Paula's Southern Christmas

Merry Christmas, everybody

Boy, do I have nonstop holiday festivities in store for y'all. Timber

Ha ha! Perfect, Mom. I'm celebrating Christmas in true Savannah fashion. And you know, if there's one thing that we know how to do here

it's how to have a great time. Sold for $8.50! Woo! Woo

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Savannah has such a rich history and tradition of celebrating the holiday time

I can hardly wait to share all the wonderful holiday goings on with y'all

I'm going to take y'all on a very special tour of how Christmas has been celebrated in this town through the years

which is really how I got inspired to stay in a historic downtown mansion, Magnolia Hall, for this special, special occasion

And while my family and I are keeping up most of our holiday traditions

like cutting down our Christmas tree and cooking up a delicious meal for everybody

oh, and of course, we've got to work in a little last-minute shopping

We are going to be starting a couple of new traditions this year. I'm holding my very first charity auction at the restaurant

And I'm going to be surprising our staff with a very special Dean family roast

I have so many precious memories of Christmas's past, but you know, this year might just prove to be my favorite one yet

My favorite things about Christmas are being with my family and all the food and the festivities and the fun, the laughter, and of course, gift giving

Bobby and I would start Christmas Day at 4.30 a.m. every year

Bobby and I running around and all these presents under the tree

Mom used to make every cake and sweet that you can imagine

but she used to make wonderful divinity. The smells, you know, the way the house would smell at Christmas time

There's really no place like Christmas in Savannah. It's old-timey and beautiful homes and beautiful decorations

Well, that's what Savannah's all about. And there's no better way to see it than taking a carriage ride

During the holidays, the whole town of Savannah truly puts on its best face

You know, we even dress up our dogs, and all the downtown residents compete to see who can have the prettiest decorations

The tradition of celebrating and, of course, enjoying fantastic meals has been going on since the city's earliest times

For example, like at the Isaiah Davenport House Museum, where we know for a fact that the holiday traditions of the 1820s

were a little more modest than today's, but just as spirited, and the food always got plenty of attention

Early in the 19th century, it was about knowing the Christmas story

There was no Santa, there was no tree, but I think that there was a lot of family wanting to be together

and recognizing the change of seasons with a big family celebration. The table in the Davenport house had things like roasted oysters and ham and turkey

We think that Mr. Davenport might have gone out and shot his shotgun up in the air

as white Southern men were known to do in the early 19th century

and there's still a holdover from that with people setting off firecrackers

Sixty or so years later, holiday celebrations downtown really got kicked up a notch

because the founder of the Girl Scouts of America, Juliette Gordon Lowe

grew up in this beautiful downtown mansion where, around the 1880s, her family and neighbors really got into showing their Christmas spirit

People in Savannah loved to party, and the Gordons were no exception of that

They loved to entertain their friends, and they were known for the dinner parties

especially that they would throw here in this house. They would start with a seafood, either chowder or an oyster stew

and then that was followed by the main dish, which would be turkey and a variety of vegetables

There would be the wonderful smells of Christmas. They would use pines and other greeneries on the mantelpieces and pictures and the paintings in the rooms

And after hours at the dinner table, the families would go out and continue the festivities that were apparently just spectacular

They had incredible parades and people would dress in wild costumes and they would set bonfires all over the city

It was really more like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day than it is like what we think of Christmas today

And in even more recent history, sure enough, downtown Savannah mansions have still managed to make quite an impression

And we're coming up on a mansion that is very, very famous because John Barrett wrote about it in a book called Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

This mansion was owned by Jim Williams, and the Christmas parties at his house was the most envied party thrown throughout the year because it was truly all of the important people and all of the best food

Savannah's colorful traditions and, of course, the incredible architecture has always gotten her fair share of attention

