I mentioned last post that I'd be preparing a Thanksgiving meal for us on Christmas Eve. I wanted everything to be fancy, so I decorated the table.
I didn't have a white tablecloth, so I used a polyester sheet (I have a thing for using bedding on the table) which I'd rejected for use as bedding because it was slippery and annoying. I couldn't find candleholders at the PX, so I used a bundle of white Christmas lights in the center of the table for soft lighting. I didn't have any cloth napkins, so I just used paper ones, and tied them with ribbons cut from a gift bag.
My sister back in the U.S. insisted that we have mashed potatoes, so I made some.
There was one last dried-out poinsettia for sale at the Commissary. I brought it home. No one should be alone on Christmas Eve!
Before bed, we left cookies and milk for Santa, and mini M&Ms for the elves.
When we woke up, we found that the elves had eaten the candy. Santa had left giant cookie crumbs on the floor on his way out the door.
As for us, we had pancakes after the gifts. RAINBOW PANCAKES. (And bacon and eggs.) Joe mixed mini M&Ms into the pancake batter, and I watched without saying anything even though I knew the colors would get all runny, and it turned out to be the most beautiful culinary no-no I have ever seen.
I spent most of the day playing with my new camera. We had grilled cheese for dinner. I know that sounds lame, but it's not the typical Kraft-Single-between-two-slices recipe; it's my mom's gooey cheesy fried-y delicious recipe we first tasted around Christmas last year, at her house, when I asked what was for dinner and she was like "grilled cheese" and I was thinking "Really? You couldn't have made something delicious?" before I knew what it was and now we've probably eaten it about 18 times this year.
Despite the 7,052 miles between us and our families, our Christmas was relaxing and comfy and Christmasey and almost perfect.
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