Christmas Dinner

Ahh Christmas, that magical time of year when we gather with family and friends to enjoy each other’s company or not, give superficial gifts and eat three times the number of calories that we normally consume. There is just something about Christmas food that is like no other. Old family recipes get dusted off, baking dishes come out, and the possibilities are endless. 

Christmas is by far, my favorite time of the year and I love going all out for my family and friends, hoping to create memories that will last a lifetime. Of course, some memories are more unique than others! Let me tell you the story about one of my family’s unforgettable Christmas dinners.

It started out like every other Christmas Eve.  I woke up early and felt the anticipation building in the air. This was the day I had been preparing for since October.  All the shopping, decorating, baking, gift wrapping, and planning will finally culminate into a perfect holiday. My son Tyler and his wife Courtney and my three-year-old granddaughter Kora are coming over for dinner tonight and then they are going to spend the night so that we can be up bright and early tomorrow morning. I want everything to be perfect for this most special occasion.

I have meticulously planned out the meal for weeks. We are going to be feasting on slow roasted turkey, cooked to perfection, my grandmother’s stuffing recipe made with apples, celery and raisins, creamy mashed potatoes with thick, rich gravy, green bean casserole, warm homemade rolls dripping with butter, and winter squash with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. Pumpkin pie and my personal favorite, lemon meringue pies for dessert. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I will get working on dinner in a bit, but first I want to take a few minutes to appreciate this amazing day.

I pull open the curtains to greet the day and see that it is starting to flurry. Yeah, looks like we will have a white Christmas!  Everyone always wants a white Christmas, right? It looks so beautiful and serene on the Hallmark Channel. Of course, in real life, it can wreak havoc with your plans!

There are a few little details that need to be tended to before I start in on dinner preparations. I decide to tackle those first and then I will be able to focus all my energy on my dinner. I notice that it is starting to snow harder. It is really coming down now. It looks so pretty glistening on the trees, but I am a little worried that it might affect my plans.

Just as I am about to start on my amazing dinner, the power goes out. Oh oh, now what? Did I mention that I live in Maine? When we lose our power, and it happens often, it is sometimes out for hours or even days. The power cannot go on Christmas Eve. What about my dinner, or the festive music I was listening to? You cannot have Christmas without the twinkling lights of the tree. 

My husband calls the electric company to get an update on when we can expect the power to come back. The answer is not good. There is a state-wide power outage, and it may take several days! We are now in the middle of a Nor’easter. The snow is coming down fast and furious and the wind is blowing so hard, the windows are rattling. We have approximately six inches of snow on the ground already, with no end in sight. 

My husband trudges out to the garage to get our generator going. Our generator is not the kind that starts up automatically when the power goes out. You must start it up, then run multiple extension cords from the generator to the house and plug in all the appliances individually. We have limits on what can be turned on as it’s not a huge generator. The priority is the heat as there is a blizzard raging outside and it is freezing, next we plug in the refrigerator, so we do not lose our food, we have several fish tanks that will need to have power to them, so the fish will not die. We can run the coffee pot because that is a priority! Instead of a lamp we plug in the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the generator is not powerful enough to run my stove, so I guess our Christmas dinner is going to have to be cooked in my crockpot. Great!  

So much for my freshly cleaned house. There are six extension cords running across my kitchen floor, and puddles of melting snow from the multiple trips in and out to set everything up. Not to mention, the draft that is now coming in through the door that will not close completely because of the cords. We also lose our running water when the power goes off, so we must fill buckets with snow, let them melt and then use them to flush toilets and “wash” our hands. This is NOT what I had in mind for Christmas Eve. 

Well shoot, I guess I now need to come up with plan B for our Christmas Eve dinner. I rummage through the refrigerator and find the makings of a corn chowder. It is too late in the day to cook anything with meat in it as all my meat is frozen. I mix it all together and turn the crockpot on high. Hopefully, the potatoes will cook in time. 

As it continues to snow and the winds howl, my son and his family arrive. We live in Maine after all, and a little snowstorm does not stop us from traveling! (More snowy boots on my floors)!  I am elated that they have finally arrived, one less thing to worry about.

Finally, it is time for dinner. The corn chowder is hot, and bubbly and the potatoes are cooked perfectly. It actually tastes pretty good on a cold winter’s night. I serve it with slices of buttered prepackaged bread and Oreo cookies for dessert. Everyone seems to enjoy our impromptu meal, even though it was not the meal I had envisioned. I was just thankful that everyone was safe and secure under my roof, our bellies were full, and I was able to spend time with my loved ones on this Holy night. 

Just as a side note, this actually happened to our family. We received approximately 20 inches of snow during that storm and the power was out for four days. We spent Christmas Day shoveling the driveway and eating another crockpot meal. Just another day in the life of a Mainer!