Happy Christmas!

Just checking in to report that the annual drunken Zawacki Christmas Eve was as always, a huge success. But before drunken Christmas Eve, you've got to start off with some non-drunken Family Christmas Eve, so we did just that. We were joined at our house by Brad's parents, his two uncles, and his Gramms. We went the simple route for dinner, and Brad and I tried our hand at Zuni Chicken.

Christmas Eve dinner

Verdict? Zuni chicken rocked our world. The meat itself could have been a bit more seasoned (more herbs + seasoning beneath the skin?) but the tenderness of these babies was spot on. And oh so cheap! It's still hard for me to believe you can buy a whole chicken at Trader Joes for $4.50. Why don't I eat more chicken!?? To go along with our meal, we had plenty of tasty appetizers prior and even more tasty desserts after. Brad requested another blueberry pie, so I made that. I also made a tasty treat this year called Sparkling cranberries. Basically cranberries rolled in a sugar syrup and then coated in sugar, but they were oh so tasty, and incredibly festive.

Makings of blueberry pieSparkling up some cranberriesRows of pretty cranberries.

After our guests were on their way home, we got into the thick of it. First up, was our annual shrimp and cocktail sauce with champagne. It never gets old!

Christmas Eve Delights

Then is was on the gift opening. Yep, we open our gifts on Christmas Eve. I'm too impatient to wait until Christmas morning! It's going to be a real bummer if we have kids someday and have to wait for Santa to come.

A Zawacki Christmas

In typical Brad fashion, he surprised me with things I would never expect, and things I always love. Best gift this year? A whole CASE of cholula. Seriously, I've never been so excited. I tried to gift my mister some love too, and surprised him with not only a game he's been coveting for a while (Ticket to Ride - Europe) but the 1912 expansion pack as well. Expect board games galore around here for the next few months of snow! Finally, we couldn't let Christmas pass by without sharing the love with our kitties. Cleo got a new laser pointer, Roo (who Brad has been calling "tunes" lately) got a new bird toy, and both got some snowflake catnip pouches. Who knew those little pouches would be the hit of the evening, and Cleo proceeded to get herself all high not once, not twice, but FIVE separate times last night. Those crazy felines.

Who needs diamonds? I've got CholulaGifting GamesCleo finds and fights the nipRoo looks for buried treasure

Santa seems to have been very good to the Zawacki's this year, so here's to hoping your Christmas was everything you've been wishing for and more!