Cristmas day-here comes the crowd..and the food....

We are definately a family with a deep affection for food, and many of our memories and traditions revolve around food. I make no apologies for this...but I know I will spend most of the new year trying to walk off what I ate on Christmas day alone! Every Christmas, our "big" Christmas meal involves little or no cooking. I think this "tradition" was started with Mike's grandmother, who was tired of spending the whole day cooking instead of enjoying time with her family. So The meal my children all look forward to on Christmas day consists of croissants, piles of roast beef, turkey, salami, ham and cheese, chips, dips and 10 pounds of peel and eat shrimp.
AND grandma's rule is the kids can eat as much as they want. Usually we gather at my mother in laws, but I suggested our house this year. By the time everyone arrived, our little house was very full- All our family, plus Mike's parents, His middle brother and wife, their 3 children, his youngest brother and his daughter, Mike's uncle and his college age daughter, and our older bachelor neighbor. It was quite a crowd, and I can honestly say we had a great time. Everyone stayed longer than they normally do, and chatted and laughed more than they normally do. Even though it was cold, the kids bundled up and headed outside to play flashlight tag and jump on the trampoline in the dark, and the grown ups filled up on cookies, cheesecake, shrimp and sandwiches. It was close to 9 when the last of the family headed home...and full and sleepy we wondered why we only do this once a year. I vow to initiate a family gathering at least every few months in 2010...