But there is one Savannah Christmas story that really beats them all

Near the end of the Civil War, during General Sherman's famous march to the sea

the Union Army was burning down all the towns, even including Atlanta

But Savannah was the only one spared. General Sherman occupied Savannah in 1864

and he stayed in the most expensive home of its day, more as a hospitality measure

So from that home, he pinned a telegram, which he later sent to President Lincoln, saying, I give you Savannah as a Christmas present

And knowing all these wonderful stories and traditions, I just couldn't resist spending my holiday downtown, too

Many of the historic buildings around town have thankfully been saved and restored by Savannah College of Art and Design

And the school graciously offered to let me and my family celebrate this Christmas in Magnolia Hall

It's a beautiful home from 1817 that sits right on Forsyth Park

So, you know, how could you say no to this? This was perfect

Well, I have my mansion all squared away, but y'all know and I know that it's not Christmas until we get that Christmas tree

That's perfect. Plus, I still have a few things to buy around town at some of my favorite stores

and I know y'all are going to love it. Wrap it up baby. I'll take it. Merry Christmas, Paula. Merry Christmas to you, sweetie

I remember one Christmas we bought a live tree and by the time Christmas Day came it didn have one needle And people were coming by our house just to see the stalk tree

Y'all, I've still got some last-minute shopping to do, and definitely some cooking to make this Christmas celebration just as perfect as it can be

But there's one key piece missing, and that's the Christmas tree. I want a big and fat one

Okay. No Charlie Brown Christmas trees this year. Well, there's some nice shapes in here

I always liked going to get the tree. That was always a big deal, actually

I have to have a real tree. I have to. It just sets the tone for your home, the smells

We would go from Christmas tree place to tree place to tree place

and that was never the right tree. Actually, we weren't done with the Christmas tree

until we had sap from our fingertips to our elbows. and you're totally sticky in that tar

we would always go back to the first one. And Mom said, perfect. Do you remember the first Christmas that Michael and I were together

You know, I didn't go with y'all to cut the Christmas tree. I went with Michael

Ooh, that's a pretty one. It is pretty, isn't it? And it was so funny because I'd always taken so much time, you know, to find my tree

And that first Christmas I was with Michael, I was so in love

We went and I picked out the first tree that we found. And I said, oh, he's perfect

He's beautiful. Got him home. He didn't have a back to it. Michael had to

You was blinded by Michael. I was just, I was so in love. I couldn't, that Christmas tree I thought was perfect

Remember the year we were so busy getting our bag lady business started that we decorated a coat rack

Oh, I remember that. I was always, always working. It was Christmas Eve, and to not have some symbolism of Christmas, I just wasn't ready to give that up yet

Jamie said, it's just important that you come home. I have us a Christmas tree, because I had totally resigned to the fact that I could not do Christmas in any shape, form, or fashion

And all that just touched my heart. I said, oh my God, they got us a Christmas tree

How did they come up with a Christmas tree? Because we had no money

The only thing close to a Christmas tree was the coat rack, and it had three or four arms on it that was perfect for a bright red ball and a little bit of garland

And that was our Christmas tree. I think this is the one for us. Don't you, Jamie

Yeah, I like it. It's beautiful. Well, you guys get to cutting

Here you go. Me? Yeah, we're going to teach you how to harvest a tree today

You ready? I don't understand why I have to do this. Well, it's a learning experience

When I got two striping sons. This is your sons teaching you how to do something. Yeah, just get down there

Got you a Christmas tree. Get all the way down there. Paula's home cooking

There you go. Push and pull. There you go. Push and pull. Push and pull. You want me to get you a cook on

Push and pull. Push and pull. Push and pull. Push and pull. Push and pull

That's awesome. I'm going to push and pull. I'm not doing that now

Y'all do that. That little old saw is sort of doing the trick, but I got a better idea

Okay, guys. Timber

Perfect, Mom. Don't ever send a girl to do a woman's job. Way to go

What does that mean? In the 1930s, merchants on Main Street used to stay open until midnight on Christmas Eve

for all those last-minute shoppers. I'm not that late, y'all, but I do have a few errands that I need to do at some of my favorite Savannah shops

