Christmas at Our House

Well, it is all said and done, and overall it was a successful Christmas, filled with traditions like matching jammers, and just the right foods. I love Christmas foods. We always have lasagna, garlic bread, and green salad for Christmas Eve like I always had at my grandparents when I was growing up (except our lasagna is Stouffers, rather than my grandpa's yummy homemade one). For Christmas morning we have bacon-wrapped pineapple (from my family tradition) and cinnamon rolls (from Dave's). Christmas day we have a ham dinner.


As for activities...Christmas Eve we read in Luke 2, and had a talent show.


Number Three did gymnastics.


Number Two did ballet.


Number One sang an original song which was quite good about wondering where the star is now (the new star from the night of Christ's birth). Number Four sang some too while she sang, which was cute.


Number Five tolerated the evening well.


We were able to have some really great experiences of true Christmas giving this month. However, our Christmas day still had a fair amount of good old Christmas carnage....wrapping paper all over, and the high volume of new toys (not neccessarily tons of toys, just some that are really loud).


Number One and Number Two each received American Girl things from Santa.


Number Three scored Barbie Diamond Castle...with plenty of lights and sounds.


Number Four got a train table, and is totally in love with it. It has all kinds of sound effects.


Number Five got a bumbo seat type thing and a few new rattle toys. Based on the yawn, I'm thinking she hasn't yet grasped the idea of being excited for Santa.


Santa actually surprised me for the first time in many years. He brought new frying pans so our food wouldn't have to have that extra yummy hint of teflon anymore. Plus a spatuala and measuring cups that are pretty cool...the measuring cups flatten out. Our cheap 1 cup measuring cups keep losing their handles!


Dave and I gave the kids a "Christmas All Year Long" gift. This was our commitment to a fun family date every month. Ideas include sledding, the zoo, camping, foil dinners and smores in our firepit with a game night, the drive-in movie, etc. Also included were two coaster cars for the promise of a Coaster Car Park Adventure.


Thanks for the coaster car idea Kim! The kids (and parents) have had a blast going round and around the track in our house...from the foyer to the living room, dining room, kitchen, and back around again. This is a LOUD activity, but great for kids being cooped up from the cold. We can't wait to take them outside in the spring too.


The kids also received some other fun gifts from grandparents and cousins. Their own gift exchange gifts came from our inexpensive school holiday store. We pretty much stayed in our pajamas for most of the day (except for Number Three, who got to be a fairy thanks to a cousin gift). It was nice to just relax, at least as much as possible with a houseful of little children!


The kids enjoyed playing with their new things. The littler kids' gifts from Santa were quite popular.


Some Grammy of ours determined it was cute to put candy canes on top of the gifts when she brought them the weekend of the baptism. Some little boy at our house has driven me crazy trying to get them since then.


He was finally successful. This is him saying "treat" while hiding behind the couch, of course.


Dave and I napped off and on since Christmas Eve was such a very very late night. Between assembly tasks and making stockings for the last two kids from scratch (stockings are like the only thing I sew), there was a lot stirring in our home on the night before Christmas. Last year we used a Baby's First Christmas stocking for Number Four, but I was determined to finish his off before he woke up Christmas morning this year. I got Number Five's done as well as a bonus. I love how they look all stretched across.


Number Four provided me with my favorite Christmas memory of the year. I happened to glance in the new castle and found some extra visitors. Later, I actually managed to catch him playing with his new trains in the castle. He had no interest in the Barbies themselves, but thoroughly enjoyed train adventures. He made the trains go in and out of the doors, drive wildly down the stairs, and even sit on the furniture. What a guy.


Hope your Christmas was as merry as ours! Now back to the clean-up...