How Are You Spending Christmas Eve?

What better way to start the day than go to Mass? That's how most days begin at our house. Then off to the grocery store to prepare for the little elves' invasion tomorrow. The grocery list included all the ingredients for my wonderful fruit cake which is a recipe from the Joy of Cooking with my own personal variations. (We all hate fruitcake mix that includes citron so I candy my own orange and lemon peel and include fruits like dried apricots and pineapple.) No candied cherries at the store so I'll candy my own and no dates either. (What gives with that?) But with all the other fruit and lots of nuts, I don't think the dates will be missed. I love to decorate the cakes and share with special friends. (Yes, there really are a few folks out there who like fruitcake!) After that I'm going to put together some graham cracker houses for the children to decorate tomorrow and continue writing Christmas cards. We'll end the day with the last lighting of the Advent wreath and the Christ candle in its center. (I'll replace those purple and pink candles tomorrow with red or white.) Then we'll welcome Jesus with a rosary and some carols. He's already in the manger because two of our little granddaughters were here yesterday and we processed around the house singing Away in the Manger and put the baby in the his makeshift cradle. We're not going to "midnight" Mass this year because I'm taking Communion tomorrow to one of our local nursing homes. So we'll probably go to bed early to rest up for all the excitement during Christmas vacation which will include visits from four of our five children and their families including 15 of our grandkids. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? I think the Holy Family would approve. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us. And God bless us, every one!