In fact, the first one is at the Christmas shop, where they keep up the Christmas spirit year-round

What is this up here in the villages? These are little ornaments, but a lot of people mix them in with their villages

It'd be perfect for Michael. I was going to say it. Look, that's what caught my eye

Yeah, the little tugboat. That looks just... Look, y'all, it looks just like Michael

For those of y'all that don't know, Michael is a captain. Let me take you to a little Savannah treasure, the historic Griffin Tea Room

It is truly a place not to be missed. This was originally built as a drugstore, and I'd love for you to just take a look around

The architecture, the carving is phenomenal, and I come in here every year to pick up some Christmas tea

It's just perfect for my guest. What all's in this, Madeline? It's small spices, orange bark, and vanilla bean

Mmm. Oh, it's so good. I mean, it just screams Christmas time, doesn't it

Yes, it does. This is basically the same spice that people sometimes use in red wine

You put it on the stove, steep it, and then strain it, and it makes a wonderful mulled wine

Wrap it up, baby. I'll take it. I want the biggest size you got, Madeline

This shop has such beautiful, unique things, y'all. I never know what I'm going to find, but I always manage to fall in love with something

Hey, Paula. Hey, Jennifer. Merry Christmas to you, darling. I'm just admiring your ornaments. Oh

I love this. Isn't that beautiful? Look at this. Isn't that beautiful

How adorable. That's our lady. You made her a ball skirt. You have to do something over the top

Just a little bit of magic. Oh, don't we wish we could really wear that? Mm-hmm

And look at the jewelry you put on her. Oh, my goodness

Paula, come over here and look. Tell me about this robe. It's satin on the outside

and soft enough for a baby on the inside. Paula, what would you like for Christmas

I think I'd like it all. And when we come back, y'all

it's going to be time for some traditional Southern Christmas cakes that mean so much to me

And later, y'all, I'm going to get that room rocking in the restaurant

because I'm going to be auctioning off these Christmas goodies for charity

Come on! Come on! We had a few rules at our house

The Christmas tree went up exactly one week before Christmas, and it came down exactly one week after

My granddaddy Paul was a real superstitious man, and he passed these superstitions on down to his daughters

and one of them was you could never enter the new year, and that Christmas tree still be standing because it was a brand new year

I've already decorated most of the mansion that we're staying in this Christmas

and thankfully, the boys have said they'd help me with the tree decorating, which means I can start on my holiday cakes

But y'all know Mama. I just can't resist giving them a little direction

Y'all about ready with the tree? Surprise! Hey, Mom. There no way we could bring that tree into this room Look at the size of this room Holy Toledo cow Every light in Savannah Georgia is on this tree To my surprise the boys switched out our humble little tree that we cut

For one, maybe three times as big? So our little Christmas tree, you didn't fertilize it

No ma'am, it's not that good at fertilizing. I can't. We found this one. Look how beautiful it is

I'm glad I bought some extra balls. Now, y'all know I can be... Particular

Crabby? Demanding? Overbearing? Almost like a bee. Almost? Almost like a bee about my..

Just loads? Yes. About my Christmas tree. And I've got several different kinds of ribbon

You see how I did the mantel? Beautiful. I want that ribbon kind of wound in that tree like that

And then I've got amaryllis to kind of put in there, just stick them in there like that

Beautiful. Uh-huh. They'll be beautiful. In fact, you can go ahead and do that first

It was always very important, Mom, was particular about how she likes to do her tree

I'm going to the kitchen. I got cakes to bake. We'll handle this, Mom

Go on. It better be right. Boys and I have gotten to a point where, you know

we're able to take care of ourselves, and we get things that we won't need all during the year

