A White Winter Wonderland

I’ve had the same Christmas for as long as I can remember, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.  I can adapt to change, but for the most part, I prefer to keep traditions like Christmas the same every year.

Christmas is always at my Aunty Susan’s house in Orinda, California, where my entire family (aunt, uncles, grandparents, cousins, brother and family friends) get together, we decorate a 10 ft (3m) high Christmas tree, my grandma makes magic in the kitchen and we stuff ourselves silly throughout the day.

LumDimSum Family (X-mas 2008)

Typically, the Christmas day schedule goes something like this:

After lunch, it’s family photo time followed by present time (which is always over way too short), then we play monopoly, watch a movie and lurk around the kitchen until dinner is ready, my favorite dinner of the year -  prime rib, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, and sticky rice followed by my cousin Shelby’s freshly baked cookies and apple pie for dessert.

This year, my Aunty Susan almost ruined Christmas by remodeling their house, thus making it unavailable for our family Christmas reunion.

Lucky for her, my Uncle Bailey saved the day and rented an incredibly massive cabin in Tahoe Donner, conveniently next to our favorite ski resort, North Star.

I heard it was nice, but I did not expect this –>

One of the most spectacular luxury lodges I’ve ever seen with custom cedar, alder, vertical grain fir and stone finishes, 10 meter-high ceilings, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a chef’s dream of a kitchen with two ovens, two dishwashers, two fridges, an ice maker, antler chandeliers, a family room with a cozy stone fireplace, a play room with a pool table and shuffleboard, and surrounding tall windows looking out to miles of trees covered in snow.

And just when I didn’t think things could get any better, Tahoe dumped down at least a foot of fresh powder, for a perfect Christmas in a beautiful white winter wonderland.

LumDimSum wishes you and your family a very Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkuh/Kwanzah…Happy Holidays!!