We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was nice to have everyone come to us for a change. We spend so many of our Christmases traveling around trying to visit family. Since our families live far away (mine in northern PA and Steve's in Maine) it always feels like we are on the road during the holidays.
The boys were so excited about Christmas this year. Our Christmas festivities began with my parents arriving in the afternoon on Christmas eve. Then, in the evening we went to our churches Christmas eve service. It was so nice. After the service we drove around for a bit looking at Christmas lights in the neighborhoods. This is something that Steve's family used to do when he was growing up.
Since Steve and I were never brought up believing in Santa, we have decided that we won't be doing much in the way of Santa for our kids. I know that this decision is against the "flow" of society, but it is something that we both feel is a good choice for our family.
One tradition that I want to start is to have a "birthday party" for baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. Since we were looking at the lights this year we ran out of time to do this. I am hoping that next year and in years to come we can add this in to our evening.
Christmas morning brought so much excitement to our home. I had decided that we would have a light breakfast first thing and then do a big brunch later in the morning. Once my sister arrived, the kids were ready to dive in to their gifts. Actually, I was amazed how polite they were in the midst of it all. Yes they were ripping and tearing into everything, but there were a lot of "thank yous" and hugs too. A proud moment for me. We got about half way through with the unwrapping and my grandparents and aunt and uncle arrived. We had invited them to come for brunch and to give gifts. It actually worked out perfectly for the boys to have a little break. They seemed to enjoy just playing with the gifts that they had gotten so far.
The brunch turned out great. Our menu: Ham and asparagus quiche, fresh fruit platter, Belgian Waffles, Sausage and of course my grandmother's Holiday Pudding. Perfect!!
It was great to spend some time with my grandparents and aunt and uncle. They left in the early afternoon and then we had some down time. It was nice to take a break.
We were so happy to have our friends Jeff and Emily join us for Christmas dinner that evening. They are expecting a baby in January and couldn't travel to visit family this year. We had a delicious ham dinner and a great time with my family and our friends.
The next day Steve's mom and sister drove down from Maine to spend a few days with us . It was so good to have both of our families here. This is something that does not happen often. We celebrated Christmas with Steve's family Saturday night after they arrived. Then we enjoyed a delicious dinner from our favorite place, Tallutos. It is a little Italian market that sells fresh pasta and sauces. I highly recommend everything that they make. Yummy!!!
We had such a great Christmas. I feel truly blessed.
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