Official Christmas 2.2 Preperation Schedule

Some of my regulars to CH2 and TH2 who like schedules and lists like I do have shown a mild amount of interest seeing how I figure out what to do for such large undertakings. I will repeat this style of entry as I get the Thanksgiving schedule closer to being finalized. I’m taking what I’ve used for the last couple years and I’ve shrunk it for the Christmas preparations. So here's the Schedule.

Highlights

                Friday July 12^th – Tuesday July 16^th

The first few days of prep are always light. I am hoping that the rainfall is light so the garden work does not have to be repeated. The only food item that gets made in this window is the figgy pudding. I am making this then because it will have an amount of alcohol added to it after it is completely baked. It is similar to a fruit cake in that way. I found out last year that the longer I kept it the better it got. A week beforehand isn’t that long, but I will notice a difference.  The other highlight is the trip to Shady Maple. I am really hoping that I can pick up a couple decorations for the house. It is a long shot, but I would like to add some Christmas decor to the kitchen and middle room.

                Wednesday July 13^th – Friday July 19^th

Now you see the food preparation and actual house rearranging. I’ve learned from TH2 that I should do as much as I can beforehand. The newest/fanciest part of this part of the schedule is the (at this point) possible Pub Crawl. I am really looking forward to this possibility. If this happens I would love to see this become a yearly part of Christmas 2 Eve. If this is half as enjoyable as the St. Patrick’s Day Grub Crawl I’ll be thrilled. Also, if several people join us for the crawl the tent will go up in a few minutes. The newest idea that I will be testing on everyone is the premixed cocktail dispensers. I am making 4 different cocktails, a red, green, white and “gold” one. I am trying to keep them Christmas colored of course. I haven’t decided which 4 drinks I’ll be making yet. I’m hoping that because I won’t be employing a bartender type person at CH2 or TH2 I want to find some way to utilize our ever growing bar. I figure I can put ice in a cooler on the Island with some tongs and have people serve themselves. I’m figuring since my guests aren’t alcoholics that this will work fairly well.

                The final part includes the “Shopping List” and “Drink Section”. The shopping list is something I created last year for TH2 to help me not double and triple buy some food items. I realize this isn’t a new concept.  I used to go shopping several times during the preceding weeks to buy my groceries. I had a tendency to buy way more food and accessories than was necessary.  If I bring a list I feel a bit more compelled to stick to it. The list says 3 turkeys! No More THAN 3!  It’s this reason that I came up with the P.S.M.U. (Personal Single Meal Unit). The second section is the drink poll. I want to try something different at CH2. We have a nice bar set-up, but with no one to man it at CH2 or TH2 it usually goes unused. The premixed drink containers will fix this, I hope. This is the preliminary list of cocktails I want my guests to choose from. Since this is a Christmas themed event I want a green, red, gold and white cocktail.  In a few days I will be putting up a poll asking my guests which drinks they would like to try.

                We are just under one month away from the second Christmas 2: Christmas in July. There is set-up and shopping to be done, but that doesn’t matter. I can’t wait, Christmas anytime is great.