So, I mean, I don't care if I never, ever get another gift at Christmas

especially when there's so many people in need. This year, we thought an auction could really be a fun way to raise some money

for two charities that are near and dear to my heart. And they are Safe Shelter, which gives survivors of domestic violence

a second chance for a peaceful life. And Bethesda, home for boys

Bethesda is the oldest working orphanage in America. You know, just because it's the holiday

doesn't mean that it's joy to the world everywhere. So let me tell you what's on my mind right now

I'm getting ready to take these two cakes and hopefully bring in a lot of money

We have settled on Jamie's favorite coconut cake and a gingerbread house that my friend Johanna made

So I've got this cake all together. All I'm going to have to do is just put the coconut on it

It's just a 1-2-3-4 cake, a cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and 4 eggs

And then I make a very simple 7-minute icing, which is much like divinity

And it makes a real pretty cake at Christmas time. I like to decorate it with fresh greenery that makes it real, real festive

And it just looks like a big old snowball, doesn't it? And just that easy, we've got our coconut cake together

And I'm gonna top my cake now for the auction. I really want it to look festive

And I am using some artificial holly because holly berries are poisonous

and we don't want to poison anybody right here at the holiday time

And how beautiful and festive does that look. But I tell you what, this is what's going to bring the big bucks

And I have my friend Johanna to thank for this masterpiece. Well, I met Paula, and she asked me if I would do a recreation of her new house

I was thrilled, of course, and when the final product was done, she was very happy and asked me if I would do a gingerbread house for the auction

Every part of a gingerbread house, the yard and the landscaping, is all completely edible

The only thing that's not is the board that it's sitting on. I noticed that Michael and I was missing

So I'm going to decorate two little gingerbread people. I've got Paula with her dress on and Michael in his breeches

I'm going to just use these colored gel sticks. And look how cute we are

You know, I know Michael's saying, Holly, you're the prettiest girl in the whole world

You look good enough to eat. Bet that's what he's saying. Well, let's walk on over here

I think I'm going to put them by the Christmas tree. And when we come back, the proof is going to be in the pudding

Well, the Christmas cake, actually. We have a whole heap of fun coming up for a great cause next

Did I hear $100? Anybody got $100? You know, one thing that is very important to me and my family is giving to charity whenever possible, but especially at the holidays

Our time between the Best Western and the Lady and Sons downtown was almost a year that we had to go without really much of an income

So this Christmas rolled around and I said, listen, I've got like $200

You know, and y'all are old. Y'all are older now. You know, there's nothing I can buy y'all for $200 that you need

I said, how would y'all feel about picking a child or a family

and let's just spending that $200 on the family? And they said, Mama, that is perfect

We found a little boy. We went and knocked on the door

And this little boy's eyes got so big, Jamie and Bobby just had armloads of presents

And back then, I lived in black, stretched leggings. And I had on some kind of cap

And the mother came over and whispered in my ear as we were leaving

And she said, he got so excited when he looked out the window

And he saw you, and he started jumping. up and down and said

Mama, look, it's an elf. It's an elf. And I have to say

that that was probably one of the best Christmases we've ever spent

Since we're celebrating Christmas just a little different this year, we thought, well, let's really change things up

and hold an auction at the restaurant. And whatever money we raise, we'll go to two charities

that we'd love to support here in our town. What we did was we went down to the Lady and Sons

and went down the line and asked the people waiting to come in for lunch

who would like to attend the auction. So that's how we got our audience

And thank goodness there was a couple in there that turned out to be kind of big spenders

So we asked all these wonderful people if they'd like to bid on a delicious coconut cake

and a magnificent gingerbread house. I got up on one of the tabletops

and I auctioned them all Okay y It time for the Christmas auction I gonna hope that y will dig in your pockets because we got two good reasons to do this

Bethesda's Home for Boys, where Michael and I was married, and then it's safe shelter

because they help out so many women that find themselves in a position

where they have nowhere to go when things turn bad. I had never done an auction in my whole life

