What an amazing Christmas we had!
The 2 ½ years we have been in Italy have been nothing short of
amazing! (Yes, it has been that long)
But, as with all things, there are upsides and downsides. The downside is not being around family for the
holidays. As much as I love Christmas,
there is just something that Skype can’t deliver when it comes to truly being
there. I have loved seeing Italy for the
holidays, but my inner elf has sorely been missing my familiar Christmas
traditions.
This year we had the opportunity to have Payton and Addy for
the holiday break. We discussed having
them fly out to spend Christmas with us and that perked our spirits. Then I got an idea, a wonderful, awful,
Grinchy idea! What if instead for
bringing the girls to us for Christmas, we brought ourselves to them AND the
whole extended family?!?
So we set about a plan.
A SURPRISE plan of elf attack!
This is no small task given the number of family members we have and the
logistics of housing 4 “surprise” guest for 2 weeks. We had to let a few people in on the mission
– Payton & Addy were key – they had to travel from NC, Liz was essential
because she was in charge of housing and there were a few others that were
sworn to secrecy!
Seems pretty simple, right?
Til you start figuring out all of the details…..
Plane ticketsü Rental carü
Presents shippedü
Incoming present corralledü (Thanks Liz!)
Doggies cared forü
Suitcases packedü
Italian goodies shippedü Last
minute Italian goodies packedü
(Extra suitcase needed) House cleaned
for dog sitterü Passports ü
Not talking to people for fear of spilling the beansü
Oh, and did I mention we started this plan in October!!!
We arrived in DC on Sunday and zipped in our rental car to
the Eastern Shore . (There really is something
magical about crossing the Bay
Bridge
There is nothing like feeling you are in a live Folger’s
commercial when Peter comes home! (For those that don’t remember the Folgers commercial click here) We
literally got them out of bed for the surprise!
It’s such a great feeling of joy to make someone happy, just by being
there. Next we had to swear them to
secrecy til the rest of our clan arrived….in 3 days! Doesn’t seem like a big deal until you repeat
the phrase “no Facebook posts!” to everyone you see!
Lizzy & I dashed to Salisbury on Monday to run some errands &
treat my hair to a much needed cut (Thanks Angela), a bit of shopping and a
visit with Buttons (Thanks Bob you are a great secret keeper!). Tuesday our gang of 4 ventured to Annapolis for some “malling” and a bit of Italy at
Maggianos. The waiter was telling us all
about the “authentic” Italian food, when we told him we lived in Italy ….he
thought we were joking! The Annapolis mall didn’t
disappoint – Addy wanted to live in Hot Topic!
Mom & Pat arrived from Charleston on Wednesday. The surprise 4 were hiding in Liz’s living
room, listening to them discuss plans for dinner. We popped out and said “What are we doing for
dinner?”. The look of delight, surprise
and happy tears is an incredible gift to receive! Next on the surprise list – Carlye!
Not so much….a hiccup occurred when she and Craig pulled
into the side by side driveways at the same time. He ducked down and then peeked back up. He may be an ace pilot, but covert
stealthiness is not in his repertoire.
Next up Traci – first, hide the pilot, then surprise! It worked!
Next up Jason –all he did was say hi.
Then it sunk in that we were not “supposed” to be there. I love getting
all of the hugs!! Terri, Sherri &
the boys came by and we had Italian hot chocolate and a firepit! (Thanks to the weather gods for delightful
temps!) Surprising is fun work!
Christmas! What can I
say??? I just love it. Wrapping (yes, I do have a wrapping problem –
there is nothing wrong with having the best dressed presents!) Thanks Addy for
the ribbon support – you are definitely in the Wrapping Club! Christmas Eve candlelight service at church
(I love knowing the words to the songs!)
And, opening a Christmas Eve present.
This is something I remember doing with Dad & I was happy Payton
& Addy wanted to do it too!
Wow! Everyone knows I LOVE giving gifts at Christmas,
especially feeling like I picked the right thing. I don’t think I’ve ever been more blown away than
by what the girls gave us – Payton drew a picture of Craig & I – seriously,
the girl is talented!
