Cathi Hatch: Hatch Family Christmas Celebration

Three Generations: Ken, Michael & Andrew Hatch

We celebrated Hatch Family Christmas on Friday evening at our home. This year, there were four out of our six children and their respective families there to celebrate with us. The group included Ken's three sons Sean Hatch and his partner Troy Clark, Ryan & Teresa Hatch and their daughters Kylee and Nicky plus their cute little Maltese dogs, Bella and Bailey, Michael & Alicia Hatch and their three sons, Jackson, Spencer and Andrew and Sean and Ryan's mom, Renee Newitt, was also there to celebrate with us. My daughter and son-in-law, Katie & Kevin Laramore and their two sons, Cutter and Boden joined us as well and ZiZi Zinfandel Z-Dog was present and underfoot. Ken's daughter, Elizabeth, and my son Justin and his wife Amy plus children Stephen, Catarina, and Camilla were missing, but we were happy that we had recently seen all of them too.

Nicky & Ryan Hatch with ZiZi

This year the five attending grandsons' ages were 4 years, two at 2-1/2 years, 5 months and 3 months so they were busy! We tried a separate table and separate menu for the children which seemed to work better than trying to have them at the big table with us as we did at Thanksgiving. Since their menu included homemade Beecher's Macaroni and Cheese, we made sure there was enough for everyone else too since it is always such a favorite. Their menu also included raw carrots with "dip", cantaloupe, raspberries, chicken fingers with catsup and peppermint ice cream and Christmas cookies for dessert. Though the Thanksgiving menu had been a challenge for Jackson and Spencer, with a separate menu this time, none of the children complained about the food and they actually ate it too!

LtoR: Sean Hatch, Renee Newitt (hidden), Troy Clark,
Alicia Hatch, Michael Hatch, Kylee Hatch, Cathi Hatch,
Ken Hatch, Cutter & Katie Laramore, Nicky Hatch,
Teresa Hatch, Ryan Hatch, Kevin & Bode Laramore

The menu for the rest of the group began with Dungeness Crab Legs with Mustard-Mayo Horseradish Sauce, Gorgonzola, Caramelized Onions & Cranberry Tartlets, and Caviar Pie. We served Black Tie Tomato Soup, one of our holiday favorites, and a Pear, Pecan and Pomegranate Green Salad with Champagne Viniagrette followed by a buffet of Roast New York Loin with Dijon Horseradish Creme Fraiche, Blue Cheese and Rosemary Scalloped Potatoes, Baked Fennel with Tomatoes and Garlic, Oven Roasted Asparagus and of course the Beecher's Macaroni and Cheese. The dessert was warm gingerbread squares with hard sauce and fresh raspberries followed by a selection of Judy's Christmas cookies and Grandma Lee's Christmas fudge.

ZiZi begging Ryan to share Bailey

ZiZi, our resident Yorkshire Terrier, was very excited to have Maltese dogs Bella and Bailey come to the party, but could not understand why they didn't want to get down and play with her. They spent all their time nicely cuddling with anyone who would hold them, while ZiZi barked to have them come down and play. We also passed 5 month old Andrew and 3 month old Bode around for everyone to hold and ZiZi was very interested in them as well.

All of our children went together and bought a recliner chair for Ken for Christmas and it was quite a production getting it into the house. Kevin and Katie organized the gift and wrapped the giant box that it came in. Nicky, the tallest granddaughter, was boosted onto the shoulders of Ryan and Sean to open the dead bolt at the top of our 10 foot tall front doors so we could get the box inside the house. Once inside, they carried the chair upstairs for Ken to sit in on the spot. Ken was thrilled with his gift and both he and ZiZi look forward to long hours they will spend together there!