Janet’s brother Steve and his wife Kim are the unofficial Sheppard family hosts for most celebrations throughout the year, with Thanksgiving topping the list of largest family gatherings. We know how taxing it can be to prepare for that many people for one celebration in the season, much less two. Last year, when the kids joined us, we volunteered to host the family Christmas get together and gift exchange at our apartment clubhouse. We catered Olive Garden because we were staying at the beach house, and our apartment is too small to prepare a large dinner.

This year we decided to give it a little twist and hosted everyone for brunch at the Cracker Barrel restaurant that’s lies just on the other side of the highway from our apartment complex.  This just happens to be one of Janet’s parents’ favorite restaurants. Afterwards everyone visited our apartment, counted the 18 nativities in Janet’s collection, and traded white elephant gifts. Our apartment is handy as Ken and Alicia’s family come from the south and we are situated almost halfway between the New Hampshire Sheppards and the Massachusetts Sheppards.  We had a great time and everyone agreed it was a great way for the family to spend time together at Christmas without interfering with smaller family celebrations.

Having been back to Missouri so many times throughout the year, Janet and I decided to spend Christmas in New England.  With no family to visit we thought it might be interesting to see if any Boston restaurants were available for Christmas dinner. As luck would have it, there were a few dozen restaurants that were not only open but had special Christmas day menus. We both love French cuisine so we made reservations at La Voille on Newbury St. which is Boston’s 5th Avenue, Miracle Mile, or Country Club Plaza.

I had no idea what traffic would be like, but I knew I didn’t want to take the train because of holiday schedules. We drove down early in the afternoon to drive/walk around the city and see what we could see.  What I found was the perfect day to drive through Boston. For many natives, perfect day and driving in Boston may sound like an oxymoron, but if ever there is a day to drive in Boston it’s Christmas day. There was virtually no traffic. We drove through neighborhoods we don’t usually see and actually enjoyed the drive. Janet didn’t even grab her safety handle one time. At the end of our drive we found a parking spot on Newbury St. less than fifty feet from the restaurant.

Our meal was magnificent to say the least. The ambiance was similar to the bistros and restaurants we’d enjoyed in Paris. The servers and patrons were all in festive moods which truly affirmed our choice. If we weren’t going to spend the holiday with family, this was the next best thing.

After dinner we took a stroll around the block and walked through the Prudential Center. The stores were closed, but the mall area was decorated beautifully and provided a warm area to walk and let our meal settle.

I think we will make Christmas dinner in Boston a tradition.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller