Christmas Eve is a big cooking day for me. 8 years ago, when I was pregnant with my son, I was so sick of turkey and stuffing. We had Thanksgiving dinners at church, my husband’s office, and home, and then Christmas dinner at church, my husband’s office, and when it came to the meal at home I told my husband I’d scream if I had turkey and dressing again. That year, I made gumbo. I have never looked back.

Gumbo is always better the second day, so I make Christmas dinner on Christmas eve. Then, I only have to warm up the gumbo, make rice, and sometimes dessert, if I haven’t made it the day before.

I love that I can spend the day with my family and not all day in the kitchen. I don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to stuff the turkey and put it in the oven, and we can take our time opening presents. I can watch the children play with their gifts. It’s great!

Tomorrow, I look forward to gumbo, gifts, and a somewhat relaxing day with my family. I hope all of you reading this have a wonderful holiday with your family.

Just a quick photo of my cooking and my Holiday cards.

Happy Holidays and I hope you have a wonderful new year!