Nicolai hosted a New Year’s Eve party for a group of his friends. Jeanine prepared macaroni and cheese, meatball subs, pigs in a blanket and a salad. I have never heard so many compliments from a group of teenagers in my life. I tried to limit my photographic intrusion and did not venture into the basement where the majority of time was spent. The girls all left by 1AM and the boys remained for a sleep over.

Maya has not been seen in the last 24 hours without this present from her mother upon her head. We do try to manage our carbon footprint by keeping the temperature in the house set to the sweater range but I can state with certainty that it is well above the hat range. It would be safe, therefore, to conclude that Maya loves this gift from her mom.

Although it may be argued that we are contributing to their delinquency, poker was the featured attraction at the Calabria household this evening. Uncharacteristically, Kyle and Nicolai and their respective friends played together in one large group until I called last hand at 11:30PM. It may not be the most productive use of their time but we feel it is a far better alternative to some of the more common activities of teenagers in this day and age.

It is not uncommon in the winter months for me to arrive at the office before it is light out and to leave after it has gotten dark. Today was such a day as I worked with my team to overcome last minute obstacles which stand in the way of beginning production on two new products. Absent any outdoor overlap with the sun, I must rely on indoor photographs to produce my blog entry. After almost six years of daily entries, the family has become tolerant of my incessant photography. On occasions, however, I encounter resistance which takes the form of today’s post. This five finger gesture is more effective at deterring my photographic efforts than the more common single digit form.

We received about 10 inches of snow today during a major blizzard that has wreaked havoc on the Eastern seaboard. Kyle came to work with me today so that I could drive him to Newburyport for a noon appearance at the District Court. Back in the spring, he received a speeding citation 10 days before his one-year driving anniversary making him subject to a suspension of his driving license. He elected to appear before a judge to request leniency in light of his perfect driving record before and since. When the state police officer who issued the ticket failed to arrive at the appointed time the judge informed Kyle it was his lucky day and found him not responsible (no fine, no points, no insurance increase). Kyle has had more than his share of bad luck so it was with no reservations that we embraced his good fortune.

Both boys are dating girls we really like and it is a pleasure to include them during our family outings. Today we enjoyed a mid-afternoon meal at the English Beer Pub in Westford. We decided on an early dinner in anticipation of the blizzard expected to hit our area this evening. The leisurely meal included several rounds of card games before and after the food arrived.

Two years running, Jeanine’s popovers have been an exercise in perfection. The family made short work of these breakfast treats before serious present opening commenced.

It was wonderful sharing the day with my mom and Susan. Their presence only enhanced our enjoyment of the holiday. Even Nala was in a festive mood.

We managed a rare family portrait including the front end of Nala before beginning to open presents.

We did stockings in reverse order this year (oldest to youngest). Maya waits patiently for her turn dressed in her new footed pajamas.

With guests for Christmas, there were too many stockings to hang by the fireplace so we pressed the sofa into service.

Our Christmas Eve tradition includes dining out at the Chang An Chinese restaurant. This year we are joined by Alan Budris and his three daughters (identical in age to our kids). His youngest, Sarinnagh, is Maya’s best friend. It was a delightful meal spent in the company of delightful people.

The Christmas service at our church ends with the congregation singing Silent Night by candlelight. We are joined this year by my mother and Jeanine’s sister, Susan.

Snow has arrived just in time for Christmas. The Old North Bridge is one of my favorite destinations for snowscapes. I made an early morning stop before a breakfast meeting at the Colonial Inn.

A tough battle for Nicolai this evening in his dual meet against Lincoln Sudbury. Although he wrestled quite well, he faced a superior opponent and lost 14-6. He fought hard till the end and did not give up any back points which is all that can be asked in this situation. His team fared no better losing by a significant margin. My mother and sister-in-law arrived today for the holidays and were in attendance.

Recognizing outstanding financial performance last year, the Home Robots division of iRobot celebrated with a catered lunch and gift raffle. This was but a warm-up for the annual holiday party which is held in late January. Every employee also received a very nice soft shell jacket with the company logo.

My boss treated the team to a magnificent dinner at the Capital Grille after an all-day, off-site, strategy planning session. The company has had an excellent year and as I look back on my decision to leave Sonos I feel very good about it. I have worked my tail off enjoying every minute of it and the results of my efforts are starting to show. Sonos continues to do extremely well and my investment there stands a good chance of paying handsome dividends.

