We arrived for Christmas dinner around 3pm, and I managed to forget that I was trying to start a food blog for approximately two hours, during which time I snacked on bagel chips and rice crackers with clam dip, a liverworst ball, and a hawaiian cream cheese spread. And chex mix. And then, dinner! (Sorry for the lighting on this next one. My dad gave me some good advice later that I will try to remember: “Lighting, lighting, lighting!”)

Maple-citrus glazed ham, steamed broccoli (x3), and a crescent roll (I had half).

Looks like I kept things brilliantly well-balanced, right? Like I left just the perfect amount of space for dessert? Ha!! Someone had the brilliant idea to open presents BETWEEN dinner and dessert. So the next FOUR hours included the following unpictured disasters as I misguidedly tried to save myself from death by boredom: nearly an entire tin of peppermint bark, an unknown quantity of chocolate covered caramel balls, and the last 4th of a good-sized canister of poppycock. And then came dessert! A whopping hunk of gingerbread cake slathered in whipped cream, followed by half an eclair. To stop myself from reaching for more candy (pure habit at this point!) I redirected my sticky fingers to the centerpiece:

That’s right — I resorted to snacking on the raw cranberries surrounding the candle in the middle of the table! Desperate times…. After all this, there was only one thing left to do:

Tomorrow's a new day!