The blinking lights have been unplugged, the decorations
packed safely away and the tree is back in it's box to be stored
until "next time". All that remains is perhaps a scrap of wrapping
paper or a strand of ribbon from the many gifts opened this year
as the Hagan clan celebrated Christmas in July. There was a full
house with many we had not seen in years to add to the festivities.

Joe and Nellie smiled down proudly from their vantage place and
I feel certain that they marvelled at the gathering of so many
(74 in all) who came to pay respect to their memory and celebrate
family together.   Look!
Here are the five remaining daughters enjoying the event.

This family has always had a reputation for great "down
home" cooking and no one fell down on the job this year.
A true Christmas feast with turkey, dressing, ham, fried
chicken, excellent collard greens along with a myriad of veggies,
side dishes, salads, etc. The dessert table was another story in
itself! Every dessert imaginable from pies, to cakes and to fruit
bars of all description, and on and on.

After all of that, what next? Drawings for door prizes as if
we really needed anything else! Betty gave a reading of a
Southern Christmas which gave the true meaning of Christmas
All of the "Little People" were dubbed as "Good Will Ambassadors".
They decorated a real pine tree with homemade paper chains to
symbolize the Christmas trees the Hagan children grew up with.

We shared family news and remembered those who had recently
passed. Then, out of nowhere, a wayward "Grinch" bolted into the
room and grabbed a bag of gifts and ran out the door only to be
lead back inside by a quick thinking Santa who grabbed a rope
from one of his reindeer and quickly took charge of
the situation.

The five remaining siblings were the inspiration for a story:
"A Hagan Christmas" by Pat. The sisters received presents based
on a typical Christmas when they were children. A special
ornament commemorating the day was given to each
family attending.

The "Good Will Ambassadors did a great job of passing out
the gifts that Santa rescued from the "Grinch" for the
gift exchange.

It was a good thing to be able to celebrate this wonderful
Holiday together as a family. Who knows when we will ever
be able to do this again. To all of you who were unable to
attend this year, you were missed. See you next year...O.K.???

READ "A Hagan Christmas"

A special THANKS from Betty and Pat to all who helped with the
many tasks involved in putting this affair together. First, she's always there, snapping pictures of each family. Tonya Williamson, a SUPER participator
each and every year. Many, many thanks! Next, kudos to Linda
Sullivan for doing double duty at the Sign-In and also at the dessert
table. Next came Terrance and Tom Sullivan for their spectacular
performance as Santa and The "Wayward Grinch". Terrance and
Linda were also there for the set-up and clean up chores as well as
Teresa Konruff and Tamie Cordoba. A BIG thanks to Jim Calvert
for his bird houses and his helping hand in so many other areas.
Of course we thank all who came and brought the wonderful food.

To everyone who attended we say "Thanks for coming."
Without each of you, our work would have been in vain.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS (IN JULY) TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!