Favorite Christmas Moment of 2009

I was at my brother's house snuggled on a couch with his 8-year old boy, getting ready to watch a movie, when my nephew looked up at me and said, "You look just like my dad, except the girl version!"

I'm still giggling about that one...

Home again!

I've just returned from a lovely visit with most of my family (we were missing the Texas branch). As mentioned in my previous post, I played games with the nieces and nephews, and even one brother and one sister-in-law.

The favorite games this year were Pictureka and Lego Creator (which I think is now out of print, but Amazon has some used ones). My brother got a Monty Python version of Fluxx for Christmas, which we tried out at a Saturday game night. It was VERY entertaining! Fluxx is a card game where the rules and the requirements for winning are constantly changing (i.e. in flux). One of the rules was that you could play an extra card if you spoke with an outrageous accent during your turn. My brother and his wife embraced this rule with gusto, as did their 12-year old. I love it that we can all cut loose and be silly together.

Tonight I introduced some neighbors to Pictureka, and it was well-received. If you live in my area and want to try it out with your family, invite me for a game night! :-) The age range is 6 and up, and it can easily be played as teams or individuals. We had 7 people playing as individuals tonight and it did not seem to take too long to complete. It gets faster as the players become more familiar with the tiles that form the game board, yet remains challenging.

My 7-year old nephew will now be referred to as "Gameboy" in future posts! (I haven't settled on a name for his older brother quite yet.) Gameboy and I tackled several games while I was home, starting with Pictureka and Lego Creator. The others were Racko , Battleship, Stone Soup , Blockus, SkipBo, and a Mario game on his new Nintendo DS. (He and I played the same game on the DS and traded the unit back and forth each time one of us lost a life.)

Good times!

Christmas Eve Eve

Ok, so it isn't Christmas Eve quite yet, but my family gathered tonight for our Christmas Eve dinner since my nephews will spend tomorrow with their mom. In past years, the meal has been an extravagant affair that nearly matched Thanksgiving, but this year we kept it quite simple. My brother, GrillMeister, made chicken divan and rice, his wife made spinach salad, my brother Yevi brought ice cream, and his wife made pineapple pudding (which I LOVE!). I made rolls and brownies, and mom prepared a veggie tray and crackers and dip as appetizers. I also put together a large plate of homemade candy, which seemed to go over quite well. Oh, and Yevi's MIL brought meatballs. Yum!

My favorite part of the evening was playing games with the nieces and nephews and my brother Yevi (The only other adult who would play tonight). The hit game of the night was Pictureka which a friend gave me for my birthday. The kids couldn't seem to get enough of it, especially my 7-year old nephew. He is an amazing game-player and learns new games quickly. After a rough losing spell last March, he announced to his mother, "Aunt Holly does not 'let' me win".

You bet I don't. He is smart enough to win fair-and-square!

I'm hoping for a game night at Yevi's house later this week. They are a fun crowd to play with too. I've been experiencing board-game withdrawal in recent weeks due to a very busy schedule, so it is nice to kick back and play games. Ahhh.... I love holidays!