Christmas at the House of Chaos

Hello! I hope you are all enjoying a restful week, and gearing up to ring in the new year!

We had a wonderful Christmas with our family. We attended Christmas Eve Mass, and set a new record arriving 2 hours before Mass started to ensure that we'd have seats. If you're Catholic, you know what I mean. Lots of Chreasters were in attendance, and rather than being annoyed at not having seats, we try to be grateful that they are there to celebrate with us :)

It was such a special service, and I was filled with the joy, hope and spirit of Christ. At least until I made into the parking lot and was nearly mowed over. I'm not judging, but if you're there every week, you know there is a traffic flow system in place that ensures everyone filters out in a friendly and orderly fashion. Okay. I'm totally judging. See why I have to go to Mass every Sunday?? Forgive me.

 After Christmas Eve Mass, I hosted a casual dinner. Here's a shot of the table.

Call the blog police. I used paper napkins. Oh the horror!!

Here's the "kids' table." Although, only one kid sat there. The rest of them hijacked the adult table, so my father, husband and I rounded out the foursome.

I served Barefoot Contessa's Lasagna. I LOVE this recipe! It's delicious, and I could make it ahead of time. I popped it in the oven before we left for church, and it was good to go when we got home.

My kids narrowly escaped the "naughty" list, and were excited to see that Santa had indeed come and delivered presents for Christmas morning. He also left a nutcracker for each of them.

My mother hosted Christmas dinner with a much more elaborate menu, a prettier tablescape and cloth napkins. I forgot to take pictures until dinner and several glasses of wine had been consumed. Don't worry... I won't make you look at blurry photos of dirty plates.

Now don't hate me for this bit of advice. However, if you choose to write an annual Christmas letter and send it to a family of sarcastic smart a**es, be forewarned that your letter may be read aloud (in an unintended manner) as after-dinner entertainment. (I'm checking the Confession times as I type this.)

I showed you most of my Christmas decor here, here, and here. You're probably so over Christmas decorations, but I'm going to show you a couple anyway, because I'm annoying thoughtful like that. There were a couple of areas that needed a little Christmas right that very minute. And, these literally took a minute to throw together.

Apothecary jar, Epsom salt, greenery, ornaments, ribbon. Done.

Bowl, ornaments, greenery. Could it be any simpler? I think not.


And that, my friends, concludes Christmas 2011 at the House of Chaos. I'll be back soon to recap my first year of blogging and let you in on my New Year's resolutions.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!