Merry (day after) Christmas!
This time one year ago we were waltzing our freezing cold hineys to Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC for the amazzzzzing day-after Christmas sales. We have gone to NYC for Christmas for two out of the last three years and love every second of spending Christmas in the big apple.
This year, however, we stayed put right here in Tampa. Every year (since the dawn of time) we have gone to my Aunt Denise’s house for a huge family Christmas celebration. We start with all the cousins opening presents, then the adults open theirs, and then…we eat. And we eat goooooood.
Aunt Denise is a goddess in the kitchen. But our family has its funny food quirks…like the mashed potatoes. For several years, Aunt Denise has made many attempts to get us to eat freshly made mashed potatoes. She peels them, cooks them, mashes them, and puts in an obscene amount of fresh butter and sour cream. Glorious. Butttttt…ever since the cousins were little, we have insisted on the potatoes that come (gasp) out of the box! What, the box says real!!!
We can’t help it. We just love our potato flakes.
With our real mashed potatoes (thank you, very much!) we had turkey,
stuffing,
cranberry sauce (with orange zest!),
spinach casserole,
and green beans with bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and feta.
Holy food spread…are we spoiled or what? Aunt Denise knows how to do it riiiiiiight. Thanks, Aunt Denise, for a beautiful Christmas dinner!
There were 15 or so of us there yesterday and we all sat around the dining room table, talking and laughing ‘til we nearly wet our pants. Good times.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a table of desserts…
The star (well, in my humble opinion) is my Grandma’s cranberry apple cobbler. Holy. flippin’. cow. The other goodies are a gingerbread cookies, rum cake, toffee cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and a marshmallow some-somethin’ that graces our table every year.
If I never ate again it would be too soon.
We had a really fun day, and I’m so glad I got to spend some time with all of my family. But…now that Christmas is over, it’s Paris on my mind! I leave in one week and one day…let the countdown begin!
Hope your Christmas (or just your Friday) was Merry and bright!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow…everything looks really GREAT!!
Plus…who cares if your potatoes come out of a box, as long as they make you happy:)
wowwww– it is early in the morning and this food still looks like something i want to eat RIGHT NOW haha. that cobbler looks fantastic :) sounds like you had a great time! & yay for paris in a weeeek
Your Christmas looks delicious!
And we like potatoes out of a box, too :)
I think it’s funny that the box says “real” (what else could be in there??) Everything looks realllyyy good :)
I was reminded of a story the other day that is kind of like the mashed potatoes.
Apparently, when my stepmother first met me (before they were married), she tried to impress me and make some sort of fancy mac and cheese. I was six. I told her, “This is gross; I like the mac and cheese from the blue box.” Lol.
What a feast, everything looks scrumptious! I went to Paris for the first time in September and it was absolutely magical! Completely like a dream come true – the elegant streets with all their stylish boutiques and antique shops and patisseries, gorgeous old architecture everywhere, the beauty of the language, the sophistication, all the history – incredible! I was only there for a few days too, so I didn’t even see everything, although it’s a small enough city to be able to walk huge sections of it. Yay Paris!
Your Christmas is so Thanksgiving-esque. I love it! Hope you had a merry holiday, Court :)
Can I come to Aunt Denise’s house next year? ;)
What a feast, will she ship leftovers? :)
Happy Holidays to you!!!
wow the food looks amazing! i wish i could have a spread like that every night :) your aunt denise sure knows whats up and it looks like you had an amazing holiday! and paris in like a week!? im going over the summer for a 6 week study abroad program and i cant wait!!!! let the countdown begin :)
What a wonderful Christmas! I love big family Christmases spent great food, joy, and the ones we love!
I’m so jealous you are going to Paris so soon! Hope you will keep us updated on it all :)
all that food looks terrific! glad you had such a great holiday.
I can’t believe you’re leaving so soon!
Glad you had a good Christmas :)