A very full day

Fiona gets acquinted with her great-grandma Renaud

Deborah and Sara compare notes on child-rearing

May, the youngest, begins the stocking stuffing in the MSS (Multiple Santa System) before calling out, "Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!" as the signal for the next-oldest Santa to appear.

It took an hour and a half just to open stockings. With twelve people, we had a lot of Santas. Presents went well into the afternoon before we took a break for lunch.

During a break from unwrapping, a number of people tried their hands at the ball puzzles that we had gotten as stocking stuffers. Apparently, hunching over with one leg cocked to the side helps with one's concentration.

Deborah shows us how it's done

After lunch, we got back down to business with the presents. We kept that up for another three or four hours...

May really liked the wand. :-)

We took another break, and started preparations for Christmas dinner. The turkey had already been cooking, but there were squash to brutalize (my job) and potatoes to mash, and dishes to wash, and...

By the time we got back to opening gifts, it became apparent where my mother-in-law kept disappearing to: her room, to wrap more presents! There was serious talk about continuing tomorrow. About 8 p.m., though, we finally ran out of presents, an could finally sit down to feast. I rarely indulge in a traditional American-style feast, so it was very enjoyable for me. I'm still full, in many senses; it was a very full day for all.