Santa Party 2015 and the Weekly Menu

Today we celebrated Christmas with most of the greats including our newest great, Aurora, who is 6 weeks old..  This is my very favorite party of the year.  It is hard when you belong to a large family to get everyone together at one time, especially during the holidays when they are being pulled in a hundred different directions.  Our family now consists of 19 great grandchildren. or in my case, 18 great nieces and nephews and one grandchild.  Three of these greats live in California, two live up in northern Michigan and four of them, even though they live close by were unable to attend today.

I started having this party many moons ago when I wanted to see all my greats and wasn't able to find time during the holidays.  I would try to get to them all separately but it was a chore as the family got larger.  Frank and I finally found the solution by having a party early in the season that was dedicated just to the greats.  It worked out wonderfully and then, since Mom's (Grandma Greats) birthday was on the 13th, we started combining her birthday with the Santa party.  It was a great success and has been ever since.  This year was no exception.

This year, Santa's first stop was by Grandma Great to wish her a Happy 95th Birthday.

Grandma Great wasn't able to join the festivities this year as she was very tired.

Santa greeted all the greats and provided them with wonderful gifts.

l-r front row: Sterling, Devin, Santa, Carter and Miss Melody on her Mom's lap.

second row: Gavin, Breanna, MacKenzie, Dylan and Abigail.

Not shown:  Aurora. our newest little great at 6 weeks old.

Unable to attend: Lily, Spence, Joey, Little Jack, Quinn, Jack Molly and Teaghyn,

You knew I had to get one on my Little Miss by herself with Santa.

Well, she would have been by herself if Santa wasn't so scary LOL.

Every year for this party I try to make kiddie friendly foods and find the perfect gifts for Santa to give each of the greats.  This year, luckily, I did get out to do the shopping before Mom got sick.  I didn't want to cancel the party as it is my only chance to see all my greats but I did give myself a break and order in food instead of cooking.

Tomorrow I am going to spend the day cooking and preparing for the Parish Council Christmas gathering on Monday.  We will have leftover's from today for dinner.

Monday is the PPC gathering in which I will provide main dishes. Frank will provide drinks and the other guests will provide appetizers, salads and desserts.

Tuesday I am roasting a chicken so that we have meals for the remainder of the week.

Wednesday we will finish up leftovers from Monday.

Thursday and Friday we will be having Chicken Dishes from the remaining roasted chicken on Tuesday.

Of course, all of this is depending on when Mom decides to go join her parents, husband, siblings, daughter, son and grandson.  I will keep you updated.

Saturday- Santa Party

Broasted Chicken

Broasted Potatoes

Cole Slaw

Antipasto Salad

Pizza

Asst. Desserts (provided by Aunt Amy)

Sunday

Leftovers

Monday- PPC Party

Stuffed Cabbage

Kielbasa and Kraut

Pierogi

Asst. apps/salads/desserts (pot luck)

Tuesday

Roast Chicken

Leftover sides

Wednesday

Leftovers from Monday's party

Thursday

Chicken Casserole (TBD)

Friday

Chicken Stir Fry 

Steamed Rice

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