It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Mike's Score Board:

White: 25
Green: 1

Tera's Score Board:

White: 23

Green: 1

That is to say that 2009 gave us our first not-white-Christmas. With good reason, then, we had to work a bit harder to get into the holiday spirit. Brad and Jessica helped with that, though. Two weeks before Christmas, and on the day of the first and only snowfall this season, B & J came to visit us in B'ham. A pair of Santa hats, a couple o' antlers, some food coloring, and, Wha-lah!: we had ourselves some Christmas spirit and cookies to boot!





Cutting snowflakes is serious business. No one, no how will tell Brad and Mike differently. No, Sir!

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We spent Christmas Eve at home, just Mike and the girls and me. We had a nice salmon dinner before unwrapping our presents. Merri was glad to finally be allowed to open her gifts, as she'd been sniffing around the tree for weeks!

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On Christmas Day, we drove down to Seattle to spend the day with Brad and Jessica. It was a sunny drive, and we had some clear views of the Cascades and the Olympics. To prove as much, I've posted the below photo. It's rather grainy, being taken on a run-o'-the-mill camera from a moving vehicle on the interstate and all, but it is evidence enough that the only snow we saw on Christmas was mountain snow. The fields were green, my friends.

We didn't know what we were in for at Brad and Jessica's. Boy, they did some serious planning, and it paid off. Jessica had researched holiday traditions from different countries. The first one we got to partake in was finding the pickle. I guess this is a common tradition, but in all my youth, I had never learned of it. So, in case some of you are as ill-versed in holiday practices as I am, allow me...

Everyone (i.e. Brad, Mike, and me) except one person (i.e. Jessica) leaves the room. The host/referee (Jessica) that remains in the room hangs a pickle ornament on the tree. The participants (Brad, Mike, and me) return to the room and begin searching for the pickle ornament. Whoever finds the pickle first gets an extra present.

Now, I suppose one could certainly hide a real pickle in the tree, a baby pickle would camouflage easily and make this a difficult game for anyone without a keen sense of smell. Being that this is America, however, one can find a glass pickle ornament at just about any store that sells ornaments. I have seen the glass koshers before, but I just thought they were some weird fad. That teaches me the ol' assuming lesson, eh?

So, who found the pickle, you ask? Well, my parents didn't call me "Eagle Eyes Kaminski" for nothin'. And, what was the extra present, you ask? Well, I was so fortunate to earn a plastic sheep who, when pressed, pooped out brown Jelly Bellies. Don't worry; I shared with the group.

Next, we gutted our stockings and opened presents. Thanks for all the loot, Brad and Jessica. We've gotten good use of most everything. The whoopie cushion hasn't yet been tested, but we're saving that for the Johnfather's visit.

Of course, we watched Die Hard, such a classic Christmas flick that I can't believe I had never seen it before. Next year, I'll have to watch the second one, if I can wait that long. Shane, Nicole, and Baby Stella arrived mid Die Hard. More movies ensued and hors d'oeuvres were eaten before we had our Christmas meal, which Brad and Jessica didn't slack on.

When we sat down to eat, we discovered colored crowns made of tissue paper hidden under our plates. This, too, was a tradition Jessica had learned of, though I can't recall its origin. We popped our poppers (the real name escapes me... English something, I think) to receive several trinkets, including a fortune telling fish that reported of my being "passionate." Before digging into the main dishes, we ate rice pudding. One serving had an almond in it. Whoever got the almond - you guessed it - got an extra present. Brad received a marzapan hog. Don't worry; he, too, shared with the group. Then, we ate. A lot. The meal was delicious. The heart of the meal was wild boar, which I tried, despite my strong distaste for anything pig. It was better than any other oinker I've tasted in my life, and those who taste hogs regularly seemed to agree.

Post meal, we played games. The tradition included at game time was none other than a Contezac family tradition: you win, you get a lottery ticket. Between Mike and myself, we have three or four dollars to cash in on.


In between games, we took a break to begin a new Kaminski-Contezac tradition, at least I hope it turns into a tradition. We revised the lyrics to a Christmas song, in this case "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," and recorded our version in Brad and Jessica's studio. I figure, if we record one song a year, we'll have a nice little holiday album come 2020.






So, despite the lack of snow, our Christmas was a merry one. Of course, we missed our parents and extended family and Midwestern friends, and we look forward to the holidays we will spend with you in the future. For this one, though, we were thankful for the company we did have. Brad and Jessica, we love you very much.