Claire's distaste for all things structured or discipline-related aside, we had a fantastic time. We began our visit by going to my father-in-law's community orchestra's Christmas concert, which was lovely. Claire had a few play dates with new friends, Brad and I got to head out for about 24 hours of child-free time (we lived it up by eating out, watching the Survivor finale, and going to bed early), we watched movies, played games, and worked puzzles while eating a lot of fudge and puppy chow by the fire. Claire enjoyed discovering Grandpa's tractor and the creek (KEEK!) in the back yard (she also enjoyed doing basically whatever she wanted).
Gran, Aunt Soup, and the stockings hung by the fireplace with care
The tractor
Fun with Ray-Ray
Studying The Grinch for Christmas Eve
Sweeping with Grandpa
We started Christmas partying on Christmas Eve Eve. Brad's dad and 2 aunts host a party for their first cousins and their families every year (for the past 3 or 4 years, anyway) where we all eat a lot and hang out. It was great, as always. We also got a picture for my in-laws to send out as a Christmas card:
We also had a lot of outtakes that looked kind of like this:
Got this once-in-a-blue-moon good shot of Brad and me:
With Brad's Mamaw and Papaw before the party
With Taco (Uncle Tim) and Way-Way (Aunt Ray-Ray)
Boswell siblings
Christmas Eve in the Boswell clan is a really fun event. Several years ago, the Powers that Be cooked up the idea of doing a themed party, rather than drawing names or something along those lines. Here's how it works: we choose a Christmas movie for the year, study it like it's our job, design costumes, eat themed food, and bring themed gifts for a rollicking round of Dirty Santa. It is high-energy, intense, and fun. This year's movie was The Grinch (the one with Jim Carrey). Now, I wasn't terribly enthused about the movie choice, but I did have a really fun time at the party.
Our menu included Roast Beast sandwiches, Who Hash (Chex Mix), Grinch punch, Grinch kabobs, Roast Beast roll-up sandwiches, Who cookies, and Banana Pudding. LOTS of good food. I ate too much.
Brad, Claire, and I dressed up...but we were WAY not as enthusiastic as almost everyone else, apparently. Here are some examples of the really good costumes (if you haven't seen the movie, please know that some of these are incredibly authentic and awesome):
Brad's Uncle J.D. dressed up as the Grinch (Ginch! according to Claire), and Claire was REALLY excited. She kept running around him yelling "Ginch!"...thus, this is the only kind of shot I could get of them together.
Cindy Lou Who (Aunt Jenny), Grinch (Papaw), a Who lady (Mamaw), and generic Who child (Claire)
Two Maxes. On first glance, it may look like Chris's costume is a whole lot cooler than mine, but I'd like to point out that I cut an antler off of my $1 headband to be authentic (Max only has one horn) AND I tied red yarn around my head (the Grinch affixed Max's horn with red string). So take that.
You would have had to have seen the movie (and paid very close attention) to get Tim's outfit. If you haven't, just know that this is really clever.
Brad is a variation of the Grinch (note the tiny heart sticker- two sizes too small- graciously provided by our generic Who daughter)...and so is Rachael. Also a very clever costume.
Barbara's was maybe my favorite. She really went all out with the detail and cleverness.
Group shot of the Bill Boswell clan: Tim (version of Grinch), Bill (version of Grinch), Rachael (version of Grinch), Alexis (Cindy Lou), Erin (Max), Brad (version of Grinch), Claire (generic Who child), and Barbara (Betty Lou Who). Nice spectrum of Who/Grinch creativity, y'all.
Two Whos: Aunt Donna and Claire
First pigtails. She REALLY loved the party. SO MUCH.
Post-pigtail hair
Game board #1 (we take our games seriously- Andy and Ashlen cut out that Grinch hand and ornament. Good job, guys.)
Game board #2
The game is what we study and prepare for all year long, folks. It is the centerpiece of our celebration, and we take it quite seriously. When I say "game," you should understand that I'm talking about questions like, "What did the Grinch's hat say in the scene where he coaches Max how to be a reindeer?" and "What time did the invitation say that the Whobilation would start?" and "Who is the first Who in the phone book that the Grinch hates?" We all watch the movie many times over prior to Christmas, take notes, and quiz ourselves. We are pre.pared. My team won, by the way.
The gift part of the evening involves gifts that tie into the movie somehow. For example, because the Whos eat Roast Beast, one of the gifts Brad and I contributed was an Arby's gift card (roast beast = roast beef). Clever, right? We thought so.
Christmas morning brought a huge breakfast with all of the extended family, followed by presents back at the house. Claire could not have been happier, as evidenced by this picture with Rachael:
And this one by the tree:
Alexis and Bill at breakfast
Brad and Tim
With Aunt Soup (I promise Claire's happy...she is going through a phase where she resists smiling for pictures. It is very annoying.)
Addy during presents. She was a little humiliated by her headwear.
Tim's excited face
One of Claire's gifts. She turned it into a maze of sorts somehow.
We had an incredible time being with our family and sharing lots of fun moments. Barbara made fantastic food, Bill built the best fires, and the dogs were sources of endless entertainment for all. Such a Christmas-y success. :)
1 comment:
Wow! I knew the Boswell clan was movie themed every year but I had no idea it was so intense. Way to throw down the Christmas movie gauntlet.
Also, one of my favorite pics is where Claire is sitting on Tim's lap. While they are very cute, I loved seeing the family portrait in the background! I haven't seen young Brad since your wedding slideshow!
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