Update

Well, the car was thoroughly checked out, and it appears completely ok. After thawing, there's not even a scratch on the bumper or anything. I guess it's really a good thing I was going so slow, the impact into the cushy snow was minimal. We've driven the car for over 200kms now (and I've even managed to drive by the ditch in question without too much stress), so I think we can safely assume no harm was done.

My sisters have arrived last night to help us prepare for the Christmas festivities. We have a big day of cooking ahead of us: we need to make some breads (gluten-free for the middle sis), our big fancy salad (the cornerstone of the Christmas Eve meal for this family), borscht, cheesecake, and a few more smaller dishes. Luckily my Mom back in Montreal is taking care of the major food prep, all the main dishes and fish stuff... I am getting hungry just thinking about the big feast :)

Tomorrow we set up and decorate the Christmas tree, finish up some last minute preparations, set the table and wait for DH to get back from work and my parents to come up from Montreal. And then we eat (and eat and eat), and open up presents and sing carols and celebrate. Or at least that's the way it's supposed to work in theory. We'll see how things transpire ;)

Time to google some more gluten-free bread recipes...