperate for attention because we’d gone off and left them for the day.

The bread is now cooling on the counter, presents are piled haphazardly all over the dining room table, the cats are all (temporarily) sated (we gave them wet food, mainly to keep them from pestering me during the baking process), and I am barely able to keep my eyes open, so I’m off to bed. Christmas morning, when there are little kids in the family, comes far too early.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.