After several years of not doing one, my mother's side of the family resurrected the family Christmas party (with a helpful little push from me, I might add!). We decided to have it at my cousin Kassy's house in Pittsfield, which is almost a two-hour drive for most of us, but she has a great house for it and she always comes out to see us, so it was only right to go out to her place for once. It worked out well and the party was a lot of fun!
This is my cousin Jimmy. Our mothers are sisters. He and I did the numbered slips for the Yankee Gift Swap because we're useful like that.
Fun fact about Jimmy: he has a great job and he helps coordinate Boston's big St. Patrick's Day parade each year!
My cousin Lisa (on the left) and my sister Jennifer (wearing the Hallmark Channel Christmas sweater I gave her a few years ago when I (mostly) gave up Hallmark Channel)...
Kassy and Jimmy. The three of us are right around the same age, which is fun.
More cousins, these ones of the "first removed" variety (i.e., the children of my first cousins). Ayden is who we did John's graduation party with when he and John graduated from HHS together.
Three generations! Grandmother, granddaughter, and daughter (from left to right). 
My darling reindeer-antlered boy
Speaking of darling things, isn't my headband cute?! I bought it recently and it was my first (and so far only) time wearing it.
The Yankee Swap was so fun! There were some great gifts, and some weird ones, like the bizarre Christmas elf below that made everyone LOL. 😆
Miraculously, someone wanted the elf! Lexi wasn't complaining!
(This is also a good shot from behind of my headband! 😁)
Jimmy got "shart wipes" and it was hilarious. 😂 Sam actually got them first but traded for Jimmy's original gift. Shart smart move, Sam! 😜
There was an ugly sweater contest that I was a contestant in. Alas, my sweater wasn't ugly enough and I did not win. Kassy and her two daughters had the best homemade ugly sweaters, and Kassy's won.
So creative!
Classic!
And what did I get in the Yankee Swap, you might ask? In the ultimate act of irony in the year that I got divorced, I got this commemorative 2023 snowglobe of a husband and wife decorating their tree while their little boy looks on.
I was tempted to smash it when I got home as an act of catharsis, but it felt wrong to do that for something innocent and sweet and family-centered. So I put it in my "Donate" box instead. Besides, maybe it's a harbinger of things to come? (A girl can dream!)
I'm so glad that we had a family Christmas party again, and I hope we'll do it again next season! I love my family and am thankful to live near them after so many years away. 💖
