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Christmases With Grandma, Episode 2013: The One With the Spiral Ham
How far would our family go to save Christmas for Grandma?
As a former cast member of “Christmases With Grandma,” I’m delighted to offer this behind-the-scenes commentary on my all-time-favorite episode, “The One With the Spiral Ham.”
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show, “Christmases With Grandma” was a long-running dramedy with an ensemble cast that explored the trials and tribulations of a large, loud, multi-generational Irish-American family who got together for Christmas each year. At the heart of the show was the matriarch of the family, “Grandma.” Grandma had had a difficult life, but Christmas combined so much of what she treasured most: time with family for cocktail hour and word games and endlessly entertaining stories, carefully planned meals laid out on beautiful tables with everyone dressed their best, the pageantry of Christmas Mass and singing “Adeste Fideles” in her deep contralto. Most of the plots revolved around the family doing anything for Grandma to make sure that she had a good Christmas, no matter what kind of chaos or mischief was going on around her.
Apart from its entertainment value, “Christmases With Grandma” was considered noteworthy because the dialogue was nearly all improvised. We actors were…
