Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Low-Key Christmas

Our big Christmas celebration was actually on Christmas Eve, and early on Christmas Eve because I had to work from three until ten last night. Just part of the job.

We're open 365 days a year, 15 hours a day, and someone needs to be there for our guests, so the desk crew works out who needs which days off so we can cover for each other. It was a bit trickier this year because one of my co-workers is recovering from hip surgery and the manager, who often covers morning hours, is on a well-deserved vacation. But we made it happen.

So for Christmas Eve, Thomas and Erin came over with their roommate Tammy and her Boyfriend Paul. There was a brunch buffet and a Yankee gift swap, and lots of time to talk and visit, even if I did have to leave early.

But for the actual day of Christmas, we took it easy. Thomas and Erin were visiting Erin's parents. Most of the gifts at our house weren't even wrapped, breakfast was done in stages and kept simple. There was a lot of TV watching, some video game playing, and some fun playing around with gifts, like a great little lens that Karen got for my phone camera which takes wide-angle pictures, and Karen's new tablet, which we're going to use to watch movies on the bus.

Daniel got money toward a game console he really wants, and William got art supplies. As I said, pretty laid back.

And we're kind of stretching out the family celebration, with a trip to Tom and Erin's apartment planned for tomorrow.

Of course, there was one very, very exciting even on this Christmas day: Tom and Erin officially announced their engagement. We're brimming over with delight to hear that.