Last year, we celebrated Christmas in Phoenix, USA. The festive season started with the house being decorated with lights, small sparkling crystal drops, and poinsettia plants placed in different places. The elves would magically appear in different places every day and the kids had to spot them.
A few days before Christmas, my daughter-in-law prepared the cookies to make the village. The grandkids built the village, with the cookies; all the pieces were stuck with the glazed icing and decorated with chocolate gems. There was even a ginger bread man. The aroma of the baking cookies filled the house.
My son brought the tree and the fragrance of the pine leaves was very festive and exhilarating. Everyone helped in decorating the tree with small lights, glass balls, and a few decorations were made by the grandkids. According to the Danish custom (my daughter-in-law is Danish), a calendar is put up in the kids’ room and every day from the first of December to the 31st, a present is placed on the date, so that the kids can take it first thing in the morning.
We went for the photo shoot with Santa at the Ancala club, where a traditional Christmas breakfast was served. The playground was a winter wonderland with snow everywhere, a skating rink, and an ice slide. My grandkids made a snowman and had a snow fight. As it does not snow in Phoenix, all this was made possible with a snow-making machine. My daughter and family arrived from Toronto, and friends from New York arrived a few days before Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, we were all dressed in our best, sat around the fire place singing Christmas carols and sipping eggnog. Christmas dinner followed, a master piece created by my daughter-in-law.
The menu was Turkey with cranberry port sauce, sautéed beans with mustard dressing, potato and beet gratin followed by apple almond pie, all with a vintage wine.
After the kids went to sleep, we played poker, and talked, and talked. It was time to open the presents on Christmas Day.
The kids went first followed by the adults. Santa had given us gifts which were on our wish list. It was indeed a very memorable Christmas for me.
Published 14 December 2015, 17:59 IST