[rustbreeches]

I was miserably ill from Sat night until yesterday afternoon, but my mom was here and my sis drove down. Mom made dinner Christmas Eve for my family and neighbors while I was passed out in bed, sis spent the night, we all woke up early so the kids could open gifts before DH left for the barn.

Sis left at mid-day, mom napped, the kiddoes amused themselves with their gifts and candy and I dozed. DH got in early, for him, and I heated up leftover prime rib for him. Then we went to bed.

The only thing that went wrong is Mom threw out the $100 bill that was supposed to go in my stocking, but DH and I decided I would "find" it as I was cleaning up so she doesn't feel like she has to replace it.

Oh, and we had no Coke in the house and the gas station was closed

[Pony Fixer]

Me me me! NOOOO drama!

There was a little sadness because my daughter was with her dad this year, but I spent the time with my best friend and her family. No family drama for me, none for them, just good times, good food, good drink and enjoying her children with their presents. I wish every holiday was like this!

[alabama]

no drama here. that's the beauty of doing holidays one

[rmh_rider]

Yup, no drama here.

The storm here in the SE was the drama. Me worrying about my horse being cold, wet and winded upon. She has a blanket on now, so I am dramaless and baking cupcakes (literally).

[Frank B]

Not counting the neighbor's goats that showed up around our birdfeeder Christmas morning, we had a nice quiet holiday.

[Guin]

Drama-free. All the adults like each other and my kids are in their twenties - no running and screaming. Sister and BIL and I watched Titanic in the afternoon.

[MunchingonHay]

Nice and quiet and drama free here.!

[PaintPony]

Me! I am so grateful for the wonderful family I have been blessed with!

We ate, (a lot!) watched movies, played board games, and laughed so hard I cried (and snorted!).

I am in love with my future sister-in-law, and even got along with my brother for a change. My parents are both healthy (mom was in the hospital a bunch this year), and were overly generous as usual.

We all came up with such thoughtful (but not too expensive) gifts and it was fun to see how surprised everyone was. My favorite are the pink guitar picks from my brother that say "PaintPony Rocks".

Today we are hanging out by the fire in our PJs - the weather outside is frightful! LOL. I made cookies earlier (gone now!) and later we plan to have Chinese delivered.

I wouldn't trade my life right now for a billion dollars - I feel extremely rich.

[acoustic]

No drama here =)

Saw some family that I haven't seen in a while and enjoyed their company.

No gift-giving this year, so no stress in that way either. I got some money from my parents but am giving half to a good charity.

I did clean my boyfriend's house and car for him as a gift, then made some delicious pot roast with homemade mac n cheese and honey-ginger carrots for Christmas Eve dinner. Oh, and pumpkin pie. He was thrilled . I love how easy he is to make happy.

Nice and relaxing couple of days. Glad to know I'm not the only one.

[ReSomething]

Here! We sat up here in our little double wide and opened a few gifts, called all the family to wish them a Merry Xmas, went out to the movies to see the Hobbit and then came home to smoked turkey breat that my dad had sent. Leeeetle salty but moist and tender. Nice and restful.

[katyb]

Me! Perfect Christmas Eve at my stepmom's house (highlight of the evening, mom and step-mom high-fiving each other in the kitchen), and then we had a perfect Christmas day with 17 people at my place, which included some riding time!

[Calvincrowe]

Me! Three separate family gatherings one Sunday, one CEve and one CDay to make sure everyone in the family got to see each other and there were no tears--a first, I assure you

My SIL did a fantastic job hosting Mr. CC and me, her dear neighbor lady and a friend whose partner had to pull two graveyard shifts a the hospital for both Christmas meals. Great food, wine flowed freely, nephews and step-kids all happy with their small gifts, no adult presents to fuss over.

I am so grateful we are healthy, happy, and employed.

[IronwoodFarm]

We had a lovely, stress free Christmas. Went to MIL's retirement community for brunch with DH's sister on Sunday. That day worked best for my SIL. It was very pleasant. Monday is the day I celebrate, so we went to see The Hobbit, then came back for a great meal, and then did gifts. On Tuesday, we went back to visit with MIL. I have spent 19 Christmas Days with her and I was not going to miss the 20th. Everyone is happy and healthy. No overspending and only a bit of overeating.

[Bacardi1]

No drama here!

Opened our presents - & every single thing was something we wanted, & even better - no repeats!! (We own SO many books & SO many dvd's, that no repeats these days is a major miracle.)

And since it was just the 2 of us, the rest of the day was spent relaxing & watching movies on tv (HAD to watch our favorite - "Blackadder's Christmas Carol", lol!!) while enjoying various frozen hors d'oeuvres - spanakopita, little phyllo chicken gorgonzola cups, etc., etc. Then I started cooking up our roast goose dinner, which was delicious. Very nice, quiet day. And Mr. B. took today off, so we didn't have to worry about making it an early night.

[Calhoun]

Stress free for me too! All family members played well together. My parents are in their mid 80's, no real health issues, but it was eye opening to see how much they have aged in a situation with a lot of activity. I am used to one-on-one time with them and with the house full of people talking, cooking, sharing information on Ipads or phones it took a toll at the end of the evening. We did FaceTime with another family member and my mother, bless her soul, was dumbfounded. LOL

[Arbitrary]

Me too! I boycotted it this year (no presents for anyone except kids, I am so done with rampant commercialism), told everyone we were staying home, and we did. Cooked great food, watched a hilarious movie (Keeping Mum), read books, took dogs for long walks, and enjoyed Scrabble with Mr A. It was awesome.

[Skip's Rider]

Raising hand! My son, daughter, and I had a wonderful time. We had a nice dinner on Christmas Eve, had fun opening presents, and overall had a nice, relaxing day. The cat loved his toys and was fun to watch.

[CHSatwork]

No drama here. The worst thing that happened was we all ate way to much and felt like beached whales. Other than that everyone was happy.

[Appsolute]

I did!

Didn’t “do” Christmas!

Made calls to family the night before – then Christmas day went like this:

Slept in
Cooked and ate breakfast with hubby
Went to the beach – with our dog, and checked out the tide pools (and did some beach cleaning)
Went to the barn – did some chores, made sure pony was tucked in snug, A+ hubby did some trench clearing in the rain
Back home – RELAXED, read, watched a little TV (Ken Burns’ “The West”)
Had dinner (well and cooked dinner) – Fillet minion, roasted fall vegis, nice bottle of Decoy Zin.
Called mom (to wrap up Christmas duties)
Went to bed on time

No stress! No mess! Happy to not be “doing” Christmas any more!

[JenEM]

I had a great holiday. I did the family visit Saturday/Sunday, and we had a lovely dinner, and snacks/drinks with the larger half of my father's family. Then the SO and I did gifts Monday afternoon.

Working Monday and Tuesday night was even uneventful and stress-free! That was a pleasant surprise, because so often something badly malfunctions on holidays, when no one is around to help fix it.

The closest thing I had to drama was a break for freedom by my parents' dog while I was taking her for a walk, but she seemed rather shocked by it herself, and came running back when called. Which is actually quite surprising, given her independent terrier mind!