Christmas on the Farm: Hughes Family Hospitality

My first Christmas away from home was spent devoid of the suffocating commercialism that we call the holidays; away from the pressure of buying obligatory gifts for white elephants, secret Santas and half relatives you’ve never met prior to Christmas.  Pessimism aside, I did miss being around my family but we were kindly taken in by David’s parents and his brother for the Christmas weekend and we totaled 9 foreigners, us 5 Americans and 4 Australians, who were introduced to farm living.

Being a guest on a 4,000 acre farm has its perks and drawbacks.

Perk:  Ample space to run around and be free as a bird

Drawback: It takes 8 minutes to walk from the kitchen to the picnic table outside, so you’d better not forget the forks!

Perk:  Delicious and fresh home-cooked meals

Drawback:   By fresh, I mean recently killed, right before your eyes and by home-cooked I mean potentially waking up around 9am to assist Mrs. Hughes in some cooking endeavors

Perk:  Horseback riding at sunset along the farm’s perimeter, watching the sky turn purple and pink

Drawback: Horseback riding at sunset along the farm’s perimeter, watching two of your friends fly off their horses in an all-out horse pursuit.

On Christmas Eve’s eve, we awoke early to find that the Gauchos on the farm had slaughtered the sacrificial lamb and we had arrived just in time to watch them skin and gut him.  Silence of the Lamb has taken on an entirely new meaning.  After an entire day of eating nothing but lamb and having plenty leftover, I’m sure I’ll steer clear for a while.  Christmas eve was spent helping Laura, David’s mom, prepare for dinner and a few things for Christmas lunch.  Mr. Hughes took us on a tour of the farm as we were pulled via tractor through the recently harvested wheat and barley fields.  We also learned a lot about the agriculture of soy and corn and clearly saw the passion Mr. Hughes carried for farming. The pool fulfilled our R&R needs and later, as the sun was setting, we embarked on a very brief journey on horseback through the farm. Brief due to  Nick, Kip’s nephew who rode for the first time, having difficulty controlling his horse as he was taken away at lightning speed through the wheat fields.  David chased him on horseback, later resulting in one disheveled, injured gaucho and one distraught gringo.  This was the end of our sunset ride.  At midnight, we all toasted by the fire pit under the stars to Christmas and to David’s birthday.

The following morning was Christmas and we were asked to be up bright and early to help with preparing the outdoor lunch tables before Christmas lunch was served and Laura’s sister and her family arrived to join us.  We ate, we sang, we drank, we indulged in the beautiful summer weather and us Americans skyped with families from back home to wish them a Merry Christmas and gloat about the warmth.  I couldn’t have asked for a more genuine Christmas experience.  Thank you to the Hughes family for making us feel at home!