Mardi, 25 Decembre 2012: Joyeux Noel

I hadn't had a good night of sleep because I was sharing the same bed with Baptiste--he steals the covers. My room was still occupied by Bonne Maman. Céline woke us up at 9h30 and we all slowly made it out to the hallway. When we got to the hallway door, it was covered with curtains which is weird but I soon realized that the adults were hiding something in the living room. Didier asked if we were all ready. When we nodded, he opened the door and let us in. The room was magnificent! There were so many gifts under the tree. I had wondered if putting gifts under the tree was just an American tradition. The french keep the gifts hidden until the morning of so that there's no peeking ;-)

 

Everyone opened gifts for awhile. I was given presents as well even though I said they weren't necessary. Bonne Maman gave me this one-of-a-kind necklace she found in Paris. Céline gave me this face cream I've really been wanting that would've burned a hole in my pocket. I also got a perfume set from her. And Didier gave me a 50 euro holiday bonus with a really sweet message. I've never experienced a Christmas like this where I got to enjoy the suspense and surprise. My family is Buddhist and even though we celebrated Christmas, we didn't buy each other gifts. We always just got money that we saved--for the most part.

After I got myself together for the day and helped Céline put the finishing touches on the décor, I went to town to grab Danny. 

 

He was invited to Christmas lunch which is a huge event here. I'm so happy that they invited him because I would've felt rude leaving them to be with him or vice versa. Danny got along great with every member of the family and extended family. It was such a change from Jacob who everyone really disliked. Everyone kept coming up to me to say that "Danny is très gentil!" 

We all sat down for Christmas lunch which was a grand meal. Appetizers included green olives stuffed with almonds, peanuts, air-puffed corn chips, and a type of marinated seed that I still don't remember the name of. Escargot was served as a secondary appetizer. For the main course, we had this deliciously creamy fois gras, roasted chicken, etc...We had 3 different cheeses afterward and Café d'Or ice cream for dessert. Danny had been saying that he wanted to try escargot and fois gras. There's another instance of killing two birds with one stone, ha haha. He had been saying that he was a picky eater growing up but he loved it all!!!

I took Danny home after the meal so that I could nap. I was so exhausted after cleaning all of the pots, pans, dishes, and silverware for 14 people. I thought I was going to pass out driving. 

 

 

I didn't really get much of a nap when I came back because the triplets returned from Christmas lunch at their father's house. The house was a bit mad. Andréa and I were skyping so he was able to see how crazy the kids can really get. The girls ended pushing me off of my own computer so that they could chat with him. Oy vey...It was nice to see his face at least, lol. 

It was an early night for everyone...Tryptophan, too much food, hyperactive kids, and no sleep led to me passing out as soon as I hit the bed. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!