Christmas is always a special time for me, and one of the main reasons is I get to catch up on my family time. My wife and I are fortunate to have everyone close, so we’ll host several relatives on both sides of the family at our home on Christmas day.
We’ve done this before, but this might be the record year. We’ll have seven or eight family groups for a day of fun and a nice Christmas cookout.
I made a prime rib last year, and I didn’t screw it up, so I hope it turns out well again this year. Honestly, I did a lot of research before attempting last year’s prime rib, so I feel like I have a pretty good game plan.
The key is to cook the prime rib 95% in the oven, take it out and let it rest so the juices don’t run out. Then, you finish it by searing the outside. You can do this last step on a grill, but we have a pizza oven that heats up to 1,000 degrees, so I can get a quick sear.
I’m really looking forward to this because I’m gone so much during the year that I don’t get to attend every family function. Christmas gives me the chance to spend time with the people I miss throughout the year.
We’ll play some games, do some present openings and just hang out. For me, catching up and seeing everyone together is my favorite part.
Prior to Christmas, we like to drive through several streets that are known for having every house fully illuminated. We do a lot of decorating here, too and our front yard has several light-up decorations.
Inside we have multiple Christmas trees. I counted them and we have 11 total, but only three of them are full-size trees. We have two artificial Christmas trees and our main tree is real.
All through the month of December, my favorite thing is watching the old classic Christmas movies. We just started doing that with my son, Jensen. He turned 2 in September, so he’s just starting to figure out what’s going on.
He loves every part of our Christmas celebration, and it’s so awesome to watch him enjoy it all. He really loves trains, especially the Polar Express train that runs around our tree.
In early December, we went to Disneyland for my son’s first visit. I’ve always enjoyed the park when it’s decorated for Christmas, but seeing my son’s face when he experienced Disneyland for the first time was cool.
Another special part of our Christmas season is something that reminds me of my childhood — Christmas cookies. When I was young, I spent a lot of time with my grandma, and she always made lots of cookies, fudge, biscottis and Mexican tea cakes.
There was never a shortage of sweets in our home growing up, so we keep that tradition going now. My wife and I make a lot of sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies, and my mom has all of her mother’s recipes. She makes a lot of those favorites, so it feels like grandma’s still with us.
As far as Christmas presents, I don’t ask for gifts anymore, but sometimes family members and friends will give me fishing-related items. I get a lot of Christmas tree ornaments with fishing themes.
Now, if I could suggest stocking stuffers, I’d want a bunch of Strike King Pinger Minnows and Hover Minnows, and I’ve got to have some Strike King Thunder Crickets. I love throwing a crankbait, so if I had a stocking full of Strike King 3XD, 5XD, 6XD and 10XDs I’d be super excited.