Maya’s friends demonstrated great artistry in the decoration of their gingerbread houses which were nothing short of amazing. The girls managed to ingest a healthy dinner in between snacking on construction components and contemporaneous outbreaks of dancing.

Preparations for a gingerbread house decorating party began yesterday with Jeanine baking the wall and roof panels. I fabricated bases made from Styrofoam. Kyle assisted with wall assembly. Today Nicolai and Holly completed roof construction.

CCHS fell far behind in the opening matches only to finish with several falls (a fall = a pin and counts for 6 team points compared to a normal win which counts for 3) and the victory. Nicolai has been bothered by a shoulder injury so the forfeit (also good for 6 team points) was not unwelcome.

Nicolai’s girlfriend, Holly, attended his wrestling match for the first time this morning. Unfortunately, Lowell Tech forfeited at his 112-pound weight class and he did not have a chance to show off for her.

Trimming the Christmas tree was the family project for this evening, a nice way to celebrate my return from Europe. Kyle selected, retrieved, paid for, and put the angel atop a perfect-sized tree for our living room.

After returning to the George Hotel, I went for an extended walk around the adjacent lake enjoying a fresh 4″ snow cover. The night sky was quite beautiful and if not for the frigid temperatures and an early morning flight I could have spent many more hours exploring this beautiful city.

This morning I traveled to Hamburg, Germany for a meeting with our exclusive distributor and family-run business, Klein & More. After a day of work, we enjoyed a simply exceptional meal with the Klein family and got to know them quite well. Each member of their family was simply delightful and it was with no hesitation that I invited each one of them to visit with our family on their next trip to the US.

The timing of my trip to Europe was designed to overlap with the UK office holiday party. The celebration started with a pool tournament in which US/Pan European bragging rights were at stake. I made it to the semi finals but failed to sink the 8 ball for the match when I had the chance. The Canadian who beat me went on to win, securing the victory for North America. The party then moved to a large club where everyone enjoyed a fine 3 course dinner followed by much drinking and dancing. Please try to ignore the silly hats.

Over my lunch break, I made the short walk from our office to Buckingham palace for the changing of the guard ceremony. Quite an elaborate and entertaining affair involving hundreds of participants and a dozen horses with the goal of changing out four guards who are on patrol at any given time.

I opted to walk to the office this morning by way of St. James Park rather than sharing a cab with my colleagues. This afforded me my only day time view of the city and was well worth the effort.

I am traveling with a contingent from the US including my boss and colleagues in finance and sales. After work, we were all invited to attend a holiday party being thrown by our UK public relations and marketing firm. It was held in a very posh underground club in the Covent Garden district. The entrance was totally nondescript with no signage or numbering of any kind. Once inside this private club, however, we were enveloped in elegance and sophistication. After making a dinner of the sushi appetizers, I invited two of my finance colleagues to join me for an extended walking tour. We made our way to Trafalgar Square and then on to the Savoy Hotel and Theater (the only place where it is legal to drive on the right hand side of the road in the UK). From there we walked along the Thames River for spectacular views of the Jewel Tower (Big Ben), Westminster Abbey and the London Eye.

An all-day meeting at iRobot’s UK office was the order of business today. I gave a one-hour presentation covering the changes and future plans for the Product Development organization and listened to presentations from my European colleagues. I came dressed for the cold damp weather even if I stuck out a bit.

I flew to London today for meetings in Europe this week arriving at the Grosvenor House at about 10 PM. With the five-hour time shift to my advantage, I went on a 2-hour midnight walking tour. My first stop was Wellington Arch and then on to Buckingham Palace. There was not a soul in sight allowing me to set up a 20-second exposure that really captured the ambient light beautifully. Next, on to the theater district of Piccadilly Circus and finally back by way of Oxford Circus where miles of ornamental lighting hung above the street.

Maya’s performed both a jazz number, I Want to be a Rockette, and a ballet piece, Scottish Dolls from Coppelia, in her winter dance recital. Maya has inherited the family genes for dancing and was in fine form despite suffering from a cold.

Jeanine danced her way onto the Board of Trustees for our Arrowhead Homeowner’s Association, elected by our neighbors at the annual meeting held at Vincenzo’s Restaurant.

I depart tomorrow for Europe and may not be able to post until my return at the end of the work week.