Early Christmas with Family

Sunday was the day we had chosen for a family Christmas dinner, with my sister Gail, brother-in-law Mark, niece Michelle, and her fiancé Danny. We had a delightful meal together, with chicken, roasted veggies, and homemade soup. I brought a fig pie that was yummy and satisfied everyone's dietary preferences; not easy when you have a combination of omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and gluten free eaters at the table! Here is the link to the recipe.

After dinner Michelle treated us to a medley of oboe songs. She has been playing since grade school and was in the All State band in Massachusetts as a youth. She's still got it!

We met Danny's parents, Cynthia and Roy that evening, along with Danny's brother Ray.  Lovely people!  They took us to the town of Hidalgo, where there was an amazing display of Christmas lights throughout the town.  Sponsored by local businesses, the lights are along a route where they may be viewed while you drive.  

Along the way we stopped a couple of times to get a better look. The displays were amazing. 

One private home was decorated with lights in incredible detail, and as music played about every 40 minutes the lights flashed along with the song. 

It is interesting, because Christmas decorations are not as common in this area as they are in NJ or New England, where I grew up. Even local businesses often have no displays. Yet I have never seen a display to rival Hidalgo's.

It really put us in the Christmas mood. :)