Turkey or Ham

Christmas is almost here, and I have the most important question of the year for you. Are you having turkey or ham for dinner?  I know that some people have both for Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas. For us we don’t do that. We did when I was growing up, but we also had like thirty or more people to feed.

Now we strictly do turkey for Thanksgiving and then ham for Christmas. This is so we don’t get turkey overload. I know when we spend the holidays in South Carolina with my brother there are so many different meals we attend. Each one has the same general foods that by time the season is over I am done with turkey. It’s true! I love each meal that we attend but by the end of it I am burnt out on many of the foods. That is the reason I attempt to not do the same foods at both meals. I love turkey and when we had it for Thanksgiving I had plenty of leftovers. I just don’t want it again because to be honest, there is only so much turkey a girl can eat for days on end. I know it’s good for me but dang!

We will be having ham along with some potatoes and a few other vegetables. We try to keep it simple on Christmas. Mostly because the kids get up at the crack of dawn and I don’t want to spend the entire day in the kitchen. I put the ham into the cooker and let it do its thing. Everything else I prepare Christmas Eve before mass. That way I only must heat things up and let me tell you I am a champ at heating stuff up.

Mass is another reason we keep Christmas simple. We attend Midnight Mass and not the early Children’s Mass. I know! I know! I have kids so why not attend that one. For me it is all about tradition. Midnight Mass is the one that I attended growing up and I can still remember all the times that my father had to carry me out of the church because I was asleep. He loved Christmas and mass is a way for me to still feel like he is here with us. I can remember going to my Grandmother’s house some when I was little for Christmas Eve dinner. It was always finger foods and a ton of desserts. We would get dressed and then everyone would head to church. We do the same int hat we have a light dinner on Christmas Eve and then the kids get a nap. The senior citizen’s get a nap too but they need it more than the kids.  I take their nap times and get the food done for the next day and enjoy a little bit of a breather. A little time to myself to be thankful for all of the things that we had this year. Even the things that may not have seems like blessings at the time.