How long would it take you to use a roll of toilet paper?

Most families probably have a huge, sit-down meal for their Christmas dinner- kinda a re-run of Thanksgiving. We used to do that too. It was always good, but always stressful. If you’re the one preparing the big meal, you have to start early, be in the kitchen off and on all day, listen to incessant questions about when will dinner be ready, try to get everything to the table hot, then put the leftovers away and the kitchen cleaned before you drop from exhaustion. If you really lucky, you’ve got some help. However, we all know it actually all falls on YOU.

My most wonderful friend, Evelyn, got smart years ago. Instead of making herself crazy on Christmas day like I used to do, she keeps it super simple. At her house Christmas afternoon and evening, meals are self-serve- honey baked ham and potato salad. If you get hungry you grab a plate or bowl, fill it up and eat when and where you want. It’s the best! She had made 4 batches of cookies if you had a sweet tooth. I don’t think it was the ham and potato salad that made the day so great. They were great though. I think it was the fact that everyone could be so relaxed. No one had to spend a lot of time in the kitchen; no one had to be guilted into helping out.

We’ve been lucky enough to go there for the last few years now on Christmas day. It’s so relaxing and so much fun. In the past, we’ve played Scrabble or spades; but then it would seem someone would always have to sit out. This year we played two new games- Apples to Apples and Loaded Questions. Apples to Apples is called “the game of hilarious comparisons”. The game was chosen by Mensa International in 1999 as a “Mensa Select” prizewinner, an award given to five games each year. There is no clear-cut winner each round; the winner is subjective and chosen by the judge, which changes every round. The game might actually sound difficult. However, it’s really, very easy and a lot of fun.

We got up when we were hungry, filled our plates with food, sat down and continued playing. It may not sound like a “traditional” Christmas dinner. It’s not. It’s better-at least for us. We played Apples to Apples for 4 hours. Eventually, Amanda suggested that we play Loaded Questions. I didn’t want to stop, I was having so much fun. It’s a good thing we did though. (I’d been sitting so long my backside had gone to sleep). Anyway, after some stretching, potty breaks, etc. we settled in for the new game. It was more fun than the first. In Loaded Questions, a question is asked, then answered on paper. One person tries to match each answer to the correct person without seeing the handwriting. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had playing a game. One of the questions was- How long would it take you to use a roll of toilet paper? Answers ranged from 10 minutes to three weeks. Another was “What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve done in public? If you were a professional wrestler, what would your stage name be? If you could be invisible where would you go?

Most of the answers were surprising. Evelyn was laughing so hard, root beer shot out her nose. I’d never seen her husband, Ken laugh so much- ever. Before we knew it, once again hours had passed. It was crazy. I suppose our day wasn’t what most people would think was a “normal” Christmas would be. But that doesn’t matter to me one bit. We made great memories with family and isn’t that what the holidays are all about?

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