I said, I didn't know if I could talk that fast or not. I'm going to be bidding them off at $50 increments

And I'm going to start with $100 for the coconut cake. Do I hear $100

Anybody got $100? Can I hear $100? Can I hear $150? Come on

$150. Who's got $200? Come on. Let me hear you. $200. $200

Think of the boys. Think of the boys. $200. Do I hear $250? Come on

$250. Do I hear $300? $300, do I hear $300? And as it turned out, talking fast for me was easier and more fun than I ever imagined

In fact, right then and there, I decided to do another auction next year, too

We had a ball. $600. You got $650? Who's got $650? We got that

Come on, did I hear $650? We gonna have fun with that icing

Did I hear $700? Come on, come on, come on. I got some more tricks up my sleeve with that icing

Come on. Did I hear $700, Daddy Rabbit? No. You're looking like a cheapskate

Honey, get rid of him. He's cheapo. Girl, come on. $700. $750

I hear $750, right? So, at once, Going twice? Who's got 800

Come on, who's got 800? And that purple shirt back there in the corner

you look like you're loaded, baby. Is it 800? 800. All right, all right

850. 850. 850. Going once

Going twice? Sold for $8.50. It's $1.50. We still have one more cake to auction

and I have very high hopes because my sweet friend Johanna spent 32 hours making this gingerbread house

And I'm willing to bet the money raised is going to prove to be worth every second

It was just very exciting for me. This was my first experience like this

Now on this one, I want to start with 300. Come on. Did I hear 300? 300. Okay, did I hear 350? Come on, give me 350. Give me 350

three all right oh we got a woman come on come on 400 400 down here 400 come on 400 400 okay

450 down here 450 i got 450 here down here 500 come on girls come on give money come on 500 okay

down here 550 when paula started auctioning off my house i didn't know what to expect

but more and more people started bidding, and it just became so exciting

It's amazing. We got to $700 in a flash, and the bidding was still getting hotter

$700. $700. We got $700 here. $750. $750. Here, $8. Come on, big girl. You got it in you

$800. You get in Big Daddy's pocket. I just couldn't believe as the bids got higher and higher that that much money was going to be raised for charity

It just made me really feel good. Come on, $8.50. $8.50. Okay, do I hear $9

Give me $9.00. Come on, give me $9.00. $8.50. $9.00. $1,000. $1,000.00

Going what? So enjoy! Come here, guess who's got a kiss for you

Look up there! That's the kiss! The wonderful people that joined us here at the Lady and Sons today helped raise almost $2,000

and that will really, really make a difference for some folks this Christmas time

And I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their generosity

Coming up next, my favorite Christmas tree. Spending time with my boys

We're putting together a wonderful feast with very special dishes that I just love

and it's just got to match the incredible setting here at Magnolia Hall

When I was growing up, there were certain traditions at the house

Like on Christmas Eve, Mama would always make that wonderful eggnog, and folks would just drop in

And I remember everybody just raving over that and laughing and talking

And over the years, that really hasn't changed. Spending time with your friends and your loved ones is truly the best part

which is why I'm so happy to have my boys help him put the Christmas meal together

I've told y'all time and time again, I always do a stand-in rib roast

I always do beef at Christmas, but I wanted that even different this year

So we did the pork crown roast stuffed with rice and dried fruits

So this good rice, Mama, is what we're going to use the basis of our pork crown roast

we're going to stuff that beautiful 16-rib crown roast with this rice

some chopped prunes and apricots. So I'm going to go ahead and get these mixed in here

The fruit is going to be fabulous with the taste of the pork

For some reason, dried fruit is a holiday staple. Look, I'm going to set this off to the side, and I'm going to bring that roast up here

Looks yummy. All right, have you seasoned up your roast yet? Ma'am, I'm going to put some house seasoning on it

I'm just gonna be real gentle with it too, because we've got it dressed and turned over

Oh, it looks like just out of this world. Using a regular teacup makes stuffing this roast

just easy as pie. Looks yummy. It's full of prunes. I think elderly people really benefit

from the nutrition of prunes in there, right, Mom? Us older girls need prunes, don't we

It helps keep you going. I get it. And son, how are you coming now with the..

