Christmas Day 2024

A Christmas Day in seven parts.

Part 1

It was great to have Jack, Drew and Carmen stay overnight. Everyone was up and moving early. After I took Tiber on a Creek walk, the five of us opened the stockings.

Part 2
Lee, Clem, Daniel and Morgan rolled up about 9:30 am. We had a leisurely breakfast. I made waffles. Sharon made an interesting breakfast souffle and a salad with two types of oranges topped with roasted rosemary and olives.

Part 3
After breakfast, we spent a long time around the tree opening gifts. Lee had a great time running back and forth taking gifts to everyone. I got Sharon a necklace with a map of our house, a Alex and Ani bracelet and an Apple watchband. We got Morgan and Carmen necklaces with maps of their houses.

Part 4
After opening all the presents, we took Tiber and Stella for a walk in Ancil Hoffman Park.

Part 5
Jack, Morgan, Drew, Carmen, Sharon and I played a long game of Unstable Unicorns. Jack won.

Part 6

Jack, Drew, Sharon, Carmen and I went to late afternoon movie. We saw A Complete Unknown at the Cinemark Century Greenback Lane 16 and XD. This is a pre-pandemic tradition. A list of movies that we have seen on Christmas Day is here.

A Complete Unknown chronicles Bob Dylan's meteoric rise in the early 1960s, from his arrival in New York City to his controversial electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. It is on my list as a possible nominee for multiple Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. I will post my thoughts about the movie later this week.

Part 7

We finished the day with a very late dinner at home. Sharon's brother Tom joined Jack, Drew, Carmen, Sharon and me for dinner. I barbecued filet migons. Sharon added potatoes, spinach and bread.

It was a very nice day! Although I was moving a little slow, I really enjoyed having the kids and grandkids around!

Christmas Day 2023

A Christmas Day in five parts.

Part 1

With everyone moving slow and seeming a little flat, we eventually had breakfast and exchanged gifts. Sharon picked out her own present this year: a pair of David Yurman earrings. I supplemented that with a Sonos Roam, an Apple Watch Band, a Peloton workout top and some golf balls. I got Jack a Keegan Murray City Edition Jersey.

Part 2

In the late morning, we headed to Sharon's brother Tom's house. We did a nice gift exchange. The change of scenery helped lighten the mood.

Part 3

Tom, Jack, Sharon and I went to an afternoon movie. We saw Poor Things at the Cinemark Century Arden 14 and XD. This is a return to a pre-pandemic tradition. A list of movies that we have seen on Christmas Day is here.

Originally, we talked about seeing Boys in the Boat, but switched to Poor Things in order to get home to see the 49er game. Although I wasn't sure how the group would react to Poor Things, it was on my list as a possible nominee for multiple Oscars. My thoughts about the movie are here.

Part 4

After the movie, we went to Buca Di Beppo for an early dinner. Like seeing a movie on Christmas Day, this is a return to a pre-pandemic tradition (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019). The four of us split: Bruschetta; Chopped Antipasti Salad; Eggplant Parmigiana; Spaghetti Marinara; and, Stuffed Shells. Oddly, even at this early in the evening, they were running out of a number of items including pizza, lasagna and meatballs!?!. By the time we left, the entryway was packed with people waiting for a table.


Part 5

After dropping Tom at his house, Sharon, Jack and I finished the night watching the San Francisco 49ers play the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams came into the game with records of eleven wins and three losses. It was a mess. The 49ers lost by the score of 33 to 19.

Christmas Day 2022

Although we crashed early on Christmas eve, we were moving slow on Christmas morning. Eventually, we wound our way to Carmen and Drew's house for a late breakfast.

After breakfast, we spent a lazy morning opening gifts. Lee is a great age for Christmas morning; he delivered the presents to everyone. I really enjoyed the morning with everyone. The group included: Morgan, Daniel and Lee; Drew and Carmen; Jack; Mike and Pam (Carmen's parents), and; Sharon and I.

