Joyeux Noël !!!

Merry Christmas from France! We had a lovely holiday, and hope that you did, too.

I think that being in France, we're not as inundated with CHRISTMAS everywhere in sight from October on. So it seemed like Christmas was coming, but without all the crazy marketing in your face all the time. So finally, on Saturday, Philipp and I got around to getting a tree. Even though we ere going to be at his parents' for the big celebration, we wanted a little tree of our own. And for those of you who have seen the size of our house, you know why it was so important that it be a little tree! :) We got a box of really old ornaments from Philipp's parents' house, and voilà! Our little tree ...

And at the base, a little crêche.

Here in France, they set up the Nativity scene (crêche) at the base of the tree. They use a thick paper to form a cave around the figures. Our table is small, so ours are a bit squished. Another interesting thing about Christmas trees in France ... they don't put them in bases to keep them watered! Seems silly to me. Philipp's parents' tree is stuck into a big, heavy vase (no water, though) and ours came with two boards nailed into the bottom to keep it upright. Everyone complains about their trees being dry and losing needles, but it doesn't occur to them that they could water them. Weird.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve, we headed over to Philipp's parents' house for the festivities. Philipp didn't want to wear a suit, but I made him. (It's tough being married, eh?) Nonetheless, I think we looked pretty good. (although a bit tired ... this was taken around midnight, I think)

We had a glass (or two) of mousseux aux fruits exotiques (a fruity, yummy "champagne") and some hors d'oeuvres before heading over to the church for mass. I was relieved to know that since my last Christmas mass there (two years ago), they'd installed heaters! (Last time, no one told me French churches weren't heated, and I froze!!) It was nice, although to be honest, I miss the traditions from home: the songs, candles, etc. Still, it was nice. (but a bit long ... 1 hour 40 minutes!)

We headed back to the house, and had a delicious dinner (menu in a moment). Every year, Antoine (Philipp's brother) decorates the house, and every year it's magnificent. There are lights and garlands all over the house, but here's the splendid dining room:

It was a "small" group this year ... only 15 people. Some of Philipp's brothers and sisters were off with their in-laws this year. When everyone's there, I think we're at around 26 people. Anyway, Monique (Philipp's Mom) always outdoes herself. Here was the menu:

• Fois gras on toast (with a 1984 Muscadet)
• Turkey, potatoes and chestnuts (with a bottle of red that Preston - my brother - gave Robert - Philipp's Dad - at our American wedding)
• a cheese plate (although at this point we went to open presents, and were already stuffed, so we never got around to eating the cheese)
• vacharin for dessert - it's a frozen custard with meringue and a raspberry coulis. YUM!! (and Cremant de Loire - the local champagne)
• and ... as we sat around chatting ... Monique passed around chocolate truffles, dates stuffed with almond paste, and other yummy treats

As I said, we took a break from dinner to go open presents. We kept hearing reports from the children that Père Noël was surely delivering presents in the next room. (Note that they dressed up in their outfits from our wedding ... except the two younger boys each had to wear the pants of an older brother, leaving the oldest in "regular" clothes ... they've all grown since April!) Here, Père Noël comes while we are at mass. (This used to work, since Philipp would usually stay home. But now I make him go to church, so we have to find another solution.) We discovered that Père Noël had delivered the gifts in front of the wrong fireplace, and thus got the kids to lug the presents up from Monique and Robert's room, where we'd stashed them all. (pretty smart, eh?) This was the scene in the living room as the presents started to be distributed:

Then, once everyone had all their gifts, we went around and started opening them one by one. In this family, since it's so big, we pick names for the one person that we'll give gifts to. I have trouble limiting myself to gifts for just one person, though, so I also had a secret knitting project going. I started in November, and managed to knit a hat or scarf for each woman and girl in the family. Here they are:

So ... we finally got home around 2:00 in the morning. Very sleepy but happy.

So although yesterday was actually Christmas Day, it didn't seem very much like Christmas. Philipp and I slept in, I went for a little run, and we went to his parents' house for lunch. Then we spent the afternoon playing Trivial Pursuit (in French, of course) with Laurence (Philipp's sister), Aya and Yumi (two Japanese girls living with Philipp's parents for the year while they study French) and Céline and Louis (a Chinese couple also living in Angers for their studies). It was difficult at times - especially the obscure questions about French actors, etc. - but we had fun.

And now, it's December 26th. It's 11:24 am, I'm still in my pajamas, and enjoying my second cup of coffee. This evening, we're going to get together with a group of Philipp's old windsurfing buddies (and their wives and kids), who have been friends for at least 20 years. They're a fun group. I'm waiting for it to be a reasonable hour in the Eastern time zone, to call my Mom for the recipe for a favorite cake of Philipp's, so I can make it to take along tonight.

For now ... I suppose I should get dressed.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!