Well, my hand's a little smaller. Do I need to... My hand's not stuck, is it

No. Too bad he can't open gifts with just one hand. At least I know we got some butter

Bobby's making a medley of regular and sweet potatoes, which I think are just going to be fabulous with the pork

Okay, Mom, I'm going to put this in the oven at 350 degrees. Right

We're going to cook it 25 minutes per pound until the internal temperature is up to 170

Okay. Looks fabulous. All right. Now, I've got my bacon sliced. If you'd pass me my green beans

Perfect. I'm going to eat them plain. Those look good, don't they

Can they help you? Yeah, that'll be great. I'm just going to bundle these up so that..

How many? Five or six? One, yeah, well, I've got two, four, six, eight

And what I'm going to do, Jamie, is I'm going to lay my bacon down, and then I'm going to put my green beans in the center

and then I'm going to tie this just like I would if I was getting ready to tie my shoe

So you normally tie this up with red bell peppers? Red bell peppers, that's right

But like I said, I just wanted to do a new little twist. I think bacon is going to be just fine

Well, I don't, personally, I don't think you can mess up with bacon. Okay, son, now you know what to do to those, don't you

Yes, ma'am. I am just going to take a little olive oil and just pour over them

Just enough to sort of coat them. Oops. I want to get a little olive oil on every one of them

The last thing I have to do is just sprinkle a little salt and a little cracked black pepper on these potatoes and get them in the oven so you're not going to be waiting on me for long

I'm just going to sprinkle these with a little bit of olive oil, not much because I want the seasoning to be able to stick because I'm going to sprinkle it with a little kosher salt

Love that. and a little coarse ground black pepper. And we're going to throw these in the oven

and we're just going to cook them until the bacon's done, and that's not going to take very long, probably about 10 minutes

We got that meal together in double time, and I have to tell you, I had a good time with you boys

We got the pork crown roast in the oven. We got our potatoes

We got our green bean bundles. And now it's time to get these in the oven. cooking this christmas meal together and celebrating as a family is something we always

try to do but at our restaurant this time of year it means a lot of catering and special events

what are most people normal holidays are your busiest times of the year you work very very hard because you want to make sure that the people that are turning to you

that you make their holidays as easy and as wonderful as we're capable of doing

And nobody works harder than our staff to pull this off. So we thought, like the costume parades that they used to have at Christmastime in Savannah

say a hundred years ago, that we'd dress up like them and just have a laugh

We pulled the group together and decided that they might need some gag gifts

to kind of lighten the moment and just kind of take away the stress of what we've been doing

So we got up in the bar at the Lady and Sons and surprised a few people that have really been put through the wringer

We like to roast one another a little bit around Christmas time

We like to recognize people for what they're good at. The first gift I've got is for the GM here, Dustin Wall

Dustin Wall! I hope you have a bride at home, and Santa and I want you to have this picture of yourself to give to your bride

So she can remember what you look like, because you're always here

It's a small payback. for what they do for us throughout the year

to try to show how much we appreciate our employees. And it's fun

There is a man named Jeff that hangs out at the front door

that has to talk to about anywhere from 16 to 2,000 people a day

Is that right, Elves? Jeff, would you come down, please? Because we've got a very, very special gift

Jeff, because he's the biggest ass kisser in Savannah. And we feel like you might need some chest

When we get around Christmas time, it's kind of when we all feel a little bit more lighthearted

and we can kind of play a little. Why don't you tell Santa what you'd like for Christmas

Well, Santa, I'm going through an early life crisis, so I was thinking maybe a sports car