I spent the early afternoon making Rumeli Mantısı (Filo Roses). When we were on the cruise, we took a Turkish cooking class. We made this dish in the cooking class. We then made it for the fall dinner party. It as turned out so well that it is going to be a go to recipe. We served to everyone as a late, light lunch.

While Sharon went back to the hotel with Mike and Pam, I took a nice 1.6 mile walk through the neighborhood with Drew, Carmen and Morgan. Afterwards, I ran back to the hotel to pick up Sharon.

We finished the day with a late dinner of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans that Drew and Carmen got from Whole Foods. Although Drew, Carmen and Jack played board games until midnight, Sharon and I headed back to the hotel and crashed.

Christmas Day 2021

A Christmas Day in three parts...

Part One. After Sharon and I walked Tiber, we made a nice breakfast of waffles, bacon and pineapple. Unlike last year, it was just Jack, Sharon and I. The three of us had a leisurely morning opening presents. It was definitely a golf Christmas. Sharon and I both ended up giving each other laser golf rangefinders.

Part Two. In the late morning, we headed to Morgan and Daniel's apartment. Jack, Sharon and I hung out and visited while Daniel worked on putting together the Ikea play kitchen that we got Lee for Christmas. Lee is a wonderful little guy. We are enjoying having them so close.


An interlude. Back at house in the afternoon, I wandered out to the jacuzzi by myself. When I retire, I plan to write a book about 1991. Soaking in the hot tub in the rain, I played with some thoughts for the dedication and the opening chapter.

Part Three. Sharon's brother Tom came over in the early afternoon. We spent some time lamenting the drama and politics of Christmas Eve. Sharon made a nice early dinner of individual beef wellingtons, potato souffles and spinach.

Traditionally, we have gone to see a movie on Christmas Day. Since the start of pandemic, we have watched a movie at home. After some debate, we settled on Don't Look Up. More about the movie here.

After Tom left, we finished the day with a discussion on the current state of things...

Christmas Day 2020

Christmas Eve and Day represented a very different experience this year. This is the first time that I have spent these holidays with both Drew and Morgan since at least 2002. Additionally, it has been more than twenty-six years since I haven't spent Christmas Eve with Sharon's family. With the first ripples dating back almost eighteen months, an enormous sea change has taken place. While the change has been favorable for Sharon and I, I honestly feel bad about the current impacts and future ramifications to Drew and Morgan.

Christmas Day morning, everyone was up and moving fairly early. We did the stockings. Afterwards, we made waffles, bacon and berries for breakfast. When we were done with breakfast, we shifted back to opening presents.

Drew and Jack spent some time in the morning flying Drew's drone. I was worried that the drone would end up in a tree, but they got some amazing footage. I will post a couple of the videos in the next couple of weeks.

Morgan, Lee and Daniel showed up a little after 10 am. Lee had lunch and then went down for his afternoon nap. Sharon and I did a Frame Family Christmas Zoom get together in the late morning.

Drew, Jack and I spent part of the afternoon playing a Game of Thrones branded version of Catan. This is not just a re-skinned version of the game. It is a substantial variation that includes a number of naunces. It actually started to make more sense as we moved through the first game. We took a break to walk Tiber. Jack ended up winning.

After Lee got up from his nap, we opened Morgan, Lee and Daniel's presents. Drew and Shannon gave Morgan a giant piano mat. I am fascinated by Drew and Morgan's musical ability. Jack is also developing some musical ability.

For dinner, Sharon served individual beef wellingtons and green beans. Morgan, Lee and Daniel took off shortly after dinner.

The rest of us finished the night watching Last Christmas. My notes about Last Christmas and our Christmas Day tradition of seeing a movie are here. After the movie, we had a nice dessert that Shannon made before everyone crashed.  Shannon and Drew spent a second night with us.

