Okay, so I’m a little late on the Christmas posts. I really enjoyed something about this year’s Christmas. I don’t know whether it was the food, or the company, or the fact that I decided to spend the least amount on presents that I could, or that it was a White Christmas. Everything just seemed to be just right.

Normally we do Christmas morning, with waffles followed by tea and/or coffee, and present opening, and eventually Christmas dinner. This year we decided to do Christmas Eve so we could celebrate it with my cousins and their newborn baby. Of course, life always throws a twist at you and they had to stay at the hospital with the baby, but we were still able to pull together the family and have a good one.

Getting caught putting presents under the tree

This was also the first year I was told (by my parents) to save money and not buy any presents. I decided on a compromise; I would spend as little as possible on presents but still buy everybody something. I can’t tell you what a joy it was to just focus on something small but meaningful for everyone, and not worry about the credit cards this year. It was nice to just be with my family, enjoy their company, and have a great time instead of stressing out about the material aspects.

The dinner spread my mom and dad made this year was incredible.

The place settings were tasteful and very very pretty.

The turkey (thanks to my cousin) was tender, flavourful, and had the most amazing gravy.

The side dishes were great… broccoli and cauliflower gratin with different kinds of cheeses, stuffed mushrooms, asparagus and others.

My mom made a decadent chocolate lava cake for dessert from scratch with Callebaut chocolate…

… with about 12 different kinds of home made from scratch cookies.

The tree looked the same every year. A fake tree with fun colours and lots of different ornaments. It’s not that classy but it’s always fun to put up and we don’t worry too much about it

It was great to have Allan there, part of the family now. We all love him dearly.

And my little brother, who decided not to buy anyone presents this year.

And my parents who are so kind, loving, generous, and full of life. I can’t be thankful enough to have them in my lives.

I truly love my family. My parents, brother, Allan, grandmother, cousins, and aunt… I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing, supportive people. And I’m glad to be close with them every day of the year, not just on Christmas. Thank you thank you thank you for being in my life!

Allan and I both got SIGG thermoses for Christmas. Yay! Just what we wanted, and perfect for snowboarding and backcountry. I got my little brother a Luke Skywalker toy from Japan when I went there.

What a heartwarming Christmas Eve.

Allan and I have both been pretty much freakishly sick over the past week. It got worse after the Avalanche Training course and has been steadily sticking with us. I made some chicken noodle soup from scratch… which I love doing when I’m sick. It takes a long time but it is definitely worth it. It’s all about the fresh herbs, and using organic, free-range chicken.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you had a good one… a White Christmas… and time with your loved ones. I’ll be off from now until January 5th so it’s going to be lots and lots of snowboarding as soon as I get better!

Amy’s “Erection” Christmas Party (referring to the tree being erected) was a lot of fun on Saturday. The Christmas season is truly upon us! I’ve got those pictures lined up for another post, but in the meantime here’s a little Christmas spirit.

How can you resist Christmas socks at a Christmas party? Mine were the red ones. I have to say I really liked the Christmas bears though

In other fantastic news, Anthony at the Board Room in Vancouver did an amazing repair on my board. The rail is replaced and he even filled it in with some epoxy and PTex and wrote my name underneath. Not too shabby! It looks to be in good shape and hopefully it won’t ride any different. I’ll have to make sure I build my confidence in my board with a few more days before doing anything too intense. Now, if only it would snow… freaking snow!

Speaking of snow, this season is lining up to be quite busy. It’s only the first week of December and already trips have been booked and paid for, or scheduled. 9 major trips in 3 months, and that’s not counting all the little ones here and there.

I thought I’d invite everyone who reads this who likes to ski or snowboard on a discounted group trip we’re doing to Big White with some friends and coworkers. It’s already grown to about 30 people and it’s getting bigger! If you’re in the BC area or nearby (Alberta, Washington etc)… I highly recommend you come along!

For those who don’t know, Big White in Kelowna has some of the best snow and terrain of the BC resorts.

We’re staying in sweet condos, ski-in ski-out with private hot tubs on the deck. The trip is pretty much all inclusive… it includes 2 nights accommodations in the lodge, 2 days of lift tickets, round trip group bus transportation and an apres-ski party with appies etc. Dates are evening of Friday, February 27th to the evening of Sunday, March 1st. (no vacation days required) Total is $400+GST, and Canadian Outback requires a $100 deposit by December 16th towards the total. Bring your friends!

If you’re interested please e-mail me at allie@vancityallie.com. It’s going to be a blast. And as a bonus you get to be in the HD snowboard movie I’m filming.