I will never forget this Christmas as long as I live.  This was perfect.

*****

The guest list:

My dad, me, Cynthia, Steven, our neighbors Rod and Charlene, and a friend from work with his girlfriend, Aaron and Cindy.

First up, the menu for this dinner.  My dad and I spent almost two hours getting this right and printing it.  In case you didn't know, "Chez" means "at the place of" in French.

Second, the preparations.  Dad spent three days cooking this dinner: the 23rd, 24th, and the 25th.  The 23rd he cooked the desserts.  The 24th he cooked the soup and more desserts, and the 25th was the roast and everything else.  Everything turned out absolutely wonderful.

Our Christmas tree on the 24th.  This was when we opened presents, since we all agreed that we would work on Christmas day.

Dad preparing the meal on the 24th.  Dinner that night was hors d'oeuvres.  I think that my dad's greatest concoction is his sautéed mushrooms.  He does amazing things with a mushroom.  His shrimp cocktails were absolutely delicious.

Dad and Cynthia on the 24th.  Photo courtesy of Steven, and that's me at the piano with my right 3 fingers showing.  I was practicing for the next day's private concert.

Me practicing.  Who knows what song this was.

All right...now comes the guests.

From left: Aaron, Rod and Steven.  This is the kicker photo I was telling you about in the Thanksgiving section.

The rest of the troop, minus Cynthia.  From left: my (exhausted) dad, me, Charlene, and Cindy.  Steven has his back to you.

Ah, the smell of love.  Aaron and Cindy.  Cindy is obviously not thrilled at this picture, but Aaron seems to be enjoying himself.

Steven taking a seat before the guests arrived.  He looks quite dapper in his outfit, wouldn't you say?  Shirt, tie, slacks, and...slippers?

And there's me!  Giving my concert, which consisted of these songs.

Steven being the show-stealer that he is.  Cindy, Aaron, and Charlene are also in this photo.