Christmas Day 2019

With everyone moving a little slow, we had a late start to the morning. Sharon and I did a creek walk with Tiber. Afterwards, we exchanged presents. Sharon gave me a weather station. For years, I had one in the backyard at Marina Point. I looking forward to getting this one on line, hooked to Alexa and connected to an app on our iPhones.

The plan for the day was a movie and dinner with Sharon's brother Tom. This is the eleventh year in a row that we have seen a movie on Christmas Day! We saw the Rise of Skywalker at the Century 14 and XD.

After the movie, we headed for an early dinner at Buca di Beppo. We split a green salad, margherita pizza, eggplant parmigiana, spaghetti with meatballs.

We finished the night with exchanging presents and having coffee and dessert at Tom's house.

Christmas Day 2018

With Sharon feeling a little under the weather, we had a slow start to the morning. We exchanged presents. This year, for the first time that I can remember, I let Sharon pick out her Christmas present. [Note to self], while it was definitely a hit, I think that I will go back to a surprise in the future. Sharon got a necklace, while I got a Ring Doorbell. After presents, I made waffles for breakfast.

The plan for the day was a movie and dinner with Sharon's brother Tom. This is the tenth year in a row that we have seen a movie on Christmas Day! We saw Vice at the Century Arden 14 and XD. Vice is on some lists as an Oscars Best Picture nomination.

After the movie, we headed for an early dinner at Buca di Beppo. We split bruschetta, a chopped antipasti salad, eggplant parmigiana, spaghetti with meatballs and chicken limone.




We finished the night with coffee and dessert at Tom's house. We watched the Grinch.

Christmas Day 2017

With the boys sleeping late, we had a lazy morning. We exchanged gifts. I got Drew an Apple Watch and Santa brought Jack the new iPhone that he has been wanting. At Sharon's suggestion, we got everyone a 23andMe ancestry kit. I am going to be very interested to see all of our results. After presents, we had waffles, eggs and bacon for breakfast.

At noon, Jack, Drew, Sharon and I took Tiber for a leisurely three mile loop around Ancil Hoffman Park. I was surprised by the number of people on the trail.

Continuing our tradition of seeing a movie on Christmas Day, Sharon, Drew Jack and I went to the Century Arden 14 and XD for the 3:45 pm showing of The Last Jedi. Tom was supposed to join us for the movie and then dinner, but was sick. This is the ninth year in a row that we have seen a movie on Christmas Day. Drew and I both enjoyed The Last Jedi, while Sharon was more lukewarm.

After the movie, we headed to Buca di Beppo for dinner. Although we missed having Tom join us, it was nice to have just the four of us. We split a Mixed Green Salad, Spicy Chicken Rigatoni, Eggplant Parmigiana and Bianca Pizza.

When we got back to the house, Drew and I took Tiber for a long walk. We spent some time brainstorming strategies for one of the challenges that I am going to face in 2018.

I really enjoyed having Drew here this year for Christmas!

Christmas Day 2016

The three of us had a very nice Christmas morning opening presents around the tree. I was very proud of Jack. He went to the Georgetown bookstore and bought some stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts for Sharon and I. Jack wrapped the presents after we got home on Christmas Eve.

After exchanging gifts, I made waffles for breakfast. The three of us took Tiber out for a long walk and ended up going all the way around the golf course.

I spent the rest of the morning putting together Sharon's Christmas present. For years, she has wanted to upgrade the sound system in the house and be able to play records. I bit the bullet and bought some Sonos speakers, including a subwoofer, and a Sonos Connect. I am very pleased with the sound.

Continuing our tradition of seeing a movie on Christmas Day, Sharon, Jack and I met Tom and Eric at the remodeled Century Arden 14 and XD for the 2:15 pm showing of Rogue One. This is the eighth year in a row that we have seen a movie on Christmas Day. As I told Drew afterwards, I liked it and thought it was a nice addition to the canon. Sharon didn't enjoy it as much as I did. Unlike last year's The Force Awakens, Rogue One is definitely a war movie.

