Thursday, January 3, 2013

Christmas At The Ranch, Part 2

 In Part 1, I mention the bit about Sally's kids thinking that the CANDY at Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas is the best part.  Here's proof that there was plenty there to suit a wide variety of sweet tooths!

There were 5 kinds of M&Ms : regular, peanut, peanut butter, pretzel and mint flavored.

Rachel had given the variety of sweets a lot of thought, and each kind of candy represented family Christmases from our generation's growing up years. Candy was a very special treat in our house, so to have free range of it at Christmas get-togethers was really exciting! The excitement is obviously being carried on with the next generation. :)

Julia made these wonderful signs so everyone would know the history behind each candy.

The M&Ms were from Christmases at Aunt Jo & Uncle Joe's house...

Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Miniatures were from Christmases at Grandpa & Grandma's...

Great-Aunt Marion always provided Rice Krispie Treats for Grandpa & Grandma's Christmases...
(I realized later that I did not get a picture OF the Rice Krispie Treats!)

And the signature treat of Granddaddy & Grandma's was candied orange slices and marshmallows.

The dessert/snack bar minus the M&M buffet.  Aside from the aforementioned candy, there was pistachios, oyster crackers, party-mix packaged into snack baggies, O'Henry Bars, and a variety of cookies and cupcakes.  There were also a few pies, Apple, Pumpkin & Pecan, but they didn't get in any of my pictures.


 As soon as everyone was there that was going to be there, we gathered 'round and sang the Doxology, then a family friend asked the blessing on the food and we dug in!  I did not get a picture of the main buffet table, but it was delicious, simple fare:  Lasagna & Garlic Bread (all homemade), Fruit Salad, Vegetables and Dip.  This was the first year we did not do the full-blown, 10 course, days-of-preparation, turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, and so on meal and it was SO much easier to prepare, prepare for, and manage throughout the day.

Last summer Mom bought this little picnic table for the little cousins to eat at for these kind of parties.  They think it is the bees knees to eat at their own little table. :)

Here are Gail and her son, Sam, Sally and her daughter, Marie, and my Susannah.  These three cousins were born in the same year. :)

Here at the "big kid" table are Hannah (Sally's) and Bobby (Gail's).  Paul (Sally's oldest) also sat at this table.

Auntie Juls (Julia) is feeding Sylvia ground up lasagna,
which she ended up not liking.

Andrew (Sally's husband) is feeding their youngest,
Rachel Anne, her lunch.
 
 Luke, the oldest brother,
and his girlfriend, Katelyn

The men going through the food-line:
Ted (Rachel's husband), Andrew (Sally's husband),
Glen (youngest brother), Daniel (my husband),
James (Gail's husband) and Sherman (Katie's husband)
4 of the guys are not pictured here!

Coming next will be Part 3.

6 comments:

Sally said... [Reply to comment]

Good job getting pictures! I didn't get around to telling someone how much I appreciated the signs letting the too-young-to-remember know about the memories and significance of the different treats and desserts. I think it is fair to say that (at least in my growing up years) there was NEVER candy at home. We got candy at Christmas, thanks to Aunt Jo, and when she came down in the summer she brought us each a bag of candy. Mom made candy at Easter, but other than that, we did not have candy at home. I continue to find it strange that Andrew grew up with a continual supply of candy in the home, and he thinks nothing of our kids having candy regularly, and even having it stocked in the home!! (I should mention that we ate very well at home, and we had cookies and cake and things like that, just not candy. And oh the joyful day when Julia started making caramel! Then, we often had several pans of caramel sitting around and quickly disappearing. Once more, how did we ever consume so many calories and still not weigh a ton?)

Davene Grace said... [Reply to comment]

Miriam, I have one thing to say:

YOUR FAMILY IS THE BEE'S KNEES! :)

I LOVE these glimpses into your family's times together; thanks for sharing!! :)

Elizabeth said... [Reply to comment]

What a great way to celebrate with family :)

Rachel said... [Reply to comment]

Thanks for capturing the day. I love looking at the pictures and reading someone else's perspective. The whole day seemed like a blur to me; this slows it down to an enjoyable pace!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Those candy explanations were quite helpful! Unfortunately, I don't remember and doubt I was around to experience most, if any, of these. One of the downfalls to being on the "tail end." I believe had a case of "too much party" that day and was in a bit of a daze a lot of the time.

Kelly said... [Reply to comment]

What fun pictures! I love the candy table! :)