Holiday traditions, part 1

Last year to celebrate our first Christmas Eve in our new home, Paul brought back an old Italian tradition—the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Every family interprets the feast a bit differently, but for us it included shrimp cocktail and calamari appetizers, followed by platters of pasta with mussels, clams, scallops, oysters, and I forget the rest. Let's say scungilli salad. Because scungilli salad is fun to say out loud.

We didn't have much furniture yet, so we all gathered in the living room in front of a cozy fire and lined up the dishes on my grandpa's bench. Things like this are what make the holidays to me. It's not about a fancy meal or loads of gifts, it's about relaxing with your favorite people and sharing stories that make each other laugh.

I'll be back a bit later with the second part of this post. Hope you're closing out the year on a warm and happy note!