Sharon made individual beef wellingtons, mashed potatoes and white asparagus for dinner. After dinner, Sharon and Jack watched some Seinfeld and then started on a puzzle of Neuschwanstein Castle that I got Sharon for Christmas. We visited the castle on our trip to Germany in July.

Christmas Day 2015

The three of us had a very nice Christmas morning opening presents around the tree. We had a lazy breakfast of blueberry pancakes. After breakfast, we went down to the field with Tiber. Jack practiced flying the drone that he had gotten for Christmas. Tiber wanted badly to get ahold of the drone.

Sharon and I spent some time in the late morning working to get the house back in order. It was a mess after Christmas Eve dinner.

Continuing our tradition of seeing a movie on Christmas Day, we went to see Star Wars - The Force Awakens. This is the seventh year in a row that we have seen a movie on Christmas Day. This was Jack second time seeing the film; Jack and four of his friends had watched episodes one through six on Saturday and then went to see The Force Awakens at midnight at the IMAX. Tom and Eric joined us for the movie. Tom hadn't seen it, but it was Eric's third viewing... The movie was very good. Sharon gave Star Wars - The Force Awakens a 9.5. I don't think that I have ever heard her rate a movie higher!

After watching Star Wars, the five of us headed to Buca de Beppo. Sharon had made a reservation a couple of weeks ago. I have been amazed in the last couple of years how crowded Buca de Beppo is on Christmas Day.

Sharon, Jack and I finished the night watching Elf. We had watched Elf before on Christmas 2004!?!

Christmas Day 2014

After a late night, the three of us had a very nice Christmas morning opening presents around the tree. We had a lazy breakfast of French Toast. Jack and I took Tiber for a long walk after breakfast.

In the early afternoon, we went out for a movie on Christmas Day for the sixth year in a row. The there of us went to see Unbroken. Sharon had tried to read the book years ago, but couldn't get through it. We enjoyed the movie, but Sharon and I thought that the film focused too much on the prison camp torture scenes. It could have spent more time on the rest of Zamperini's life.

After not being able to get into Buca de Beppo last Christmas, I made a reservation in early December. We ordered way too much food.

With Sharon feeling under the weather, we finished the night watching the first episode of Sherlock. The series stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson.

Christmas Day 2013

The three of us had a very nice Christmas morning opening presents around the tree. We had a lazy breakfast of quiche that we had brought at Whole Foods. Jack got a thermos from his aunt?!? Sharon and I got him a Playstation 4.

In the early afternoon, we went out for a movie on Christmas Day for the fifth year in a row. With the Tom Frames in Arizona and Kevin off with his girl friend, it was just the three of us. We went to see Anchorman 2. Sharon and Jack enjoyed the movie more than I did. Parts of the movie jumped the shark a little too much for me…

We had planned on finishing the day with dinner at Buca di Beppo. Unfortunately, the place was completely booked with reservations! We ended up having dinner across the street at Chevy's. In 2010, we ended up at the Chevy's in Elk Grove with Tom, Becky, Kevin and Eric on Christmas Day.

Christmas Day 2012

The three of us had a very nice Christmas morning opening presents around the tree. We had a lazy breakfast of french toast.

In the early afternoon, we went out for a movie on Christmas Day for the fourth year in a row. We went with Tom and Kevin to see The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey at the Century 14. Sharon didn't like the film; she found it repetitious and slow. The movie was almost three hours long. While I liked it more, I have to agree with one of the reviews that I read that the film is bloated.

We finished the day with a Christmas dinner of honey baked ham. Jack had requested this specifically.

Christmas Day 2011

Although Jack is getting to be a little too much of a teenager, the three of us had a nice Christmas morning opening presents around the tree. We had a nice lazy breakfast of waffles.

