So, uh, I think I was being oversensitive about the present fiasco. I'm going to blame it partially on hormones. Sorry about all the complaining. I ended up having a good Christmas after all, it just ended up being the day
after Christmas instead.
Saturday was a busy day. In the afternoon my parents, grandma, and aunt and uncle came over for tea and dessert (store-bought panettone and homemade leftover bread pudding). I think everyone had a pretty good time. Everyone chatted, opened presents, and ate.
They left around 4:00, and then I made plans with my friends Joel and Kris who were in from out of town; Wisconsin and Los Angeles, to be exact. We were all friends in high school, and would sit in the hallway having lunch every day. They came over for dinner, along with Alex, and it was a perfect dinner party, plus poop jokes: we stood around the kitchen drinking wine, joking, and laughing while Kris made salad (no parsnips) and I worked on the ravioli. Alex brought over a nice bottle of wine and some special beer from a Quebecois brewery called Unibrau. After dinner, I served up more bread pudding for dessert (heh, heh), and offered ice cream to go along with it. Although the ice cream dates back to Hood to Coast (August), it had never been opened, so I figured it would be OK. It was not. Apparently, I had made astronaut ice cream. It was hilarious! It was so dried out that it wouldn't melt. I threw it out, but I believe it is still in a solid lump in my rubbish can.
Digestif time, and Clyde Common was a solid choice. The evening was a lot of fun.
Here are the guilty parties (photos not from Saturday night):
Joel

Kris

Alex