SUNDAY                                                                    December 14, 2014

Not having kids at home to eat the candy, cookies and whatever else we make up, curtails the fun of making them.     And eating them!

We started to make candy the last 2 days and then remembered we had about 10 days to wait before they will be needed.  Of course we will be sending cookies and candies home with the kids, on Christmas Eve.

We get to have the family here on Christmas Eve.  That will be fun.   We've decided to kick the turkey and ham out of the  line up and have a big casserole and salad with a relish tray, and fresh rolls, for supper.  I really don't think the kids will mind..  Then I think Cherry, Mincemeat and one other pie, apple or pumpkin.  I'm overloading I guess as I want to make my version of a yule log.  For that I think I'm going to use a spice or carrot cake with cream cheese filling.  Chocolate icing and a dusting of powdered sugar.  I may even use a plastic holly leaf and flower to deco it.

We put some decorations out on the mailbox, and a couple of bushes by the drive...  Unless we get a bad wind, the cotton fluff I used for snow and the ornaments will stay there.  Out in CA if we did this, they would all be gone by the next day.
It's so much fun to not be worried about them, and pretty well know we will have them when the holidays are over.

Indoors we have the tree up and decorated, and that is about all we will be doing.  I use to decorate everything, the mantle, the nick-nack shelves, floor lamps, etc.  Not any more. I don't know if we don't have the things to do that, or if he just doesn't want to dig around for the box, up in the attic.  Some of the ornaments from when the kids were little, late 50's and into the 60's era aren't in the boxes he brought down.  It bothers me.  I know there should be more, and am praying the kids haven't lost theirs forever.

I'm hoping the kids will all come over early to mid afternoon on Christmas Eve, and play some cards before everyone has gathered for supper.  Having all the dishes out and serving bowls and platters, the flatware, napkins and table cloth, will speed things up for setting the table and serving supper.

The girls and grands are always happy to help with setting the table and a couple of us clear and put the food away.\

Most of the dishes will go into the dishwasher so the dishes are no big deal.

I think there will be 8 or 10 of us, depending on the grands and if they bring a boy/girl friend.  So far as I know, there are only two sweeties at this time.. should be 3 me thinks.