Christmas Memories - Part I - Christmas Eve

This Christmas will be a little different for me. For the first time since I moved to Baltimore in 1998, I will NOT be traveling for Christmas. We will not be seeing my family, or Tim's family, or any extended family at all. Instead we will celebrate the holiday with our own little family of 3 - Tim, Ryan and I. We are looking forward to spending the day in our PJs, making a big breakfast and just relaxing and enjoying each other. I know it might be a little lonely, as we are used to being with no less than about 20 other family members on Christmas, but I have to admit it has made my December much less stressful. I am not worried about illness or weather affecting our travel plans, packing, getting to the airport on time, flight delays, traffic, etc. I have been able to just enjoy the season! And thank to Skype, we will still see our family members on Christmas :) So this week I have decided to dedicate each day's post to a different Christmas related memory....Starting with Christmas Eve....

Up until a few years ago, we spent every Christmas Eve of my entire life the same way. We usually went to 4:00 Mass, and then it was on to the best part - the traditional Italian feast of the 7 fishes Christmas Eve dinner at my Great Aunt Louise and Great Uncle Louie's house. Every year Auntie Lou put out quite a spread. We started with spaghetti in oil, and then moved onto the fishes, finishing with tons of Italian cookies and other desserts. We all gathered around one LONG table set up downstairs. And as all good Italian families, she had a second kitchen downstairs where she did the cooking for dinner. My Dad grew up in a tenement house with all of his First cousins, and they are as close as siblings, and more like Aunts and Uncles to my brother and I, than second cousins. The attendees would vary slightly from year to year, but it usually included my Dad's cousins and their families, my Uncle Rich and his family, The Aunts (My 3 great Aunts - Auntie Lou, Auntie Vi and Auntie Lena) and Uncle Louie of course. The food was plenty, the conversation entertaining and the laughs unlimited! And thanks to Uncle Louie, there was never a shortage of little beers (ponies!) or Sambucca. There were years when Christmas Carolers showed up at the door to sing to us, there was the year that my Great Aunt Vi shared with me the story of the Italian "malookies," and countless other stories in between (like my Dad falling asleep on the couch every year after dinner!). I cherish the memories of these Christmas Eve dinners and feel so lucky to have spent so many wonderful years with this tradition as a part of my life. The dinners stopped a few years ago, but I am so glad that Tim and I met in time for him to enjoy and be a part of these dinners for a couple years. Auntie Vi and Auntie Lena both passed on within the last 3 years, so I also feel thankful to have spent so many holidays with them. I am sad that Ryan was never able to experience it, but this only gives me more motivation to begin creating new Christmas Eve traditions for him to enjoy for years to come, so he will have the same wonderful memories that I do...