as charlie would say: welcome to (my) hell; bronxville, your typical suburb town, located right outside new york city. a short 30 minute drive from manhattan, probably longer with the holidays.

tom traditionally drives from brooklyn and makes a stop by manhattan to pick up charlie. this year, their cousin harry (the one from buffalo) will be tagging along, as well as daisy and mac, all in the backseat. what to expect: christmas songs, cookies (you know, the one with drugs) and stories about family shenanigans.

🌟  the stanwyck's home

the stanwyck house is exactly what you would expect from a suburb home from the upper-middle class - big, homey, cozy, decorated to the max with lights and blankets on the couch and seat, a fireplace with a nice fire, some candles but not that many, so clean that it makes you question your sanity, it's the kind of place where it smells sweet and warm at the same time. everything is in its place, guests are expected to remove their shoes upon arrival and put on the guest slippers on (so hopefully everyone wore their best socks!). there are a lot of family pictures on the wall, as well as childhood portrait of tom and charlie (those school portraits with the cute outfits). there is a patio/backyard where usually the youth starts a bonfire and hang at, or just because it's nice to have a warm option for the smokers.

yes, i included floorplans which are clickable. charlie's bedroom is the smaller one (top right), the bedroom near the master is actually his father's office. the room in the basement is a room for the youth to hang / a guest bedroom (pull out couch, hola!).

🌟  charlie's bedroom

this is where charlie (of course), mac and daisy will crash. it is a double bed so they can squeeze in all together or they can all decide to have a slumber party on the floor, who knows! either way, charlie's bedroom is somewhat stuck in time since he left high school (he did manage to add a poster of hozier to keep it in with the teen vibes lol). so, picture this: walls with posters of sinead o'connor, arctic monkeys, the strokes, the solar system, grace kelly in rear window; medals and awards from the swimming team and the science team from high school (nerd, i tell you), books that are from his younger years era (dr. seuss, some agatha christie, poetry), baseball gear. the wallpaper still dates from when he was 12, it's some not so childish but kinda is drawing (like space ships and a moon but it's still cool, okay?)

🌟  the guest list

joyce mother, 61, homemaker. not mean in any way, she is friendly and chatty and always makes sure to make everyone feel welcome and at ease. she'll ask a million questions because she is really interested and basically remembers every detail about everyone.

ian father; 63, finance guy. on the quieter side and is going to be a bit grumpy because he was not ready to have such a packed house, he likes to have people over but he has his limits. he's just as friendly.

tom brother, 38, surgeon, divorced. he lives in brooklyn, since his divorce has been working a lot so he looks always tired. he's a bit like charlie, just with less coffee in his system and more leveled. he's the oldest after all.

there is also a lot of cousins, aunts, uncles, maternal grandparents, some neighbors, some friends from high school popping by. i'll make a list eventually? but if you need a name, age, occupation that i haven't listed here yet just ask!

the 24th
saturday is the big party. due to the fact that there is a lot of people, it's a pot luck style of evening with too much food even for the big crowd: potatoes, green beans casserole, ham, and tofu turkey (because there are vegetarians in that crowd) as well as endless appetizers and way too many desserts like pies (chocolate, apple), cookies, chocolate peppermint cupcakes. eggnog, with and without alcohol, wine, champagne are also on the menu: this is a celebration after all. christmas music will of course be playing, and by the time the party is coming to an end, with a few of the guests down, joyce and emilia (ian's twin sister, charlie's aunt) will start singing by piano a little buzzed while someone plays at piano in the family room (it's a small thing).

🌟  the creatures of the night

while the grown ups keep getting more drunk, singing, eating more of the sweets (the chocolate box will eventually come out), charlie, his brother tom, and some cousins will disappear to go and haunt the streets of bronxville while wearing masks (krampus, the grinch, donkey, ghostface, clown). even the maskless can tag along! it's just them being idiots, giving trauma to children and finishing at the high school to get high while freezing their balls off by the football field.

the 25th
compared to the previous night it is much quieter. with a lot of family living in the area, only a few stayed over (cousin harry and his brother florida man, the wisconsin people, the grandparents) and the people who couldn't attend the party but it was still manageable. it started with a not too early wake up call to open the present, followed by a chill breakfast: coffee, tea, chocolate, pastries, some cookies and leftover pies for ian and whoever has a sweet tooth. more people came over for lunch, but this time everyone was seated (it was crowded of course) for a classic christmas lunch (HAM OF COURSE) and chocolate bundt cake which is what everyone really cares about. most people will live in the afternoon/early evening, usually charlie and tom take their grandparents back to their home and then come back, and spend the quiet evening at their parents.

charlie and tom are planning on heading back to new york early on tuesday morning but if either of the guests had to/wanted to leave monday evening, they would gladly drive them back since it's close enough. otherwise they're free to stay and enjoy a less chaotic suburban life experience.