December 2023

Christmas Tree Gettin’ Day

Christmas season kicked off with Christmas Tree Gettin’ Day (moved to Sunday, since Annika had a party to go to on Saturday; the fellas went ahead and got the outdoor lighting up while she was out). We went to a couple of lots before finding a good ‘un, and then spent the day decorating … only to discover a water leak from the tree stand, all over our brand new wood floors! So we had to un-decorate the tree, replace the stand, clean up the mess, and re-hang all the ornaments, but the disaster was averted and the tree was up at last. 

Parties, performances and such
—R. and I went to the Apple holiday party — the first real one since January 2020 — with Anne and Kevin, another weeknight out with the kids managing themselves at home.
—The Nutcracker: We went with the Patels to see The Nutcracker ballet in downtown San Jose; it was Girl Scouts night, so we saw a lot of other people we knew, too.
—Movie club: Mid-month, we saw A Christmas Story in the theater, another re-release (at modern prices, lol); as many times as we’ve seen that movie, it was all of our first time to see it on the big screen. And then in the dead week between xmas and New Year’s, we went back to see The Hunger Games, another one we’ve seen a few times but not in the theater.
— Fantasy of Lights: Our annual drive-through tradition was a great time, as always, and it seemed like they had done some upgrades and additions this year.
—General holiday stuff: This year, both kids had early-out schedules for finals week, but unfortunately had to go to school till the 22nd, ugh. We had a lot of fun with the extra afternoon time, baking cookies and getting presents, taking gifts to friends, and of course in the evenings, watching all the xmas movies on the new! big! screen!

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
The 24th saw a spirited game of Christmas Eve Gift, in which everybody “got” at least one other person — the kids are getting to be pros at the game, you gotta watch out for ‘em now! Grandma & Grandpa arrived in the early afternoon; we hung out, grazing on holiday treats till dinner, then hung all the stockings, put out milk and cookies for Santa (and carrots & celery for the reindeer), then got everybody but R. and I to bed. The two of us stayed up too late watching Die Hard and wrapping as always, and everybody slept later than we usually do on xmas day (even Lukas!) — we didn’t get the turkey in the oven till 11:00. We opened presents for hours; one highlight was a turntable “for me,” and several LPs for the kids to play on it. Amy & Paul and the cousins came in the afternoon, and we did presents with them. Then we had the big dinner, watched A Christmas Story one last time, and called it a night.

New Year’s Eve
Once again this year, we went hiking in Uvas Canyon with the Patels; we had lovely cool misty weather, and the waterfalls were going pretty good. The evening we spent at home, eating a bunch of appetizers and small bites, playing Mario Kart and Animal Crossing until it was time to watch the ball drop and hurl huge handfuls of paper-shredder confetti all over the place. Goodbye, 2023, and hello 2024!