Christmas in my family starts at Thanksgiving! Everyone gets together for the Thanksgiving holiday. There is definitely no lack of food in the Hazlegrove house either! We have a wonderful dinner at my grandmother's house with all of the family, including those that have come from out of town. Everyone contributes to the food by bringing one of their favorite dishes. There is always so much to choose from, and it is all very yummy! The day after Thanksgiving (black friday), is just as funfilled as Thanksgiving day. All of the Women set out on a Christmas shopping spree while the men and kids hangout back at grandma's house. The men will all go out for lunch or sometimes meet up with the women for lunch during the shopping day. That evening when all of the shopping is done, the whole family will either have dinner at grandma's house again, or we will all go out to dinner. When my family celebrates a holiday, it is more than just that day!
Here comes Christmas time and it is even more time spent with my family. On Christmas eve, we all go to our Christmas eve church service. After church, we all make our way back to my parents' house for dinner and gift exchange between the kids. It is such a wonderful time spent with my family and we all get along so well and enjoy each other's company. After most of the family is gone, my husband, myself and the kids will hang back with my parents and my sister and her family. We will then exchange our gifts with each other and spend some quality time with our immediate family. I wouldn't miss that for the world.
Christmas morning is a joy for me especially since I had my kids. I love getting up in the morning and watching them get excited over their gifts under the tree. Then unwrapping the gifts is even more enjoyable. After we enjoy our gifts at home, we make our way to my Aunt Doris' house. There my whole family enjoys an amazing breakfast and more quality time with each other. After we finish our breakfast, we head back home for a little bit of free time and let the kids enjoy their toys. That evening, we head over to my grandmother's house for our Christmas dinner. Just like our Thanksgiving dinner, we have a lot of food that tastes wonderful. After dinner, my grandmother hands out all of her gifts for the family. Her tradition is to give every family member (including those that married into the family) an ornament for their Christmas tree. She may sometimes even include a little something extra for a gift. We then just spend the rest of the evening hanging out and chatting with each other. Christmas is so much fun in the Hazlegrove family.
For the next week, my family will get together periodically to eat or just hang out. Then for New Years, my family gets together again. Only, this time we don't have dinner at my grandparents' house. We all go out to dinner together. After dinner, we all go back to someone's house to hang out and eat dessert and bring in the new year.
I can't thank God enough for the family that He gave me. A family that cherrishes all the time that we can spend together. A family that finds "family" very important. A family that is very loving and very close to each other in every way.
Thank You God!
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