Merry Christmas - 2008

A few years back we created a new Ketchum Christmas tradition. We figured out how much we would normally spend on gifts for our family that they either didn't need or didn't want - and instead we spend that on Toys for Tots and meals for the homeless at the Boise Rescue Mission. Roni's sister Nancy and her husband Phil actually inspired the tradition years ago when they started something similar. We loved it when they started it, but it took Roni a few years to break the feeling that she "had" to find the perfect gift for everyone. After a few years she still feels the urge to try and find the elusive perfect gifts - but the stress it always caused is less and less every year!

Another tradition that we changed a few years back was the actual Christmas Dinner. We started having Christmas here at our house when Vicki was a baby - and up until last year we were so fortunate to have both sets of grandparents with us on Christmas day. Roni always tried to make sure she had all of the favorites from both sides of the family, plus a few new dishes that were favorites of ours. This meant a lot of cooking.... and more stress.... so we decided that instead of a formal sit down dinner we would serve "Super Bowl Munchies" and just let everyone graze all day long. This is so much more suited to the way we actually live. Again Roni fights the urge to try and do both... but she's still winning the battle. This year we are having Cheesy Potato soup, Cheesburger Salad, make your own deli style sandwiches and of course chips and dip. Grandpa Sid is still recovering from his major surgery earlier this year, so sadly they can't be here with us again.... but we will make up for that next year. Maybe we can even work out a way to have Christmas next year with Scott's brother and his family.

Tonight we are going to stay home and watch "It's a Wonderful Life". Vicki has never seen it! After that we're going to watch "A Christmas Story". We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year!