Christmas

And so it was Christmas. Mine was spent in the whisky belt where my father lives with his wife. We had a superb dinner, ate way too much, drank heavily, too, and laughed so hard throughout the night. Now I'm in the middle of Jutland where my mom lives. We plan on watching a lot of films the next couple of days… But first; Christmas:

Sølve looked very festive (and happy)…..

Each of us had an assignment in terms of dinner. AE made appetizer; salmon rillette which was a big hit.

 NP made sweet potatoes and was teased a lot because he is 'allergic to potato peels'….

My father cooked three ducks (!) for 7 people, and here he's carving the first one. Notice the classy lamp on his head - he needs it to see in the dark outside when he checks the grill (we grill our Christmas dinner).

 The three. NP wore sweatpants to dinner so he could eat more and not be constrained by uncomfortable trousers...

 Sølve had to unbutton. The more food the more buttons went.

 It's a tradition, that when my father lits the candles, the rest of the family goes into a nearby room and turn off all the lights. That way, when he calls out that he's ready, the lights and the glory of the Christmas tree is extra great when we see it. And then we dance around the tree and sing psalms and goof a little before opening presents.

 This year, we didn't finish until 3am when the last bottle of whisky had been opened, some more duck had been eaten, and old stories had been told.

The next day we were slightly hungover and tired when we had to get up early to catch a train south for my uncle's Christmas dinner. Luckily, more alcohol and Christmas food did the trick to clear our heads.

It's always great when the house is full of kids, uncles and aunts, grandparents and good food!