Happy Holla-days!

My holiday craziness ended yesterday as we hosted our DIY gift exchange at home. Now I can focus on Christmas day dinner (making it a German one again).

I used Elfster to pick names for everyone and this proved to be disastrous as some people didn't respond to questions and others couldn't quite get into it. But, it was the only way. Despite many grumblings about the DIY aspect I'm really happy at the way it turned out - everyone made some really great presents and I think we were all happy with our presents. Seth, a lighting designer, found an old vintage lamp and rewired it with new hardware. Cinco was the lucky recipient, who in turn threw an old record into a warm oven and formed it into a bowl for Alex (they are/were both avid crate diggers) filled with Haribo gummy candies (Alex's favorite). For Angel, I made bacon-infused bourbon that was slightly smoky/sweet and a necklace of onyx and coral beads. And I did not rig the draw but from Angel I got a terrarium with "angel" plants and a mix CD, as well as bubble bath and bath salts scented with tropical fruit. My friends are a creative bunch and I knew the presents would be awesome.

For food I had some antipasto/tapas type appetizers to start and then mac and cheese, baked ham with peach rum sauce and greenbeans with dill. Comfort food is the way to go because it's easy to make a lot, you can throw it all in the oven and most of it can be prepped/made ahead.

Today we feasted on leftovers and watched Step Into Liquid, which is beautifully shot but does not stand up to The Endless Summer. Ten more days til Christmas!