Christmas 2012

First--we kicked off the season with the Holiday Hurrah at Ian's school. Each grade sings two holiday songs,  followed by some classroom visiting (which is always fun for the parents...but even more novel for the kiddos). 

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Christmas Eve at our house finds everyone (everyone) busy with preparations for the big day. Every year, Joe makes Santa's cookies with the boys, and this year Ian was able to do most of the work. In fact, he really took this whole thing by the horns and started the process with a family brainstorming session as to the type of cookie Santa should get. After making a list of...ohhhh, I don't know....15 or 16?....kinds of cookies, he used the uber-scientific method of eenie-meenie-miney-moe to make this year's selection: banana drop cookies. Now, I had no idea these even existed--in fact, when Joe added them to the list, I thought he was making it up as Ian was rather insistent that the Cookie Candidate List be as long as possible. But no! They exist! And they're delicious!

After Santa's cookies, we all got our pj's on and set out the ingredients to make a snack for the reindeer food (oats, carrots, and glitter). You'll be happy to note that the reindeer at almost everything. 

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd this was the best we could do to photograph our children together in front of the tree on Christmas Eve. Blake wasn't in a......cooperative?.......mood.

On Christmas morning, the boys woke up at a very respectable 7:45am. (In fact, I was up at 7:15 and feeling rather anxious for those kids to get out of bed and start the day! It was all I could do to let them sleep. Christmas morning as a mom is super awesome.)

At our house, Santa fills the stockings, and everything under the tree comes from people we know and love.

Best stocking stuffer? "I can't believe Santa knows that I love Ramen Noodles!"

About five years ago I read on a blog about a family who gives each person four gifts at Christmas--something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. And that's the beginning and end of what comes from Mom and Dad. Joe and I thought it was brilliant and have been using that method ever since. Add into the mix gifts from grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts/uncles/cousins, and friends, and our family is still spoiled rotten....but we love the simplicity of four gifts with four specific purposes. 

Blake thought the present was better for riding.

Ian's something to read? A space encyclopedia (which he's already poured through...maybe twice).
This was the first of four encyclopedias (encyclopediae?) he received.
He's a happy boy.

Joe has wanted a Shop-Vac FOREVER. Glad to say that we finally came through...

.....and then the boys did the REAL work of playing with the box.

Christmas morning wouldn't be Christmas morning without Eggs Benedict.
Not gonna lie--having a 6 year-old who loves Hollandaise makes my heart pitter patter.

Some families are open-everything-at-once families.
We are a play-as-you-go family. For us, opening a present means opening a present.
Assembly, play, etc. It's magical.
...And it takes ALL DAY LONG, which is just how I like it. Here, we're playing Hiss, Blake's new color-matching game.

Every Christmas day we make ice cream. Blake had ice duties this year. It was delicious.

I don't know why I continue to underestimate the fun-factor of packing peanuts. 

We had a quiet Christmas dinner at home. Ian was in charge of choosing the meat--ham--which ended up being wise on his part. I can't complain about preparing a meat course that is already fully cooked. =)

Every Christmas, our traditional dessert is my grandmother's chocolate bread pudding and our homemade ice cream. It was delicious......

...and we even let Blake eat right out of the server. It is Christmas, after all!