happy christmas!

Sending you all our love this Christmas!

xoxo DnA

got gifts?

Inspiration for those of you who still have some holiday shopping to do!

3. Something hand-made. If you’re not feeling craftsy, check out etsy for cute & creative creations galore. I’m rather biased towards this artist!

2. A mini-adventure.… from a weekend away to a day on the cheap (picnic + museum). Going to the mall does not count. I’m a risk taker, but that is one journey too perilous this close to Christmas!

1. A goat. No, really… why not honour someone with a gift of a goat to someone who really needs a gift? Donate through a group like Heipher International, World Vision or Kiva and change a life.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

Wow….. New Years Eve already!

Crazy to think our DTS ended over a month ago. Since then Dan & I have had a house to ourselves! We’ve had lovely evenings in watching “The Wire,” Rummikub matches with friends, and beautiful sunrise runs. (Yes, it’s true, Anna is now “running” each morning). We’ve also endured retail jobs at Christmas, biking to work in the freezing cold, and a house with no heating during the day.

This Christmas Dan’s whole family came to York. Matt, Dan’s bro, is already in York, working at the mental hospital. Beforehand, I got into major “Martha Stewart” mode (craft-making, not stock-stealing) to make the house look nice and Christmas-y. The Pizzos’ arrival was akin to that of Father Christmas. They brought bottles of wine, cava, Baileys, Buck’s Fizz and more. Dozens of mince pies, chocolate, Pannettone, goat cheese and carmelized onion tarts, Thai salmon parsels and a few pressies too. But of course, we were most excited about seeing them!

Christmas Eve I got off work at 3pm, leaving behind frenzied last-minute shoppers and endless queues to join over 4,000 others at a Lessons and Carols Service at York Minster. Even though granny, D&P, and Nat and I arrived almost 30 mins early there was no room in the inn church. But thanks to granny (who’s 94 but in brilliant health), we were given a bench to sit on right in front of the main alter. The voices of the choir were angelic. And we also got to hear the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu speak. He is amazing, but I have to admit his Ugandan accent kept making me think of this Fone Jacker video.

Christmas Day we carried on a Stalcup tradition by having home-made Cinnamon Bread French Toast. It was delish. Then the Pizzo kidz prepared Christmas lunch (turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, brussel spouts with hazelnuts, and roasted potatoes, carrots and parsnips) and Uncle Dave arrived. This year we did a Secret Santa system of presents, ‘cuz really, shouldn’t the birthday boy JC be getting the presents?

After stuffing ourselves silly, we burnt off a few calories with a walk around Bishopthorpe Palace, our friend Johnny’s house (the Archbishop of York). Boxing Day it was back to work for both Dan & I, and Sunday we sadly said our goodbyes to our gracious guests. Back to selling Wiis and Xbox for me. And Dan’s scoping out the latest and greatest in backpacking gear at his job at Blacks.

Christmas at my house

Christmas in my family begins the day after Thanksgiving. Heck no, we don’t head to the mall; rather, my dad is finally allowed to start playing Christmas music. All of our usual CDs disappear and are replaced by dozens of Christmas CDs. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, A Tender Tennessee Christmas and Handel’s Messiah fill the air. Non-Christmas music is strictly prohibited!

Then out come the Christmas decorations. And in our family it’s not just a wreath on the door or candles in the windows. Every inch of the houses is decorated. We have a Christmas gravy bowl, Christmas salt & pepper shakers and tacky Christmas trees that spin as they shine psychedelic fiber optic lights through plastic pine needles. The electricity bill usually doubles due to all the lights. This year my dad won a enormous inflatable Santa, complete with sun glasses, riding a motorcycle. “Sorry, Rudolph, but this Christmas I won’t be needing you…”

And the Christmas tree… when my dad was younger his family owned a Christmas tree stand and even long after the stand closed, they still drove up to the farm in Pennsylvania where they had bought the trees to get a special batch of Christmas trees just for the family. My dad usually picked out a 12 foot tree and then cut 2 feet off the bottom & top to get it to just barely fit in our house with 8 ft ceilings. The result, as you can imagine, is one FAT tree.

And traditions… we have plenty! Christmas Eve we always head to church and then go out for Chinese food. And then my dad stays up late doing the final touches (filling the stockings, placing candy canes on the Christmas tree) while everyone else is shooed off to bed.

Then Christmas morning finally arrives! We used to have a rule that the kids couldn’t go downstairs until 7am since we were usually awake and eager to open presents around 5am. So, we’d all scarf down some cereal and then head into the Christmas tree room. One of the kids would always read the story of Jesus birth from the Bible. Then Santa (daddy-O) and his elves (kiddos) would begin the distribution of presents. We always had the presents opened one at a time, so depending on how many relatives were visiting, it could take hours to open all the presents.

Then we’d leave the piles of wrapping paper behind and have our second breakfast – French toast made from homemade cinnamon bread, bacon, eggs, sausage, hot coffee and orange juice. Then we’d open stockings, do some elaborate candy-trading and then pig out on candy. Finally we’d have a few hours to lie comatose from the presents and food before heading over to Big Daddy’s house for a second round of both.

I love Christmas.

Things year things were slightly different since we were away in Ohio at my aunt & uncle’s house. But let me say it was a rockin’ Christmas. And Dan even got to be Santa… or should I say Father Christmas!