What a Great Christmas!

We spent all day Christmas Eve working like dogs in our house.  I mean it!  We scrubbed and straightened and cleared and organized.  Not only for our company to come on Christmas Day, but also because there’s something about getting new “stuff” that seems to inspire the need for a Clean House.  It was exhausting, but the end results were wonderful.

We had a nice quiet family dinner on Christmas Eve – broiled chicken with italian herb marinade, spinach fettucini, and green beans.  Then we read from the scriptures, sang songs, and listened while our children tried to plunk out the tunes on our piano.  We always open one gift on Christmas Eve – usually one from out of town – and the kids enjoyed their special presents from their grandparents in Washington.  The kids were in bed around 10:30, but my husband and I stayed up until about 1:30 wrapping presents and talking.  One year we wrapped all the presents the week before Christmas, and on Christmas Eve we sat there looking at each other at 10pm, wondering what the heck to do.  I can’t explain it, but presents MUST be wrapped on Christmas Eve!  That’s how I feel anyway. 

Christmas morning started off a little strange.  We always get up with the kids at 7am.  They are SO good about holding off until then, and they never even run out and peek at the tree.  This Christmas morning, I rolled over to my side, and I felt something sharp in my comforter.  I fiddled around with it (while my eyes were still closed), and lo and behold, I found a needle and thread sticking into my bed!  That woke me up in a hurry, which woke my husband up — all this at about 5:45am.  I think that was all the kids’ radar needed – suddenly there was a knock at our bedroom door and excited little whispers saying, “Can we get up now???”  Knowing that none of us would get right back to sleep, we let them begin with their presents at 6am!

We’re usually pretty modest with our gifts, and especially this year with just having made such a huge move.  Daughter H13 got a book of piano/vocal arrangements for the musical Wicked, the first book of The Looking Glass Wars trilogy, a necklace, and the Life Pirates of the Caribbean game (very fun!).  Daughter M11 got the game Catchphrase, a Pirates of the Caribbean poster book, a Littlest Pet Shop turtle and a page-a-day calendar of origami creations.  Daughter A9 got a Littlest Pet Shop butterfly, the book The Mysterious Benedict Society, a stuffed Chimchar toy (from Pokemon), and the Harry Potter 20Q game (soooooo cool if you’re a fan!!).  Son I6 got a Klutz book of building cards for making pirate ships, a plug-in TV game for Pirates of the Caribbean, a Pokedex and a Pokemon guidebook.  They also got some “all kids” gifts, including 3 new bean bag chairs, the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie (anyone noticing a theme with that this year?), and an interactive Harry Potter DVD game. 

We always think so carefully about what to get our kids, and I can say that every single gift has been opened and played with over and over the past few days.  I especially love the things that bring us all together – we’ve loved playing the Life game with the Pirates theme, and the Harry Potter 20Q has had us all amazed.  Catchphrase has turned out a little harder for the kids than I imagined, but we’ve made up for it by digging out the old Boggle set and playing umpteen million games of that in the past week!

After the presents on Christmas morning, we took plenty of time to relax and be together (oh…and I can’t forget our big Christmas morning breakfast!).  Then my husband got cracking on the finishing touches of our holiday feast.  He made ham, garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed vegetables, fresh rolls, and three pies -  pecan, pumpkin, and chocolate candy bar.  Please note (because there should be credit where credit is due!):  HE MADE THE ENTIRE DINNER.  I did not set one sorry tippy toe in the kitchen all day!  This has been our unspoken deal for the nearly 15 years we’ve been married:  my husband is in charge of holiday meals, and I’m in charge of the holiday mess.  It works for us!

We had some friends over for dinner late that afternoon – a mom and her 7 children, and a single woman we know.  Our house was loud and busy and fabulous!  It was so nice to be with other people now that we’re so far from home!!  We had great conversation and great food and it was more relaxing than I could have imagined.  I went to bed that night feeling happy and full and fulfilled.

The days since Christmas have been glorious.  My husband has been off work, and we’ve spent a lot of time in jammies, reading books, playing games, eating leftovers, and watching movies.  We made one trip to the library to load up on more books and movies, and today my husband ventured into Houston with the four older kids and checked out Hermann Park (he also took them to the Museum of Health & Medical Science and gave it a one-word review:  LAME!).  Tomorrow I think we’ll all go into Houston together and find the arboretum at Memorial Park, then maybe walk through the theatre and/or museum district(s), and stay in the city tomorrow night.  We want to head to Galveston on Saturday to check out a sea turtle research center (“Sea turtles, mate.”  Oy…I have been watching WAY too much Pirates of the Caribbean!!). 

What’s kind of crazy is that the kids still have one more week of break!  And my husband doesn’t go back to work until next Wednesday.  So, it seems I still have several more days of this bliss.    I feel so blessed at this time of year to have a happy, healthy family, a nice home, new friends, and a shared sense of spirit and adventure within our family.  It makes me feel like we’re really ending this year in style!

You might also enjoy these related posts from Tree, Root, and Twig:

1. My 3yo is Making Christmas Magical Again
2. Picture a Christmas
3. Why It's Great to Be 8

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