What kind of sports car? A white run, maybe, convertible with a tan top

If we can't do that, maybe a date. We'll work on a date

That was fun for all of us. And I tell you, they so deserve the break

They're a great crew. They had worked very, very hard for the cause

And up next, it's time to hand out the gifts to my family

And Michael has a surprise for me that you're not gonna believe

Holiday traditions run so deep around the world but for me it that good old southern Christmas feeling that I just can get enough of My favorite thing about Christmas is naturally being with family and all the food and of course the gift giving

It's fun to light up your children's eyes with things that they've been wanting. That's a real thrill

I look at it a little differently now than I did when I was a kid. It's not about the gifts

It's really about family and celebration of life and all the things that we have to be thankful for

I love that each year seems to bring more members to the family table, like Jamie's wife, Brooke

I'm excited it's our first Christmas together, and our family's grown the past couple years with Mom and Mike

And, you know, the more the merrier. It's all about family. If you don't connect and celebrate and grow with your family, you've wasted your chance here

I think family is the single true thing that anybody ever has in their life is their family

Everybody is in a different type of mood at Christmas. It's just a time where you let down your guard, you know, and just enjoy each other

Just like how they celebrated Christmas in these mansions years ago, There's nothing like walking into one of these beautiful homes

that's filled with delicious smells of home-cooked food and freshly cut pine boughs

Take a seat. We've got to hand out the gifts. Hey! Before we sit down to eat at the Christmas table

I have a few gifts for these very special people. The gift given is a lot different now than it used to be

We all have everything we need. So, you know, now is we're at a stage of life where we can do funny different things with our gift given

Now, Michael, when I saw these, I fell in love with them the same as I did you because they look like you

They look like you. But those look like me. Michael's not the only one getting a gag gift from me

There's also Kari, my brother's daughter, who I just love to pieces

and my brother Bubba, who I've shared more holidays with than I can count

And then there's Dawn, Bubba's precious darling companion, and my beautiful Aunt Peggy

and the newest family member, Brooke, Jamie's lovely wife. And lastly, my sons Jamie and Bobby, who have truly been my backbone for so many years

I had finished with my gifts, but as it turned out, Michael had been planning a very special one to give to me

Merry Christmas Merry Christmas to you Like a card Mm And what does it say

Oh, Paula, I am taking you to Paris. Wow. To eat, laugh, and have fun

Love, Michael. Oh, that was nice. Oh. Well, I know you've never been across a big part

and neither have I, and I thought we'd just have a lovely town there. Well, I just gave you ornaments

Well, I'll bring them with me. Oh, I love it. Oh, I don't believe it

Merry Christmas. I can have french fries. Real French fries

And real French toast. And on that wonderful note, I think it's finally time to enjoy our Christmas meal

Are you guys hungry? Yes. Michael, honey, why don't you carve the roast

And... How about if I pass the potatoes? Please. Y'all get started

Bobby, you were the cutest elf today, did I tell you? Oh, I know

Ooh, look at these green bean bundles. Don't they look yummy? They do look good

I think I'll get me some before you tell you. Doesn't it look out of this world

Are the green bean bundles just gorgeous? I like that. Now, that's the way to do it

Thank you. Oh, yum. Hadn't it been a wonderful Christmas? Mama, why don't we have them standing red

Well, this is different, isn't it? A different menu. Well, we're having a different Christmas

There you go, Peggy. It looks wonderful. Oh, can I have this bone

Yes, ma'am. Mmm. I've been swapping pork bones with y'all since you were

since you were little bitty boys. Swapping or stealing from? No, I would give y'all a center and take your bone

I'm going to Paris. And it's not Paris, Texas. I can't hardly wait

I hate that it's time for us to leave, y'all, because we have had a wonderful, wonderful day

And as we finish up the day and eat this wonderful meal that we prepared

My family and I would like to send wishes that your family have peace, happiness, contentment, and best dishes