My Christmas was very very lovely, thanks for asking

Once I got over the guilt of not going to visit my parents for Christmas (because really, as much as I HATE traveling during the holidays, I do love them more), I was able to have a really really delightful Christmas here in the city with friends.

I opened my apartment up for general merry-making around 3pm on Christmas eve. For me, merry-making is definitely going to involve baking, so I made an apple pie and rice pudding while my friends trinkled in. Around 6:00, I remembered that I wanted to get a Christmas tree, so I recruited two of the big, strong men from the festivities and took them with me to the tree stand three blocks away.

This was my plan: go up to them and with the full realization that they were desperate to get rid of their trees, see what sort of a tree they would give me for $5.

This is what happened: we go and the stand has been removed. BUT there are several trees left desolate on the curb. I don't want to steal said tree, so I offer to pay by yelling loudly "I want to buy a tree!! Anyone want my money?!! I have money I want to give you for a tree!!" The thing I love about Washington Heights is that no one thought this was odd behavior or stopped to look at me as they walked by. Figuring that I had done my best effort to be honest, we decided that it would be fine to take one. There were about 5 trees left and all of them were at least 10 feet tall. Luckily, I had just painted my apartment,and therefore knew that those measurements would fit within the perimeter of my ceilings. Unluckily, that meant we had to carry the huge tree (which had been sitting in the rain for about two days) the three blocks to my apartment and then up four flights of stairs. One of the big strong men I had brought along to help had a broken leg, so it was up to the other fellow and me (in my Tommy Hillfiger jacket) to carry the soaking mess home. Even I was shocked by my lack of muscle strength--I was pretty much pooped after 1.5 blocks. Luckily, the gimp had the excellent idea of calling back up to my apartment for backup and so two fresh strong men showed up to carry it the rest of the way.

We got home and left the tree in the hall to drip while we went to my favorite Dominican restaurant Malecon for Christmas Eve dinner. (do you like my Christmas-y outfit? I wore it to work too.)

And there was a Christmas miracle--even though they were out of their super-yummy rotisserie chicken, our waiter found us one!!! And the seven of us ate very well--chicken, pork, rice, bean, yucca and plantains for only $7 each. I love Malecon.

Then we went home to eat dessert and decorate our tree before heading out to midnight mass. Only I didn't have a tree stand or any decorations. We propped our huge tree up in the corner and The Other Holly spear-headed the effort to make ornaments--people cut out snowflakes and cut up cards with pretty pictures. It was so great! I was simply overwhelmed with the Christmas spiriting watching everyone make our own decorations for the tree (I was busy in the kitchen and did not participate, but was still able to bask in the glow). We even had a lovely star made out of an old cereal box and some aluminum foil. Good, old-fashion ingenuity. Here is a picture of me and the tree. I'm guessing this was Christmas morning: Man, I LOVED that tree. I was very sad when I had to throw it out to make room for my new sofa, but that's another story. (in this photo, you can also see a sneak preview of my new living room color)

Then we went to midnight mass at St. John the Divine, which I believe is the largest cathedral in NYC. The ceremony was very lovely and very long. Half hour longer than a session of general conference, to be exactly. But the interior of the building was very beautiful (this picture doesn't do it justice) and of course, it's always really heart-warming to spending Christmas eve with so many fellow believers. Towards the end, they turned off the lights and everyone lit a candle we'd been given at the beginning and we sang Silent Night. It was just wonderful.

Then we went back to my house and stayed up chatting until about 5 am. I laughed that my weekly alarm to call and wake up a fellow temple worker at 4:30 Thursday morning went off as I was getting ready to go to bed.

I woke up in the morning and made breakfast for everyone. I don't know what I did to make those hash browns so yummy, but I suspect cocaine must have been involved.

My original plan had been to kick everyone out by 11am on Christmas and spend the day in solitude and reflection, but my guests were all so charming and amusing that they talked me into spending the day with them.

I felt like eating a hot dog, so we all went to Gray's Papaya. I have not eaten any meat since about April. Those of you who are familiar with my history probably know that I LOVE hot dogs and one of the reasons I moved to Manhattan was to be near Gray's Papaya. Since turning vegetarian and then vegan, I've always said that if I really feel like eating meat, eggs, cheese, etc I would, so I decided I should go ahead and do it: It was every bit as tasty as I remember.

We went to see Seven Pounds (boring, but as I reflect more they were obviously doing a subliminal pro-vegan campaign, which is intriguing).

I got home around 7pm that night. I was sitting on the floor checking my email when I heard the Christmas tree russeling in the corner. I looked over at it and it FELL ON TOP OF ME. I was stunned and was unable to extricate myself for several minutes, largely because I was laughing so hard. Eventually I regained my composure and was able to wriggle out from under the rather large, heavy tree and then pull it back up against the wall. My robe got pine sap on it and some pine needles got into my keyboard, but other than that--none the worse for the wear.

I went to bed early with breathless anticipation of shopping until I dropped the next day, but that is a story for another day.

All in all, I think it was one of my best Christmases ever. I think the time spent hand-making the ornaments for our tree will be a Christmas moment that I remember with joy the rest of my life. I'm so thankful to have such great people to spend the holiday with, even when I'm not close to my family.