My Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring...

Whoa. Wait. Stop right there! 

I would love to be nestled all snug in my bed, with visions of publication dancing in my head. Alas, it is not to be.  Not yet anyway...

There is food to be prepared.  Those who know me well know that I don't cook.  Well, I cook very little.  Hubby is the cook in this household and I will gladly wash dishes to avoid cooking.  However, since we are hosting my family at my house, I am expected to participate in cooking. I ask family members to bring a dish to share, hubby takes care of the meats, and I prepare the dishes I'm good at: potato salad, deviled eggs and no-bake cookies.  Hey, I could live on those items if I had to!

There is cleaning to be done. Vacuum the carpet. Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.  Dust the visible places. Polish my wooden dining room table to a shine!  And then comes the fun part: watching hubby and kids try not to wipe out as they walk sock-footed across the also-polished floor beside the table.  Hehehehe... Sock-skating at its best!

There are presents to wrap. Last minute gifts...or not.  Gifts I hid in a safe place.  Hm....I know I had something else for so-and-so. What did I do with it?  Ah, yes!  Now that I tore the house apart looking for those gifts, I find them somewhere I should have looked first.  Ah, well.  At least I found them.  Nobody will be short a present!  Out come all the wrapping supplies that hubby earlier declared we were done with.  Silly men...

And last but not least, there is Santa to play!  My kids may be grown but some traditions must continue. So after everybody goes to bed, hubby drags out the wrapping supplies one last time - and hopefully kept one roll of paper just for Santa!  I spread out on the floor at the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms, wrap the Santa gifts, and fill the stockings. About an hour after the rest of the family has gone to bed, I can finally crawl beneath the covers myself.

Now I can nestle all snug in my bed.  It's been a long day!  If creatures are stirring I probably won't hear them, because I'm too worn out to finish my own night before Christmas story. So here are some Night Before Christmas stories I found online, just for writers!  

http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-mystery-writers-night-before.html

https://whimsandtonic.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/the-writers-night-before-christmas/

http://avajae.blogspot.com/2013/12/twas-night-before-christmas-for-writers.html

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!