"Christmas time is here!
Happiness and cheer!
Fun for all, that children call, their favorite time of year!"
This year for Christmas our little family stayed at our own little home and did our own little thing.
It was kind of a bummer to not see any grandmas or grandpas or cousins. But it was also kind of nice to start a few traditions of our own and enjoy some festivities here. And enjoy them we did! Brinlee and I put together a December "to do" list and once daddy was done with finals, we stayed pretty busy and had a lot of fun crossing things off and soaking up our "favorite time of year"!
Shall we take a look?
Decorate the Tree: Check!
Once the tree was up it became the favorite place in the house. Because honestly, who doesn't love hanging out under there? It's magical! Unfortunately our busy girls loved it maybe a little too much? All month I watched the tree get progressively more bare and would find ornaments stashed with the toys all over the house.
Go see Christmas lights: Check!
We went to zoo lights! Columbus zoo is amazing all year round, but in the winter it really shines. Literally. They decorate the whole zoo with more lights than I have ever seen. Pictures don't do it justice, it was beautiful! But it was also freezing cold. Thank goodness our little ones are good little troopers. And thank goodness for hot cocoa!
The girls and I cut and colored and glued all month I think. So fun! But I also had a ladies night Christmas craft night and made a candy Christmas tree. It was fun! But word for the wise, it's not the best decoration to have when you have little candy-loving busy bodies at home...
Have a red and green dinner: Check!
Have a living room sleepover: Check!
Watch a Christmas movie: Check!
(The girls thought Elf was ok, but they both LOVED The Polar Express!)
Make and share a Christmas Treat: Check!
Our whole month was full of yummy goodies. The highlight items though would have to be cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, chips and homemade salsas, and homemade rolls and honey butter! Brinlee was particularly excited about the cookies... but was most willing to share the rolls.
Help Light the World: Check!
String Popcorn: Check!
We had a lot of fun working on the church's Light the World goals. I got some cheap tags and had the girls help be the ones to decide what we could do for each day's goal. Then, when we did it we would write it on a tag and hang it on our tree. It was kind of fun to watch our tree fill up! And the girls were surprisingly into it!
Also, I let Brinlee string some popcorn. She loved it! But that one little string there is as much as she could sit still for :)
Write letters to Santa: Check!
Make Gingerbread Houses: Check!
Mmm... ok, more like "Eat a lot of frosting and candy! Oh... and maybe put a couple on my graham crackers too". There, now that's a check mark. It really is amazing those houses actually got any decor at all! And that our children didn't get terrible stomach aches.
Play a Christmas Game: Check!
Christmas BINGO - Always a classic!
Go for a relaxing walk or two?: Check!
Believe it or not, I actually did not think to put this one on a December "to-do" list. But had I known that we would be seeing zero snow and some surprisingly gorgeous weather, I may have included it. In any case, it happened. And it happened with a new stroller! Our old one bit the dust so Tim worked his Craigslist magic and found us this fancy jogging stroller. So far it has only seen any jogging from Tim, I'm more of the walking type. But we really like it. And it's purple, so the girls love it!
Have a candlelight Christmas Eve Dinner: Check!
Act out the Nativity: Check!
Well, we tried anyway... Classic attempt. Every family home video collection needs one like this.
Dinner was amazing though!
Christmas morning was magical! All month our front porch was flooded with packages from our amazing family, and when we finally got to take a peek at it all we felt completely spoiled! We were very well taken care of and got some awesome stuff! Thank you grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles. You are amazing and made these 4 people here in Ohio feel very blessed, and VERY loved! We love you all!
I know I've said it before, and I will gladly say it a thousand times more. I am SO grateful for the Christmas season and what it means for us. I taught the Christmas lesson this year for the young women and felt really kind of overwhelmed with a new appreciation and love for what the message really means. It truly is wonderful that our Savior was born, and that He then lived, and died, and lives again now, for us, and for our eternal happiness.
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor,
the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace"
Oh how I love him!
*This Christmas was brought to you by the Letter A and the Number 2!
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