The kids had been anxiously waiting for Christmas to arrive. So much so that we had not only one, but TWO countdowns hanging in the kitchen. Every day we'd have to remind them how many more days until the big day would arrive. There was definitely much excitement in the air! The wait was hardly bearable.
The days trickled by and FINALLY Christmas Eve was upon us. We loaded up our crew for a short drive to Nana Judy's and Popi Dave's house. There were fun presents to unwrap, exciting games to play, a pickle to find hiding on the tree, delicious dinner and desserts, and many, many giggles and laughs. It was a wonderful time for all!
Before we knew it, it was time to head home and get all the littles tucked into bed. Santa had a lot of work in store to prepare for Christmas morning.
Morning came early for all but the teenager who was still fast asleep even with all the commotion coming from the upstairs hallway.
The kids woke up to a hallway full of gifts left for them by El Nino Jesus.
Eventually our sleeping beauty awoke from his slumber and made his way out of his room to see what El Nino Jesus had left for him.
Kate had been gifted several dresses and accessories, and the big girls wasted no time getting dolled up to celebrate the day.
After all the excitement upstairs, it was time to make our way downstairs to see what Santa had brought. The night before, Rose had put out cookies and milk for the big guy and carrots for the reindeer. Rose and Kate were excited to see that Santa had enjoyed his treats.
The kids lined up in a row, eagerly waiting for their overflowing stockings to be delivered. They excitedly pulled out each item to see what Santa had brought.
We took a pause in the gift opening to gobble up homemade caramel rolls, a wardrobe change for Kate (she just HAD to try on another dress!), and a bit of playtime before opening the rest of Santa's gifts.
The kids were chomping at the bit to see what else Santa had brought and soon "I wanna go first" arguments ensued, so out came a hat and in went everyone names. Each took a turn pulling a name from the hat and hand-delivering Santa's gift to the lucky recipient. And just like that, dispersing the gifts became just as fun as opening them.
There were two more gifts for each kiddo from Mom and Pa. Somehow we managed to space out the remainder of the present opening throughout the day and into the evening with lots of playing and exploring their new gifts in-between.
Rose loved her new sled but was equally excited about the box that it came in as she climbed right in to test it out.
For Christmas dinner, we dined on salads (well, not the boys - they couldn't even be bribed to taste a salad!), crab legs, broccoli, rice and rolls.
The Taste of Scandinavia supplied the dessert - a very rich flourless chocolate cake. We exclaimed, "Happy birthday, Jesus!" rather than singing (because singing 'Happy Birthday' causes Aria some distress).
It was the perfect way to end the day celebrating Jesus's birth. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
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