1. Plan Thanksgiving dinner ahead of time. Learn how to cook a turkey BEFORE Thanksgiving morning. (Mr. V took control of Thanksgiving day cooking which made me very happy since I am NOT the cook in this family. He printed out recipes and had all the ingredients necessary. He was well prepared until Thanksgiving morning when he realized that he had no idea how to cook a turkey. There were a few moments of slight panic, but he figured it all out and I am happy to say that we had a very tasty turkey dinner!)
2. Invite friends over for Thanksgiving dinner. Mr. V and I were alone for the holiday, and so were several of our friends. We had a great dinner with 2 other couples and one new guy from the squadron. I personally loved sharing the day with friends because being alone would have made me incredibly homesick.
3. Get the recipe for warm spiced wine from my friend Ms. M. One of our friends made this incredible wine mixture that Mr. V and I loved. It consisted of a sweet wine, cloves, oranges and other things that I am forgetting right now. Hence, the reason I need to get the recipe from her for future dinner parties :-).
4. Practice Grandma's creampuff recipe before Thanksgiving so there won't be a moment of panic when the first batch turned out very un-puffy. The second batch was a success, but it delayed the start of turkey baking.
5. When the guests leave, tear down any and all Thanksgiving and Fall decorations, as soon as possible. Replace them with as many wintery, Christmas decorations as possible, since Christmas is my all time favorite part of the year.
6. Check out Whidbey Island's Woodbee Christmas Tree Farm on the outskirts of Oak Harbor. My family always had real Christmas trees but this was the first time I went to a cut your own tree farm. We drank hot apple cider and searched for a tree. Then I posed for pictures of me pretending to cut the tree, then took control of the camera while Mr. V laid on the wet, muddy ground and actually cut the tree down.
7. Decorate the tree ASAP. Pay close attention to which ornaments are breakable and hang them far away from where the cats can get to them. Hang non-breakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree so the cats can't break them.
8. Rehang the non-breakable ornaments after the cats pull them off the tree.
9. Figure out why the lights went out when cat #8 chewed on the light cord, even though we can't find noticeable teeth marks.
10. Rehang the non-breakable ornaments after the cats pull them off the tree.
11. Go to sleep listening to sounds that don't sound quite right, then wake up in the morning and straighten the tree that the cats have managed to knock halfway over. Tie a wire around the tree trunk and attach it to a very secure hook in the ceiling.
12. Rehang the non-breakable ornaments after the cats pull them off the tree.
13. Set up Christmas village on the long table by the front door. Secure the buildings in place so the cats can't swat them off the table. Then take a picture when cat #6 decides to take a nap in the fake snow lining the table. (of course he moved when I went to take a picture of him sleeping so this is what I got instead)
14. Rehang the non-breakable ornaments after the cats pull them off the tree.
15. Give Mr. V the job of decorating the outside of the house, while you rehang the non-breakable ornaments after the cats pull them off the tree.
16. Go to bed. Wake up happy to see that the tree is still standing straight thanks to the secure wire tied around it. Wonder why there are thousands of needles underneath the tree (more than could possibly fall off naturally in that short amount of time). Ponder the fact that the cats have managed to turn the tree skirt around in an almost full circle. Then rehang the non-breakable ornaments that the cats have pulled off the tree.
17. Finish decorating the inside of the house with insane amounts of candles, snowmen, stockings, and any other festive Christmas season decorations you can find. (Did I mention this is my favorite time of year?)
18. Interview the petsitter and plan trip home for the holidays.
19. Accept the fact that there will be no ornaments on the bottom of the tree and leave the non-breakable ones scattered randomly below the tree.
20. Ponder how one non-breakable ornament has made it all the way into the kitchen.
21. Give in to the cats, and take cute pictures of them underneath the tree :-).
And that my friends, is how the holiday season in this house has been going.
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