Solstice Recap

We started celebrating Solstice when T was a year old. In part it was to add more festiveness to the holiday season, and in part it was to take the focus off of presents and put it on activities. Over the years our Solstice celebration has evolved into a night that we all look forward to. Here's our 2010 recap:

The first thing you need is a big Yule log:

It turned out this year's Yule log was too big, so C & T split it into two: one for this year; one for next. Thomas said, "Mom, we saved Solstice!"

The next step is to make that big log into a big fire. Here's a shot with the flash

... and one without:

We then spend the evening hanging out in front of the fire with all the lights turned off (except for the holiday lights - the tree stays on, as does the lit garland on the mantle). We eat homemade pizza and hobo pies. This year for pizza we had Hawaiian (ham, pineapple and (on half) jalapeno) and Greek (olive oil, hummus, ground lamb, tomato, banana peppers). Hobo pies are simple pastries, made of crescent roll dough, filled with (this year) peach pie filling or chocolate chips. We went through a few years where we tried to cook them in the fireplace in pie irons, but the fire is just too hot, and they would end up scorched. 

To complete the Solstice fun, we camp out in the living room over night. We even drag out mattresses so we can be comfortable. It's nice (and toasty!) to fall asleep in front of the fire!