Happy Holiday...?
Thanksgiving has come and gone, our 2nd down here, away from my family and closer to Jason's. Last year was hard, my first one away from the place I'd called home for 27 years, and to compound things, Jason's Dad and his family had gone away for the week. So I set out on the intimidating task of cooking my own turkey and simple fixings for the two of us. After many phone calls to my mother (who was eager to give out cooking advice to the daughter that had fought her training for many years), I was successful and we had a very quiet and simplistic holiday together.
This year was different. Jason's stepmother switches off hosting holidays with his aunt, one takes Thanksgiving, the other Christmas. Everyone was in town this year and his stepmom's house was not up to hosting anyone so our house was volunteered with the following guest list:
Jason & I
Father in law, stepmother and stepsister-in-law
Aunt & Uncle
7 people? No problem!
About two days before the holiday, the aunt and uncle mentioned that two of Jason's cousins might be coming and they'd be bringing S.O.'s Ok, that' four more, not a big deal.
Another Aunt and Uncle were invited but they have a habit of not showing to family events and they have had other dinners to attend the same day. They also have four kids.
Also, step-sister-in-law invited her boyfriend. If you're following along at home, that's a total of:
18 people. Now we weren't really expecting the family of 6 to show up but of course they did. 18 people in our house at once made for very cozy dining. Thankfully we still had our old table and chairs downstairs that we brought up and put in the living room. Jason I ended up sitting on barstools at the counter and I believe one person opted to stand up.
It was crazy! But fun! Everyone left after 11pm, since dinner didn't start until 7pm (we had issues with the deep fryer), but I didn't have to cook everything and one of Jason's Aunts and a cousin helped with dishes.
I love my in-laws!
This year was different. Jason's stepmother switches off hosting holidays with his aunt, one takes Thanksgiving, the other Christmas. Everyone was in town this year and his stepmom's house was not up to hosting anyone so our house was volunteered with the following guest list:
Jason & I
Father in law, stepmother and stepsister-in-law
Aunt & Uncle
7 people? No problem!
About two days before the holiday, the aunt and uncle mentioned that two of Jason's cousins might be coming and they'd be bringing S.O.'s Ok, that' four more, not a big deal.
Another Aunt and Uncle were invited but they have a habit of not showing to family events and they have had other dinners to attend the same day. They also have four kids.
Also, step-sister-in-law invited her boyfriend. If you're following along at home, that's a total of:
18 people. Now we weren't really expecting the family of 6 to show up but of course they did. 18 people in our house at once made for very cozy dining. Thankfully we still had our old table and chairs downstairs that we brought up and put in the living room. Jason I ended up sitting on barstools at the counter and I believe one person opted to stand up.
It was crazy! But fun! Everyone left after 11pm, since dinner didn't start until 7pm (we had issues with the deep fryer), but I didn't have to cook everything and one of Jason's Aunts and a cousin helped with dishes.
I love my in-laws!