A Christmas Season of Change

This Christmas was definitely a season of change for our family.  It was very exciting time, full of new traditions.

With JC’s work schedule we were stuck at home on Christmas Eve.  He spent most of the afternoon and evening at work; however he was able to come home for a short break for dinner.  Anderson and I spent some quality time together during our hours alone.  We popped some popcorn, watched Home Alone and played with her toys. 

When JC got home we were able to do a very quick version of a new Christmas Eve tradition.  We ate soup, let Anderson open her first gift (jammies, a new Christmas ornament and new “Twas the Night Before Christmas” book), and took a quick drive through the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. 

The Christmas light viewing was probably my favorite part of the night.  Anderson normally is not a fan of riding in the car, but she seemed to enjoy it on Christmas Eve.  We listened to Christmas tunes and claps of her hands along with squeals of delight when she saw Santa aglow in a yard. 

Later that night, we laid out cookies, milk and carrots for Santa and the reindeer.  She grabbed a handful of cookies to put on Santa’s plate, but we quickly scaled that down to three.  

Once she was fast asleep, and JC was home from work again, the two of us went to work wrapping and assembling toys in Santa’s workshop.  He was busy putting together an 80 step play kitchen, while I wrapped all of Anderson’s gifts.  We enjoyed spending a couple hours together preparing an awesome Christmas for our girl, while watching the “Christmas Story” marathon.  We don’t get a lot of alone time, or sometimes time together in general, so this was a fun tradition I know we will continue on Christmas Eve night, just like my parents did for me years ago.

On Christmas morning we woke up and Anderson explored what Santa had left her.  She was a little overwhelmed with the whole process.  She wanted to play with whatever toy was opened, and definitely did not care about any clothes in the mix.  But we still had tons of fun opening gifts and sharing this experience with her.  Even our dog, Wrigley, was in heaven with his gifts from Santa.  He didn’t try to destroy any of Anderson’s toys for at least a couple hours.

We hosted Christmas lunch/dinner for some of our family.  Thankfully nothing was burnt, or tasted too terrible to eat.  But I definitely have a new found appreciation for all of the people who do the holiday cooking on Christmas.  It’s a big job to unwrap gifts, try to clean up so people can have a place to sit, and get a nice meal together in a few hours.

The rest of Christmas weekend was spent celebrating the holiday with the rest of our families.  I’m thankful that we were able to spend time with everyone.  I know this will be a memorable holiday as it included many new, fun traditions.