Our Christmas was a whirlwind experience this year. I feel like it crept up on us even though we had things ready for weeks. It was definitely the most fun holiday my husband and I had in our seven Christmases together, mostly due to the fact that we had two kids to set up for this year. I love that we have a son and now a daughter so we can experience baby dolls + strollers as well as police cars + fire trucks. Once kids reach the age of two I think that’s when they can finally start to understand Christmas. Last year with Henry was super fun but he didn’t really understand the story of Santa and how he “works.” This year was much better and he finally grasped how he brings toys, puts kids on the nice list, lives at the North Pole, etc. He named our Elf on the Shelf Noddy and loved finding him every morning (even though a lot of nights we would forget and then throw him someplace fast in the morning when he asked … like the couch, the tree or the kitchen table).Christmas Eve was pretty low key at our house during the day. It was pouring rain so we watched holiday movies and ate marshmallows until nap time. buy priligy online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/priligy.html no prescription
We went to my moms house for dinner with friends and family. My brother is in town from Boston and the kids love him so it was really special. The food was excellent of course and included stone crab claws, shrimp, baby potatoes with caviar cream and endives, brussels sprouts apple salad with walnuts and blue cheese, honey baked ham and mushroom marsala on toast points.
The best part of Christmas Eve though is setting up the living room for the kids. We cleared out some of the furniture and pushed the couches back so we could really maximize the space and so the kids could play with their toys in the middle while we sipped coffee and watched “A Christmas Story”. We vacuumed and dusted and made sure everything was clean and perfect for them, mostly Henry since Evelyn is still too young to understand what’s going on. Next year we may even let them fall asleep next to the tree. buy bystolic online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/bystolic.html no prescription
Christmas morning went off perfectly. The kids woke up around 7 and Henry could hardly contain himself. I always record his reaction to his Santa toys because those are the things he wanted the most. You can see this years video here. Evelyn just kind of wandered around playing with boxes and chewing on wrapping paper, which was to be expected. We made sausage balls and coffee crumb cake and unwrapped presents well into lunch time. Henry enjoyed a nutritious breakfast of cookies. We love how long the morning lasted and really got to appreciate every gift that was opened and every smile and laugh as our family of four.
the kids Christmas loot!
We went to my moms again for Christmas dinner which was another buffet of yumminess. My husband helped cook while the kids opened more presents and played with their new toys. Dinner consisted of a mushroom burrata lasagna and veal meatballs with marinara sauce. Dessert was a trifle tiramisu and I could have eaten the entire thing.
It was nearly 75 degrees so both the kids wore summer attire since it was too hot and muggy for my planned holiday outfits. Such a bummer because they were super cute.
We did things a little different this year and took all our decorations and trees down the day after Christmas. Usually we leave everything up until January 1 but with two kids, all their toys, a new kitten and Evelyn’s first birthday coming up, we needed to clean so we could think straight. Henry was super sad and kept saying “But I don’t want Christmas to be over” which was super cute and we explained to him that if Christmas was year round then we wouldn’t appreciate it as much. Our four day weekend was filled with lots of family, play time and togetherness. 2016 is right around the corner and next Christmas will be here in a blink of an eye for sure. We’re really trying to savor every moment we have together!
I agree that this Christmas was the best yet!! Having our kids understand more what it's about and what to expect is so much fun! I'm glad you guys had a good time and Santa was so good to your kids!! 😉 Your mom's house is gorgeous and I probably would have eaten seconds and thirds is that would've been my five star dinner!!