Christmas and Boxing Day 2011

I am pooped. We decided to stay home for the holidays and I am exhausted. Living on the Sunshine Coast has it’s advantages and disadvantages. For us, it’s the BC Ferries. Aside from waking up at 530am in the morning to open presents (with initial intentions of catching the 820am ferry to Vancouver), we opted to take it easy and catch a later ferry… The 1020.  Still rushing around and praying that we catch the ferry (aka. 3 minutes to spare), we made it on with Christmas cheer while making plans with my family to celebrate Christmas day. Where did we meet my parents and twin brother (who just flown in from Toronto the night before)?  We met them at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants for an early lunch of beef congee, beef fried rice noodles, and seafood chow mein. It was delicious. Most stores were closed on Christmas day, so we got a Starbucks latte and went to my parents’ condo before heading off to my sister’s condo for Christmas tapas.  You’ve got it.  Christmas tapas.  How festive that?  Well, for the Ho-Family (my side of the family), very festive.  My family, my sister’s family, my brother, my parents, my cousins and their families, my uncle, and my sister’s father-in-law were all there.  16 of us mixed and mingled over prawns, ribs, and sushi in the living room of my sister’s 1000 sqft condo.  It was a fun evening.  Spent the rest of the evening digesting and went to bed early in anticipation of Boxing Day at Metrotown.  As it turned out, my husband and 8-year old daughter were ready to go early this morning to catch the best deal or Boxing Day sale.  Personally, I stayed in bed, enjoyed my cup of coffee, and got ready at a nice leisurely pace.  As my little family were standing in lines to make their purchases, my parents, brother, and I eventually made it to the mall to reunite at another Chinese restaurant for dim sum.  Another delicious meal spent with family.  My parents and brother parted ways and my little family and I revisited Metrotown mall in search of a good deal.  That was a short-lived experience.  It was worse than the Vancouver Sun Run.  Soooooo many people… I had to go.  Off we went (empty handed from the afternoon jaunt, with exception to Purdy’s chocolate) and headed back towards BC Ferries to return home.  We arrived one-hour early to the terminal, the ferries were delayed, and the 330 sailing was full by 3pm (and we loaded onto the ferry at 4pm).  So, here I am remote blogging on the ferry.  A full-circle of Christmas celebration book ended with the BC Ferries.  The benefit of being on the BC Ferries… when you hear “sixteen,” you know that you’re back home.  Happy Boxing Day.