I Hope I’m This Awesome When I’m 90

Michael and I took the Edmonds Ferry with my parents over to Poulsbo, Washington for my family Christmas party. It was a cold but dry day in Seattle and I was glad it wasn’t raining like it did last year.  I was wearing my new holiday sweater dress (magenta) with gray tights and my new black boots.

The ferry ride was fairly quick. We didn’t stay long outside because it was pretty cold out.  We had some time to kill before the party so we stopped at Port Gamble to walk around a bit.

Port Gamble is a cool little place on the Peninsula. It was founded in 1853 with these quaint, adorable little cottages for the mill workers.  It’s been restored and the houses were turned into stores and restaurants. There were a lot of Christmas activities going on as well.

We walked around a bit and watched the Scottish bagpiper before we headed back to the car. There were hayrides available and caroling.

I bet Port Gamble is really amazing at night when the Christmas lights were on. We headed to my aunt’s house right on the water.

This year’s Christmas party was extra special because it was my Grandma’s 90th birthday party, too! She’s doing great. She even played the harmonica for everyone (and blew us all away at how good she is at it).

For some reason this year turned out to be very musical! People took turns playing the guitar and there was even a ukulele there and an accordion.

This year we did the White Elephant gift exchange first (and sadly there was no Santa or Grinch this year–boo). It was fun and Michael and I got lucky with some pretty awesome gifts.

This year was more about moderation for me. I only had three glasses of wine the whole day this time and I skipped the Gregnog this year. I’m not sure why but I just didn’t overindulge in anything.

There was so much food, as usual! I picked and chose the things I really wanted to eat and skipped a lot of it. I did eat way too much of the garlic dip that my Grandpa used to make. It’s super strong from the garlic but completely addicting. I’ll share the recipe soon.

The food was great as usual. The main dishes were casseroles, dips, pulled pork and brisket, rolls (I skipped those) and several different salads. I took a little bit of everything and called it good (who am I??).

The dessert was exceptional this year too. I brought a homemade pumpkin bread and added some vanilla frosting with Christmas sprinkles to it.

My aunt also made a delicious layered dessert–chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream layers and then topped with crumbled Heath Bar. It was to die for. My cousin also made a raspberry trifle that was light and delicious.

There was so much food to choose from–including a box of chocolates bigger than my little cousins!

It was a long, fun day and I was so happy to see all of my family. Lots of happy memories there.

QUESTION: What is your “plan of attack” when it comes to potluck food and resisting temptations?