Tis, the Holiday season for Food, fun and entertaining - Debbiedoo's ...

Tis? the Season to be JOLLY, FA LA LA LA LA? LA LA LA!

Our Holiday season actually starts with Thanksgiving.

Since moving away from family back in 1998, time with them is rare.

One tradition we have held onto is our Thanksgiving time with my Mom and sis.

Every year, just the two of them come to spend it with my family.

I cook at home and we all have our part in the kitchen.

My mom makes the best apple pie?

Just sayin, they don?t last long, that is for sure.

?

?

My mom has my grandmother?s apple pie recipe down pat at this point.

I, on the other hand, NEVER>EVEN>TRIED!

?Why mess up a good thing?? is what I say!

*************

We live in the Carolinas now, which we love..

We are natives of Western New York. I sure don?t miss the winters there.

One of the things that we love about the Carolinas is its central location, relatively close to some of the hottest spots in America.

Charleston, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Asheville, Raleigh, Charlotte, and Wilmington, North Carolina, just to name a few.

Savannah, Georgia, is only a hop, skip, and a jump away as well.

It is our tradition now to take a mini-road trip, discovering new places and sites to see.

We have been to almost all of the above cities so far with my Mom and sis.

After they come, and go?

My husband?s family is right behind.

Did I mention we all celebrate Christmas, with our gift exchanging and whatnot, when they visit?

Well, yes indeed we do. We just can?t wait until Christmas, and why spend money on shipping if we can celebrate together and send their gifts home with them?

The early gift-giving with the family is always fun, and it is nice for the family to see the kids open their gifts.

It?s not every year a kid gets a hobo pie maker.

(More on that another time, but boy, is this thing fun!)

Jack even got the cookbook to go with it.

?

Are we a family of annual traditional, traditions?

Probably not, but that is not to say the memories we make won?t last a life time.

Another non-traditional tradition is our Holiday Bunco party.

Our Bunco group has been together for six years. Every single year?

we have our own Christmas party, instead of playing Bunco that evening.

Let me tell you about our crazy fun group, and a little bit of how we celebrate with food, drinks, and games.

So come and join the party!

First things first.

The gifts!

We all must bring a gift, valued at $20.00, NO MORE?NO LESS, and believe me, we know.

We have the BUNCO police there.

The wrapped gifts are placed in a brown paper grocery bag.

We have a greeter at the door, usually one of our kids, to take the bags as we come in.

Now here comes the fun part!

We can steal each other?s presents?

ONLY twice, and you have to make your decision before another brown paper bag is opened.

Did I mention that we have to pick a number first, and that determines the order we go in?

The hostess?s home is always so festive, and we go that extra mile for our Bunco party each year.

?

?

We have food, games and drinks aplenty.

?

Have you ever heard of the dice game Left, Right, Center?

It is a simple, roll-of-the-dice game.

We each throw $3.00 in the pot,

roll the dice, and depending on your luck, you pass your buck to the left, right, or center.

However, if you just have the DOT, you?re safe, and keep your money.

The person with the last dollar at the end is the winner!

Kids love this game too. I would recommend it for a party of six or more.

I hope you enjoyed my non-traditional holiday traditions.

At the end of the day, or of the season, we truly always make new memories.

I do believe that that is what it is ALL about.

This post is part of BlogHer?s Holiday Parties editorial series, made possible by Cracker Barrel.

Source: http://debbie-debbiedoos.com/tis-the-holiday-season-for-food-fun-and-entertaining.html

a wrinkle in time benjamin netanyahu storm shelters nick lachey chevy volt christina hendricks lifelock