Our Christmas

from Meghann:

This was our second Christmas in España and the second year in a row that we celebrated with just the two of us and no other family (well, besides Chloe and Cora, of course). We still miss our families, the big dinners, opening gifts together, but we've gotten used to and learned to appreciate our simpler, more relaxed holidays. And we know how lucky we are to be able to spend Christmas together, when so many others cannot. Our family might be small (and 50% four-legged) but we can still be festive!

 Our Christmas was filled with food - some traditional dishes, along with some Spanish favorites. For both of us, food helps us feel closer to home, especially during the holidays. So there was plenty of cooking, baking, canning, eating, and drinking.

We canned homemade cranberry sauce on Christmas Eve.

And I used it to make cranberry coffee cake, which we ate on Christmas morning.

Another lovely thing about Christmas in Spain - the weather was gorgeous. Christmas Eve was sunny and warm.

You can see some people in the water in the background (for the record, we didn't think it was that warm, but people come down from the North over the holidays, so maybe it was warm to them...?).

There was a lovely Spanish sunset...

which we followed up with delicious Spanish wine and cheese.

We watched A Christmas Story (one of our faves) while I finished wrapping (procrastinator!).

Christmas Eve we pulled out the good stuff and made a big dinner, with favorites for each of us...collards for Graham, mashed potatoes and sauteed mushrooms for me.

Seafood is traditional for my family (cream of crab soup, steamed shrimp, oysters - Maryland!) but we went Spanish and made langostinos al ajillo - prawns in olive oil and garlic.

And got even more Andalucian by drinking some sherry.

Christmas morning...

Cora's first Christmas!

More food (mimosas and Graham made eggs benedict with crab, tomatoes, and Old Bay), phone calls to family, naps, and another walk on the playa.

The leash connector was one of Chloe and Cora's presents from Santa. We jokingly call it "the team-building exercise". Because it's hilarious to watch them try to walk in different directions (and because we're nerds).

That night we went to a little potluck with friends - and forgot to take any pics, other than this one...

and a picture of the pudding pie that I made. It was a wonderful and lovely way to end our holiday.

Hope you had a very Feliz Navidad, filled with whatever makes you the happiest (and pie)!