Christmas morning!!
There is something to be said for not having “Santa” come at a set time
with older kids! Relaxing is that
word! And that is a rare commodity when
there are 10+ people sleeping all over the house (Thanks Lizzy & Charlie!)
We did our 4 person present exchange and the elf in me was pleased to see happy
tears when the girls opened their presents – who knew an autographed Andy
Biersack photo would do the trick! Did I mention how much I love Christmas??
Let the dashing begin!
Off to Oxford
to Sherri’s and brunch. Delish as usual
and those Italian spritzes!!! So glad
you liked those on your visit! It is so
much fun to see the girls with their cousins!!
Living apart is hard sometimes, but when they get together & simply
mesh, it is wonderful!!
Then we had our Elfster Christmas! (If you are a family that draws names,
Elfster is a remarkable site for Secret Santas)
It is fun being an international traveler/Christmas shopper! Nothing like being able to pick up a Manchester City
soccer jacket when you are in London
or a handmade Italian copper pot!! I love being a Christmas elf! And then we do our “Chinese Auction” Christmas
exchange. We play a game to determine
picking order (drawing on a paper plate on our heads was this year’s game) for
the coveted $5 gift auction. In all of
the years we have done this, the $5 limit has not increased. This year’s fight for it gift was the sought
after “selfie stick” (kudos Payton for the pick). After several steals – Traci emerged as the
selfie stick owner, much to Carlye’s dismay.
With the help of the selfie stick and Jason’s long arm, we got a
priceless pic of the group! We danced,
we sang (some of us remembered the words to Leader of the Pack), we laughed, we
cried and we laughed until we cried!! As
Bob put it perfectly, “You know it was a good time when you wake up
the next morning and your abs hurt from laughing so much and your cheeks hurt
from smiling so much!”
 |
| Princess waves! |
So, you might think that was enough for a full holiday visit
right? Only for amateurs! Next on the agenda, The Haslup Open House! Loved seeing friends, old and new and sharing
my cellos with the gang! Tons of food
and drinks! Most importantly, I love the
fact that my family & Craig’s family are not separate entities – we blend
and we blend well! I love that we have
friends that have been around for so long that they become family and it was so
great to share all of that with Payton and Addy! We partied til the wee hours of the morning
and woke up to even more than the 10+ sleeping in the house! (Nothing like
having the house that all the kids come to!)
What is Christmas without the After Christmas Sales?? Payton & I set off on an adventure – The
Mall in Columbia
….the Columbia Mall! (Not sure why I remember the silly old jingles) After
Christmas Sales – score, snack at PF Changs – score, meeting Carlye at her apt
for a dinner date with her roommate Rachel – score, shopping on Rachel’s bed
after her closet cleanout – SCORE!!!
Payton and I came home with, literally, a bucket full of clothes! Thanks
Rachel!!! And we had a great dinner to
boot!
Happy New Year 2016!
We got to ring in the New Year at the beach! Again, it was slumber party central at Liz’s,
only this time in OC! All of the Wheeler children & grandchildren in one
place for the ball drop! We had some creative sleeping arrangements, but what a
blast! After a hearty breakfast, our
Penguins lined up for the swim in the Atlantic ….brrrrr!
(I did not plunge, having checked that block in a frigid blizzard years
before!) What memories!
Next sneak attack was a New Years Day party at my friend Kim’s! I got to surprise her (and a few more old
& dear friends) and make more happy tears!!
It’s a small world indeed….one of her OC friends is Italian and is from
the same town that we live in. Hopefully
he will visit us in April! What a blast!
Words can not even describe the happiness that Craig and I
felt on this visit home.(I know I've forgotten a ton of things, there was never a dull moment) Sure, there
were lots of presents (and stolen selfie sticks), but truly the greatest gift
of all was the time spent with friends and family and the memories that will
last a lifetime!
Make 2016 your best year ever!
Ciao for now.........
