A Quartuccio-Mangiolino Christmas | Sincerely, Jackie New York Wedding Invitations

This past Christmas was such an incredible holiday for us, so I couldn't help but share a bit of our joy. We took a lot of pictures this year, since my husband and I gifted ourselves a brand new Nikon D7000, which we had to put to good use! We've been Canon people up until now. But our Nikon upgrade has been great so far, and we snapped lots of wonderful memories to capture this special holiday.

We spent Christmas Eve at my in-laws house and had the most delicious paella dinner. My mother-in-law is an amazing cook, I love the way she adds a touch of her Argentine roots to all of her holiday cooking. For those of you less familiar with paella, it's a rice dish with seafood (lobster tail, clams, mussels, scallops, and shrimp), chicken, and chorizo (Spanish sausage). The perfect meal for Christmas Eve. I don't have any pictures from Christmas Eve, since Santa hadn't allowed us to use our new camera yet (that Santa, such a stickler for the rules!).

After Christmas Eve we headed to my parents house, a few towns over, to spend the night. There is something about waking up in my childhood home on Christmas that is so magical. I take after my father when it comes to rising early in the morning, so we get up together and I help him prepare his famous Christmas feast. While everybody else is still warm and cozy in bed, my father and I are sharing coffee together and peeling all of the potatoes. Oh, and of course my dad makes pancakes for everybody once they're up and hungry.

My parents host Christmas Day every year, and I loved that my in-laws and brother-in-law joined us this year. My husband and I are so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful families, and even more blessed that our families not only get along, but genuinely love and enjoy each other. Here is a shot of my husbands parents, and below is a photo of my husband and his younger brother - see the resemblance?

Thin-sliced ham is the dinner highlight every year. My dad has a vintage deli slicer, and there truly isn't anything as delicous as fresh sliced paper-thin ham. Although, my father-in-law's salad is a staple on the dinner table as well. Look how massive that salad is! We had 18 people for dinner this year.

How beautiful are my parents! They make such a fantastic entertaining team, and I cannot wait to host holidays someday to ease a bit of the work off of them. Although my dad may need to cook and slice the ham every year - I wouldn't ever attempt to change that!

Even Miss Juliet managed to stay out of trouble!