Christmas Eve

I kept up last year's new Christmas Eve tradition and picked a theme for the night for this year. It was a Middle Eastern theme. I picked up a book on traditional jewish feasts at the Scholastic Sale and got a lot of ideas there.

Menu:

Spinach Artichoke Dip with multigrain crackers/chips

Spanikopita (thank you Costco)

Bagels

Olives

Pistachios (and M&Ms, which were so not authentic)

Spinach Salad with dried fruits and nuts

Couscous

Salmon (not technically middle eastern, but what fish can you get that comes from the Red or Dead Sea here in Utah? Oh, and I did season with Kosher salt ;))

Pumpkin Spice Cake (ridiculously off base, but we had to have a b-day cake for Jesus that the kids would enjoy)

I loved my table setting for the night - yes, I used this year's wrapping paper as a runner. Laura did a great job helping with the nametags - glitter glue rules! And I think the meal went over really well. I was a tad nervous because we invited my bro. Danny's family which, unlike us, has some picky eaters.

After eating until we were stuffed, we sang a few Christmas Carols. Sara helped drown out our bad singing with her assistance on the piano.

Then we acted out the nativity. Laura was once again a fantastic Mary. My bro. Danny was a sport and played Joseph. Yes, Jason was the donkey. And my folks had brought back cool costume additions from their trip.

We ended with some gifts - I really think everyone should get a surprise stocking on Christmas, so we do them for the grandparents each year. Then we sang and had dessert. All the kids took a turn blowing out the candle.

The tradition is continuing and I'm already getting ideas for next year :) What do you think of a Little House on the Prairie theme?