Christmas Eve Madness
It’s Christmas Eve and my heart is bubbling with so much joy and excitement, I can’t even contain my outbursts of laughter and dancing. I’ve been planning 364 days for this moment to break bread with some of my favorite people in the entire world, and it will be here tomorrow. I should be laying in bed fast asleep with all the preparation I have executed in the last 12 hours, but I just can’t close my eyes. Not much has changed since I was 5 years old and I rolled around in bed on Christmas Eve with too much excitement to cross over into the land of rest, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It was through the birth of our servant Jesus Christ that I have the opportunity to write the words of my heart and embrace the never ending joy of this day that is just hours away. It is true, God sent his son Jesus to be a servant to live for our eternity, and it’s that truth that inspires my heart to be a servant to celebrate our eternity on this day that is all about Him and His selfless love for us.
There are so many ways to live in celebration of God’s birth. For me, I picked up the torch my Mother lit when I was just a little girl, and I use it as a way to bring family together to eat, drink and love on one another with sweet laughter for just a few hours in the presence of our Savior. Yes, He’s here now and He will be there tomorrow because not only have I been strategically planning how I will decorate the house, what candle I will light, what place settings I will pull from the red barn, what drinks I will serve, what appetizers I will make, and what will be on the plate for dinner, but I have been praying over my family and this home for God to overwhelm them with His presence, peace and purpose from the second they turn onto my road and set eyes on this house God has given me.
I’ve learned over time that you need to embrace the way you love and emit it with confidence and dignity, even if it seems like everyone would prefer it differently. I love the expression “Be who God created you to be”, just make sure you don’t take God out of the equation because you will find yourself confused and lost. Seek Him with sincerity and determination to find that wholeness in yourself and your relationship with Him.
I say this because of the following:
“Don’t be like them, for the Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:8
God KNOWS what you need before you ask Him. That means He knows what everyone else needs before they ask Him. So if YOU were placed in someone’s life for a moment or a season, it was who you were created to be in the eyes of God that they needed. Don’t change or conform. Love fiercely the way you love best even when others look to you like you’re out of your mind. Your friend Kimberly over here has become accustomed to that look and now she smiles when it meets her face to face.
You see, in my case I love through silent prayer, big hugs, lots of in-person chatter, my home and big plates of home cooked meals. You can imagine what social distancing has done to my methods to which I show my love. That is why I cherish moments like tomorrow, because you never know when the opportunity won’t present itself any longer.
I wanted to share a little bit of my madness and show you how easy it is to ninja your way through hosting with ease, so you too can bring your family together and create a moment to be remembered for generations to come.
First, pick a date and a time and run with it. The people who were meant to be there will be able to make it. Those who can’t just open up another opportunity for an alternate celebration/get together in the future.
Second, create a menu and stick with it. This is my BIGGEST challenge as most of the time, I feel like I have multiple personalities, living in various locations, strutting with alternative styles and personalities looking to throw a get together in one location and with one theme.
I’m going to share with you The Menu I decided to prepare for Christmas this year. This comes with years of putting things together, so it may seem like a bit much, but once you learn the things you can cook in advance and store up until the party date, you realize baby steps create something pretty magnificent overtime.
The Menu
Cocktails
Very Merry Buck & Cranberry Mules
Appetizers
Vegetable Crudités Platter + Fruit Cheese and Cracker Platter + Texas Twinkies + Deviled Eggs + Shrimp Cocktail + Texas Trash Dip + Salsa
Dinner
Cesar Salad + Filet Mignon + Oven Baked Potatoes (With all the Fixin’s) + Corn + Bread & Butter (LOTS OF BUTTER)
Dessert
Everything you see above was either hand sliced or homemade. This goes down to the Cesar Dressing and the Croutons. Unfortunately, this means that ain’t nobody had time for Dessert. In order to stick to the theme, I did some digging and opted for pies to go with our Texas Steak themed Christmas Menu. I used my pretty impressive computer skills to order 4 pies from Emporium Pies in Deep Ellum Texas. Therefore Mi Familia will be enjoying the following pies post Christmas Dinner.
The Drunken Nut + The Smooth Operator + Lord of the Pies + Snowball
Mini Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Creams
&
Homemade Cookies (Thank you Joshua < My Best Friend) He worked so hard to make the best cookies to enjoy on Christmas.
Third, set the tone for your celebration. Since this is Christmas, that is super easy. The house is already decorated for the season and the music playlists have been preset for years prior too. It doesn’t take very much to brush up the house. Even a string of lights and a cinnamon candle can make a world of difference.
Then, last but not least… PRAY PRAY PRAY! I pray every morning for my day and can tell the differences when I don’t. So, alas, I pray before every family get together and celebration. I pray for each person, the house, me, my husband, and the food. Especially the food… I only have 3 toilets and there is nowhere to hide it outside, so things need to go right. Enclosed are some preparations of the house and decor. I’ll be sure to post the food and celebrations once completed.
To think, even on a day that is all about Jesus and the beginning of His plan for our Salvation, He still gives over His joy in celebration to us. I can’t imagine life without Him. What a beautiful name, what a Glorious Father, what a Wonderful Savior, and what a Blessed Redeemer.
Merry Christmas.
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