Christmas Eve was packed full of activity too. I vow next year to cut out or do ahead of time the stuff that does not need to be done. I felt like I was running all day long. So next time I WILL be better prepared! The morning started out delivering neighbor gifts. (Something I will do earlier next year!) I had to make some extra goodies to go along with them. And I ate a few of them too! During Christmas I just enjoy all the toffee and fudge I can possibly eat. And it was fabulous! After that we had a few errands that we needed to run. Once we were home we cut out our Christmas cookies and baked them. We played a few games and then we got ready to decorate our cookies. That is something we do every year on Christmas Eve. My Mom came over to join in the festivities as well. My sister Laura and her family were in town, but they spent the evening over at my brother in laws sisters home. It would have been fun to have them but we enjoyed the evening with just ourselves.
At some point during the night Santa's elves left some Pj's on the door step like they do every year. Those poor elves, they had a hard time this year being sneaky. The kids kept checking the front door to see if they had come yet. But the elves finally found a moment when they could leave the stash. Avery found the pj's right after we did the nativity. A little sooner than I had hoped, but nonetheless, they were found!
This years Nativity was a big success. I went in with very very low expectations and it turned out to be fun. We drew for parts this year a couple days before hand. Which helped a lot with arguments and fighting.
Avery was Mary. Sadie was the angel. Evan was the wise men. Quin was baby Jesus. Justin was Joseph. Owen was the donkey. And I was the shepard. My Mom narrated the story. After the Nativity we had a little family program. Sadie sang, Avery read a story, Evan wrote and read a poem, Owen colored a picture and showed us, and Justin and I sang! We did an awesome duet of Silent Night!! One of us was definitely better than the other. I will just leave it at that.
Making Christmas cookies. YUM!
Owen loving the frosting. Get it while you can buddy!
Quin joining in on the fun for the first time!
After the kids took their "super quick" baths we got in our new jammies and watched The Nativity Story. It is a great movie that depicts how things were probably back at the time of Jesus's birth. This is the time that I hold high expectations. This is the time where we need to be reverent and reflect. Luckily there was lots of cookies and popcorn to keep everyone entertained and engaged. We tucked everyone in at a very reasonable hour. Told them the rules of when they could wake us up and what to do if they can't sleep. We also threatened them to stay in bed. (Don't you just love Christmas time!) And Justin and I headed upstairs and watched a movie. Normally Justin and I are wrapping like mad men on Christmas Eve while we watch a Christmas Story over and over. But this year things were a little more simple and I was on the ball and wrapped while kids were in school. It was so nice and I hope I can be on the ball next year!