After breakfast, Sharon's nephew Kevin came over. With Tommy, Becky and Eric in Arizona spending Christmas with Becky's dad, Kevin spent the day with us. For the third year in a row, we went out for a movie on Christmas Day. The four of us went to Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows. Both Sharon and I enjoyed the movie.

The four of us finished the day with a Christmas dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu. On the first Christmas that I celebrated with Sharon, she made chicken cordon bleu for her parents and I. We opened the bottle of pinot noir that I brought back from New Ze@land.

Christmas Day 2010

Jack is definitely becoming a teenager. After a couple of late nights, he slept until almost 8:30 a.m. on Christmas morning rather than bouncing out of bed and down the stairs before dawn. Sharon made a nice breakfast of waffles and we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas morning.

For the second year in a row, we met Tommy, Becky, Eric and Kevin for a movie on Christmas Day. I had bought tickets for True Grit from Fandango in the morning. When we got to the theater, True Grit was sold out and Sharon's brother's family couldn't get tickets. Making a quick decision, we sent the boys to see True Grit, while the Adults went to Black Swan.

Working the phone to try and find somewhere open in Elk Grove for dinner on Christmas, we ended up at Chevy's.

Christmas Day 2009

Up a little late after a late night, we had a nice Christmas morning. Although he no longer believes in Santa, Jack is still at an age where he is very excited about Christmas morning. Sharon made a nice breakfast of french toast.

Typically, we have stayed around the house all day on Christmas day while Jack enjoyed his presents. We have not left the house on Christmas day since going to see the Kings play the Mavs in 2003.

This year, we did something different. We met Tommy, Becky, Eric and Kevin and went to see Sherlock Holmes. I am not sure that I have ever read one of the Sherlock Holmes novels; I am going to have to add one to my pile of books to read.

We finished the night with dinner at Bucca di Beppo.

Christmas Day 2008

 

 

Although not bouncing off the walls as much as last year, Jack was up about 6:15 a.m. and trying to drag us out of bed. We got him to go back to bed until a little after 7:00 a.m.

We had a nice Christmas morning. Jack got a couple of remote control planes: one from Lee Ann and Dean and one from Santa. His big present this year was a laptop.

Sharon made a great dinner of prime rib cooked in the rotisserie, baked potatoes and green beans.

We finished the night watching Home Alone on FXHD.

Christmas Day 2007

Even after getting to bed at almost 11:00 p.m. the night before, Jack was in our room a little before 5:00 a.m. ready for Christmas morning to start. We got him to go back to bed, but by 6:15 a.m. he could stand it anymore and we all got up. Starting in mid-November, Jack has been saying that he wanted a Wii for Christmas. Santa obliged. More on where Santa got the Wii in a future post.

Jack spent the loin's share of the morning trying out the different games. It was very cute to watch him play tennis on the Wii. We were able to get him outside for a while to enjoy a skateboard from Lee Ann and Dean and a dragonfly copter from his cousins.

Drew joined us for a late dinner. Sharon made a great dinner of prime rib cooked in the rotisserie, roasted potatoes and asparagus. After a couple of late nights, Jack started to fade during dinner. Drew and I ended up sitting and talking until after 11:30 p.m. while he worked on setting up his Christmas gift. I enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with Drew.

Christmas Day 2006

Although for the first time Jack is repeatedly voicing his opinion that Santa Claus does not exist, we had a great Christmas morning. Jack is the perfect age for the holiday.

We are looking forward to seeing Morgan and Drew on Tuesday and Wednesday and having a chance to celebrate Christmas with them.

With the rest of the morning spent cleaning up the house from Christmas Eve, we decided to have a simpler Christmas Dinner than past years. We ended up barbecuing some hamburgers.

Christmas Day 2005

We had a great Christmas morning. Jack is still the perfect age for the holiday.



Sharon made a great prime rib for Christmas dinner; we cooked it on the rotisserie.

Afterwards, we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.