It's the most wonderful time of the year -- both because I'm blogging about Christmas AND because in actuality, Spring is just around the corner and my flowers are beginning to bloom! But I'm going to pretend once again that it's actually still December and for our Christmas season of 2023, I'm going to break it down as follows:
- LIGHTS...
December Nights, December Lights -- a 2nd grade winter musical.
The beginning of December brought us a special musical performance by Isaac and the rest of the 2nd grade. Was the auditeria absolutely packed with wall-to-wall people? Yes. Yes, it was. Was it also super stuffy with all those people crowding into one place? Again, that would be a yes. But was it worth battling the crowds to experience this winter holiday extravaganza? Of course, it was. Hahaha.
The musical had songs to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Dia de Las Posadas -- in which Isaac was featured in a small group ensemble, much to his dismay. Even though he was singing with 2 other kids (and for only one small segment of the song) he was super nervous and part of me worried he'd be a no-go once it was his time to step forward with his group. In the end, he battled that stage fright and joined in where he was supposed to, and I was proud of him for being so brave.
After the musical, Isaac informed me that he was glad that was over with. Hahaha.
Isaac really enjoys posing for the camera. Lol.
Cutie patooties.
- CAMERA...
For this segment of the post, you get to enjoy a photo dump from my camera roll covering the rest of our festivities leading up to Christmas day. Hahaha. Some of our favorite family traditions are: getting a new ornament each year for Christmas, decorating gingerbread houses, opening family presents on Christmas Eve, and Jolabokaflod.
I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with the idea to make these friendship bracelet ornaments. I like the subtle nod it gives to Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour concert AND our road trip playlist compilation that featured music from all the eras since the kids were born.
I used heavy wire for the bracelet core to keep its circular shape intact once it was hanging on the tree.
Not gonna lie -- I really enjoyed coming up with the different bead color combos for each kid, and I'd like to think I nailed it for everyone. Hahaha.
For this year's annual gingerbread house decorating event, I broke from tradition and didn't even bother with a pre-made kit since no one has really bothered with putting them together over the last few years. Instead, I spent lots of time, labor, and aggravation on cutting out individual gingerbread house cookies along with some gingerbread men and women, and a few different Christmas themed cookies. And it was mostly totally worth it. Hahahaha.
I have to admit -- opening family presents on Christmas Eve is one of my favorite traditions. Hahaha. The biggest hit of the kids' haul was an indoor sensory swing I got online to hang up in the bonus room. Isaac in particular loves it, but the older kids have had fun giving it a whirl as well. Rounding out the family gifts were some games and puzzles which, while kind of predictable at this point, are nevertheless a core staple of our Christmas festivities.
Ethan's 3 gifts before I boxed them up and mailed them. He got a new tie, a Book of Mormon scripture-a-day desk calendar, and a box of star ornaments featuring the different names of Christ.
The Game of Life: Target edition -- I couldn't NOT get this for the fam. LOL.
Swing Time!
As per tradition, everyone gets me a book and I give books to everyone.
96 Facts About Taylor Swift -- a fitting book for our resident Swiftie.
The kids have all loved the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, so "No Brainer" -- the latest installment in the series, was a no brainer for Alex. Hahahahahahahaha.
Isaac is big into graphic novels and loves these Cat Kid Comic Club books.
Sophie's "book" was K Pop related, so she was pleased as punch to get something more to add to her ever-growing collection.
('Twas the Night Before Christmas)
- ACTION!
Christmas morning vibes.
Apparently making scavenger hunt type clues for the kids to find their presents under the tree is just something I do now. Or at least, that's what the kids expect me to do, and I aim to please. Haha.
Isaac with his 3 "Santa" gifts...
Alex with his...
Jane...
Sophie...
and Grace.
At the moment, I can't really remember what all Isaac got in his loot, but this year-long subscription to Crunch Labs was (and still is) a big hit! (It's a Mark Rober engineering project that comes every month in the mail.)
I think this was my favorite "unconventional" gift given this year -- a Bamboo Bath Caddy.
I customized this black dog rice-bag-warmer-thing-y by using amber-colored embroidery floss on the eyes to make him look like Maxwell. Since she obviously can't have her dog out at school, I thought she might like to have this substitute as a stand-in.
We were able to video chat with Ethan while he opened his presents and it was great to have him with us (in a manner of speaking) for a small part of our Christmas morning.
Eat, Sleep, K Pop, Repeat. LOL. Not that she'll ever where this sweatshirt outside of the house, but the sentiment applies. Haha. (The gift box contained an assortment of K Pop albums and posters.)
(Grace also got a bunch of gift cards to supplement her living away from home.)
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