Day 341 - Christmas Eve

Today is now our turn to host for Christmas. My husband's family is coming to our house.

So the day started with lots of preparations. 

big tea and Spanish pastry to start

They were supposed to arrive around mid-morning and lunch time, but true to form - they arrived early to late afternoon. 

I started with one round of appetizers when the first set arrived. The hubby grilled carne for lunch, so I popped some veggie burgers on the grill too and in the oven roasted baby potatoes. 

Then I continued the preparations for dinner. 

We had ham, baked chicken, pasta his sister made, mac and cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, rolls, and broccoli/cauliflower casserole. 

The casserole was a big hit with everyone which was surprising but awesome since I made it from scratch. 

I skipped the ham/chicken and enjoyed the rest immensely, and used another veggie burger as my 'meat'.

After dinner we did secret santa, but it was much different than usual. Normally we wait until midnight and open them. This time it seemed some members of the family (the ones that arrived last) were in a rush to get out of here... so we exchanged gifts but most didn't even linger to actually open them. I was giving out dessert goodie bags on their way out since they weren't staying.

Those who did stay, we then gathered back to open gifts together, enjoy dessert, and watch the newest version of the Grinch.