CHRISTMAS THINGS - 2016

{12.25.16}

Christmas is a season of anticipation. Those that know me know that I love planning and I love looking forward to things - so needless to say, I love this time of year and can't believe it's already come and gone! One of my favorite things is the excitement and anticipation that come with holiday traditions. I love hearing about what other families do every year and I've loved starting some new traditions of our own.

This year, we continued our yearly tradition of jumping into the car the Friday after thanksgiving and going to pick out a Christmas tree. It was a blast to take Emet along this time - Of course, he wanted to touch all of the trees! We spent the rest of that weekend pulling all the Christmas boxes out of the attic and putting our home into the holiday spirit. 🎄 Watching his curiosity and excitement as he experienced all of this for the first time made this season particularly sweet! 

As we approached the Christmas weekend, we went out early in the week to make sure the food for the festivities were purchased and ready for assembly. Meal planning for food that allow us to snack all day is basically the best. To do this, we created a Google doc with a list of all of the meals, recipes, and shopping items. (I know, I have issues. Haha!)  We made the planning time fun by putting on Christmas music and drinking egg nog. 😊 We've been doing this process for a few years now and it's funny how it has become a yearly tradition we look forward to.

For the first time this year - on Christmas Eve - Calvin, Emet, and I got into our pajamas, fixed a warm drink, put on Charlie Brown Christmas, and drove around looking at all of the best Christmas lights in town. The best!

Christmas morning we begin the day with Christmas music to set the mood, breakfast, and family time opening gifts. We decided that we wanted to be at home as much as possible on Christmas day. Since we have a big family that is spread out, it can be difficult to move around a little one from place to place. To allow for the consistency of home and spending time with family and friends we opened our home after 1:00PM. To top off the day, we spent the evening gathered around the table eating good food, playing games, and soaking up company. I'd say it was a good day.

What are some things that make your holidays memorable? 

|  Credits: Author - Jacintha Payne; Photography - Calvin and Jacintha Payne  |