I miss Thanksgiving & Christmas Eve at my Grandma's house [View all]

It just struck me this morning how much I miss having Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve at my maternal Grandma's house.

We haven't had Thanksgiving at her place in probably about 25 years. Years before Grandma passed in July 2003 we decided it would be easier to have it my parent's home or at one aunt and uncle's place. It was really nice to go up to her place and have Thanksgiving even though it was started to get a bit crowded by the time we stopped doing it. We were able to walk around the neighborhood after dinner. She lived in an older part of town and it always seemed so peaceful on Thanksgiving afternoon.

On Christmas Eve we would go up to her house for a party starting about 8pm or so, and stay up there until about 11pm to 11:30pm. We did that right up to the first Christmas after she died. Even though it was a bit crowded with 25 adults in a small house the evening was just magic up there. We still get together on Christmas Eve but the magic isn't quite there now.