Christmas Day 2019

On Christmas Eve, the kids opened and put on their new pajamas from us (an annual tradition) and posed in front of the Christmas tree for me, Mia included.  The setting was "off" on my camera because I forgot to change it after we had been outside sprinkling reindeer food in the dark.  I was pretty bummed because it was a really good picture -- everyone was looking at the camera, even Mia -- but then I decided that the background glow added just the right amount of ambience to the photo.  It is such a magical night for everyone.

Santa was pretty hungry and thirst that night and left only a few crumbs on our plate:

After the drop-off, just before we tucked ourselves into bed:

They boys each got "money soap" in their stockings.  They need to use the soap up in the shower to see how much money was sealed inside.  (Spoiler alert: it was $1 in each of their bars).

It's the little things that excite them, like Spiderman band-aids!

Mia even got a little catnip toy in her stocking and she coveted that thing right away.

Can you just sense her happiness?

Samantha was a little slower and more deliverate with her unwrapping this year, something that I really enjoyed.  Sometimes I feel that the present-unwrapping goes by so fast ...

Every year, Santa brings the kids a new calendar to hang up in their room.  They are usually pretty funny and this year, Santa chose a Garfield calendar for Jack because he is absolutely obsessed with that show ...

Just two sisters, sitting together on Christmas morning, opening their special gifts:

The. best. shirt. ever. for. Samantha.

A little outerwear -- note that Samatha normally wears her hat with her hair down so that she doesn't appear bald!

Jimmy got a drone and it was a big hit!

And so far, it has been indestructable!

And what little boy doesn't love a monster truck?!

Later on that morning, my family came over to spend the rest of the day with us ... pulled pork was on the menu and lots of Christmas desserts!

Christmas Cookies

Another item to cross off our Holiday Hopes poster ... Christmas cookies.

Some people make Christmas cookies early in the season and enjoy them all month long.  We, on the other hand, try to wait until closer to the holiday.  That way, we have them for Santa -- Santa prefers fresh cookies -- and we have them for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when family comes over.

The kids worked on cutting out their shapes while James was napping and then I baked all of them.  By late afternoon, once Jimmy was up from her rest -- the cookies were ready to be frosted.

I have a whole tote of cutters and the kids love choosing which ones they are going to use out of there.

We try to maximize our space on the dough and overall, I think that we ended up with over 5 dozen cookies.

This is my ideal set-up: a disposable plastic table cover that can be rolled up and thrown away when we are done, our well-used platic trays that hold the cookies while we are working and also control the sprinkles, glass bowls of colored frosting and knives for spreading.

Messy bed-head, deep in concentration:

Jack's technique has really improved in the last year; he is more careful and precise with the frosting:

He also has more portion control with the sprinkles:

Samantha spent the majority of her time using a piping bag and designing her Elf cookie:

Jimmy took my "less is more" speech very seriously.

Sophia was quite the worker bee and probably frosted/designed more cookies than anyone.

This never gets old for the kids and I need to really make a point to do this more often; not just once a year.  Maybe for Easter next year?

A Visit to See Santa

Over the years, we have chosen to do different venues when it came to seeing Santa before the big holiday.  We've done the mall; we've visited him locally at the Peacock Road Tree Farm (complete with a train ride back to his cabin in the woods); we've visited him at the American Legion and had a pancake breakfast afterwards ... but this year, we did something even more different.

We bought tickets to visit the Lansing Lugnuts (single A baseball team) stadium, where there were lots of lights, some activities and more importantly, Santa!

It was outside and it was chilly, but we bundled up and headed out for some great fun in mid-December.  Our first stop was to see the Jolly Old Man -- we were the first in line and I managed to grab a few pictures (while also listening carefully to what each of the kids asked for).

Jimmy jumped right up like he was old friends with Santa, and I'm pretty sure that it was the highlight of his entire night, if not the whole month.

I love this picture.  Jack was telling him about the Nerf gun that he hoped to receive (spoiler alert: Santa was definitely bringing it).

All of the kids:

And then I had a small "moment," realizing that this might be the very last year where I get a picture of all of them together with Santa.  As it is, the girls told me before we left that they know that it isn't the "real Santa," because he can't be everywhere at once.  And they said that they wouldn't sit on his lap, but would pose for a picture for me.

There was an ornament decorating station and the kids all came home with something new to hang on our tree this year.

They had an area set up where you could buy the (very expensive) supplies to roast a marshmallow and make s'mores.

The boys loved them but the girls said that it was so cold out that the marshmallows didn't really melt like they do when we roast them in the summer.  Good to know.

All done with the s'mores and ready to walk around to see the lights.

A view from one side of the stadium to the other:

Not only did they have a small train and lots of lights, there were some moving blow-up figures and lots of Christmas trees.

A little cold, but SO much to see:

My picture doesn't do it justice, but this was one of the many lit-up designs as we walked around:

Christmas Catherine

Our elf is named Christmas Catherine, and the kids are overly excited about her return every single year.  Sometimes, I wonder if she is more important than Santa.  After all, she comes from December 1st every year ... until December 24th, when she returns with the jolly old man.  Santa just comes on December 24th. 

Over the years, she has done some funny things and has left some little gifts along the way.  I love how much extra magic she brings to our house, as the kids look to find her first thing in the morning.  And then everytime they walk past her, they chuckle a little.  Here are some of the things that she did this season:

The traditional North Pole Breakfast to signify her return:

The breakfast was on a Sunday morning this year, so Steve was able to partake with us:

My favorite part was the yogurt parfait that she prepared.  Yum!

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She used gummy fruits and made some "strong elf coffee."

After some hesitation, Sam decided to try it.  It turns out that it tasted like raspberry fruit juice.

By the end of the morning, that "coffee" was gone.

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She used ketchup and miracle whip to make her own portrait of Santa.

(In the early afternoon, it needed to be washed off because it was starting to have an odor.  Ha!)

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Naughty or nice?

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She had trees "for sale" for kids that did something nice after school.

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Sledding down the basement railing:

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Helping herself to the cookie jar on the counter:

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There was an accident on her way back from the North Pole one night and we found her in the bathroom with bandaids and her arm in a sling:

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Practicing her Elf Yoga so that she can be limber and all stretched out:

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She has been known to draw on our bananas, but this year, she took over the eggs:

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Curious George and her played some fun games of tic-tac-toe.  And what was even MORE FUN was that they continued to play throughout the day.  More games showed up on the window and the score kept changing.

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Gingerbread House building:

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Uh-oh!  Looks like Christmas Catherine has a bellyache from eating too many sweets.  Luckily, she found the Pepto-Bismol in the cupboard.

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Pretending to be a hotdog on a plate:

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A Candy Cane Hunt!

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One of the most fun things ever!

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She was snacking on her very own pizza! 

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