The Leftovers Are Finally Gone

The day was sunny and cold, but I knew it would be a good one. Josh's family is always an entertaining group. You have his dad, JD, who is quiet and grumpy and set in his old ways. His mom, K, who is still in her wheel chair and trying to get stronger every day. Sister #1 is married with three children. The youngest one tends to get on the nerves sometimes with the constant tattling, but that is what children do when they don't get their way. Sister #2 has a live-in boyfriend and three sons. Her boys are very well behaved and the boyfriend has a huge appetite and loves to talk. Sister #3 is married and has two children plus a stepdaughter. I love her kids. Josh also has a younger brother who is an alcoholic in denial and an older half brother who lives in KC. There was also my own kid and myself. A total of 22 people in our house from 4 pm to 8:30 pm.

Here is what we had for dinner:
Shrimp platter
Vegetable platter
cheese ball and crackers
layered bean dip
antipasto tray
prime rib
roasted Parmesan fingerling potatoes
garlic mashed potatoes
cream cheese corn
steamed broccoli
brussel sprouts with almonds in butter sauce
fried green beans and onions
stuffing
deviled eggs
rolls
lime chiffon pie
cherry pie
cherry parfait cups
mini raspberry cheesecake bites in puff pastry
sugar cookies
layered lemon creme cake
layered strawberry creme cake

I made everything except for the two layered cakes. I had a pastry chef at one of my stores make those. I also did not make the cherry pie. It was brought by sister #2. The cheese ball was made by Josh's mom.

The appetizer platters we munched on while we waited for people to arrive. Everyone dug into the shrimp platter first. It was gone before all the guests arrived. After everyone arrived, we all had dinner. After dinner, we opened gifts. After gifts, I plated desserts. After desserts, I packaged leftovers for all families to enjoy at home and then patiently waited for everyone to leave so I could start cleaning up.

I love doing these holiday dinners, but I am always so anxious for everyone to leave so I can get the house back in order. I never get to truly sit down and enjoy myself whenever we host. I am always making sure drinks stay full and the party moves forward smoothly.

The last of the leftovers are finally gone. We have some lime chiffon pie left, only because I made an extra for us. I am so glad it's over with. I told Josh that someone else can do this next year. This will make it two years in a row that we have hosted Christmas at our house. Of course, if we move this year, we will probably have a larger home and will be expected to host. Not going to happen though.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year. I won't make any resolutions, but will list my possibilities another day. I call them possibilities because then if I break them, it's okay.

Have a great weekend! It's back to work tomorrow for me.