Home for Christmas

December 20th - 27th, 2025

Being home for Christmas was amazing! It was the first time since I started my job (Nov 2024) that I had a full week off.

Unfortunately, that means that of course, I got sick. It wasn't horrible but it was enough for me to be pretty out of it. I got to see my cousins at part a couple days before Christmas, but was so out of it by the end. We went to Parc, which I love, but my family thinks that the quality has been going down the last couple years. We used to go for special events, like big birthdays or graduations, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. I truthfully don't go enough to have an opinion on if the quality has gone down. I always think it's a vibe.

When I first got home, the tree was still in the garage and none of the decorations had been put up. This year, I saw a lot of discourse online about how the magic and spirit around Christmas is often put on the women in the family. My mom hadn't been feeling well either and my brother was still working the couple of days leading up to Christmas, so I took it into my own hands.

I focused mainly in our living room, because that's where we spend our Christmas day. Anything extra trickled out to the dining room or the by the front door. We have this gnome-looking guy my mom loves to put by the stairs that my brother and I have made fun of in the past. He definitely made an appearance this year. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures.

Because we had agreed to decorate the tree one evening, I spent the beginning part of the day decorating the rest of the house. My brother was still working and my mom was asleep with a migraine. It wasn't anything crazy but I did the best I could. I made sure the mantle was covered, and the stockings were hung. I also put all the angles, snowmen, and little Christmas trees we have around the living room.

My mom does always wait for me to be home so we can decorate the tree together. This is one of my favorite traditions. In the past, we used to listen to Christmas classics but when I started working in restaurants, I vetoed this. I've now heard enough Christmas music for a lifetime. I'm not a grinch! I just need a break here and there from the same 25 songs. This year we watched season 1 of Below Deck, Mediterranean. My brother and I do the lights by ourselves and my mom joins us for the ornaments. I couldn't find the star so I used the bow we normally put on our fence outside onto the tree. It got a good laugh from my mom which was a good feeling.

The last thing that was absolutely necessary for it to feel like Christmas, is the food. I'm not in charge of dinner as my mom and aunt make sure that's well covered. But I do like to contribute a charcuterie board for some nibbles that go with the present-opening wine we have. My mom also really wanted Christmas cookies this year. We went with ricotta cookies, molasses cookies, and the classic spritz cookies. The ricotta cookies were some of my favorite. They were soft, light, and not too sweet. I don't love a hard cookie but I did love the spritz cookies for vibes (not as much for taste). The molasses cookies were bomb but maybe a little over done. That's what happens when you make three different types of cookies in one morning.

For the Charcuterie board I did:

• Deer Creek Vat 17 - Cheddar

• Asturi Bruschettini - Mini toast crackers

• Fromager D Affinois - Double Cream Brie

• Cheesey Kabanos from our farmers market

• Roth - Havarti

• Crunch master - Rosemary and olive oil crackers

• Corcuera 3 Month Aged - Manchego

• Firehook - Rosemary Sea salt Crackers

• Calabrese Salami from our farmers market

• Marinated Mozzarella balls

Of course, one of the best parts about being home is seeing my family pets. Being away from my mom is obviously hard, but I get to call her anytime I want. It's a little harder to chat with my family dog on the phone. My mom has a yellow lab, Baxter, who she got while I was in college. He's exactly what you think of when you think of a yellow lab. She also has two cats; Luna, who I got going into my freshman year of high school; and Rumi, who she got in the summer going into my senior year of college, shortly after I got Millie. Baxter is a lover and is always very excited to see me. Luna doesn't like that I got Millie, so she's normally a little shy at first but ends up hanging out to some degree. Me and Rumi have fake beef. Truthfully, he's the only cat I;ve ever met that I haven't really gotten. He's still a sweetie though and is very pretty.

This Christmas was probably the first time I really felt like an adult. My favorite thing I got were a set of dished from Costco. But so pretty and I'm endlessly grateful to not be eating off plastic anymore.

The night before I left, we got a dusting of snow, which really put the stamp on a classic Christmas. It was great to be home and I wish I wasn't sick so I could have seen more people, but I really have no complaints. I got a really good amount of family time which is hard for me to do now that I'm not in the same state. Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.