Holiday 2005

Ahhh yes...Christmachanakwanakal'l fitr is upon us! With most of the gift exchanging done, I thought it'd be a nice time to give everyone a recap of what the month of december has been like for Tahera and I. It's such a wonderful time of year that I'm sorry to see it'd come and gone so quickly. It's been really fun posting all of this stuff for you guys. It sort of prolonged the magic, I suppose. at any rate, and without further ado, I give you.... HOLIDAY 2005!

The holidays can't start until you've gotten your tree and set it up. This year we got a pre-cut tree right here in buffalo. It was a bit of work lugging it up the stairs, but after The Madison Incident, nothing's ever all that challenging.  

Tahera really took the lead when the time came for the actual decoration of the tree. She's got a better sense of what's aesthetically pleasing. Me, I'd wear a hot pink-tie that lit-up with the words Miami if noone stopped me.

Ornaments galore and we're almost done with the set-up!

Each year as part of the process, T and I pick out one christmas tree ornament each. I know, it sounds hokey, but it's a fun way to look back a season's past. This year Pika picked out a funky tree.  

I picked out a santa pine-cone. call me rustic, I guess.  

The end result looked great. I was surprised at how much went into the process, from heading out to pick up the tree, to bringing it in to finally decorating it. When it comes down to it, just setting up the tree took a ton of time. 

All of the work is worth it though, because the holidays are such a fun time! Winter break is a time for kicking back and relaxing...

...Catching up with family... 

....reconnecting with old friends... 

And prepping for the big gift exchange at the end of the month. Here we see a sample of the truffles that Tahera made for friends and family. 

Before we could leave, Tahera had to run a holiday party for the kids through work. She prepped for a long time to make sure all the arrangements were just-so. One of the many neat treats at the party were winter-themed holiday sugar cookies. Oh yes, look out Martha. 

She also had the kids put on a shadow puppet theater. They wrote out scripts, made props, and acted everything out themselves. Here we see the kids rehearsing a scene with what appears to be a witch with basil growing out of her hat being chased by a Franken-bunny. I'm not sure that this is actually what's happening, but I'll bet I'm not way off.  

With all the Buffalo festivities taken care of, we packed up our suitcases and headed back to 14845 for a good old fashioned Griswold Family Chrismas.  

Dividing up the time between the families is always a challenge. Add to that the desire to see all the friends who are in town and you really have to be on the ball. Here we see Tahera, having just received a makeover from Sameena. She's bundled up in her sleeping-bag winter coat ready to bounce over to the Parvez house for dinner. 

This is probably my favorite picture from this December. Doesn't Dad look absolutely thrilled? What could be making the old man so happy? could it be the blissful spirit of the season coursing through his veins? milk and cookies? An all expenses paid golf vacation? Oh no folks....there's something even better! 

Three words, my friends. John Flippin' Deere. Farm equipment and Dr. Parvez are like Peas and Carrots. "1/4" of snow?? Not on MY watch!" 

The only thing that could make plowing the driveway with a John Deere any more enjoyable for the old man was *choosing* the Tractor from amongst his myriad *arsenal* of snow-pushing devices. "hmm...today I use tractor...tomorrow..maybe truck." 

Mom just shook her head and smiled with that "are you honestly surprised?" look on her face... 

Due to a Christmas-Day scheduling conflict, Santa came a little bit early to Chambers Rd. Friday evening we sat down on the ole' red couches and after dinner we had ourselves a time.  

This year, T and I decided to make photo albums for our Moms. Ma and Pa Parvez really enjoyed them. With some photo paper and some patience, we made something that will hopefully be a lasting treat for them. 

Fanatical obsessions were encouraged. I got the old man an audi sport travel mug, and he got me an audi polo. Sad? yes. Awesome? Definitely yes. I can almost feel some of you rolling your eyes :-) 

Nothing beats early presents at Chez Parvez! 

At the end of the evening, gifts had been exchanged, presents opened, and chocolates eaten. I then decided it would be best to take a break from the Parvez-style festivities, as Tahera appeared to be having a little too much fun. (that's a red pillow behind her head, not horns. her horns are black, not red) 

Christmas morning (aka, Christmachanakwanak'al Fitr) started out exceptionally early for Tahera and her sisters. They were still working on a really wonderful scrapbook of our trip to Barbados. Last minute details can often take the longest to take care of, so before they knew it, it was 3:45am and time to start getting ready for Arctic League. By 5:00 we had met up with friends and were standing on a crowded sidewalk across from Weis market in Elmira, NY. This was the 8th year doing it, and every year it just gets better and better. We meet up with tons of friends we haven't seen in a year and freeze our toes off together. This year the Artic League was so successful that they limited each group to 2 house deliveries so everyone in line could have a chance. By ~7:45, gifts delivered, the sun was coming up, and we were at the Ejaz house ready to open our own presents. Unfortunately, everyone else was asleep. So we decided to wait. Minutes later, we were asleep too. well...I was asleep. Other people people passed the time staring at all the lovely loot under the tree...