Christmas

We started a new Christmas Eve tradition this year that I hope we can continue. I've wanted to do it for awhile, but put it off since the kids weren't really old enough to read song lyrics and Austin isn't a big singer. This year the older three are old enough to read song lyrics and the younger two have most Christmas hymns partially memorized, so I though we could try. It was very low key and began with each of the older kids playing a Christmas song on the piano that they've been working on for the past week. Then we sang a verse or two of my favorite Christmas hymns and Austin read the Christmas story from the Bible, before eating some cookies and each kid opening a present. Natalie took it upon herself to pass out the cookies.

We don't start Christmas morning until around 8 am when the girls usually get up. Natalie was up at least a dozen times throughout the night (and me along with her) because her nose was a bit stuffy and making it hard for her to sleep. She also registered with a high fever, but it disappeared soon after she woke up, so it might have been that she was just super warm from being in bed. Anyway, Austin had to wake Natalie up at 8 and I was glad sleep in too.

The kids were excited for their stockings- they always get candy, a new animal figurine, and coupons for one-on-one time with mom or dad. They have also been making little gifts and drawings for each other and Austin and I, so those were in the stockings too.

Christmas morning is always exciting since it is the one morning of the year the kids are allowed to have candy before breakfast.

I think this was the best reaction we got to a present we gave the kids:

Heidi was so excited to get a little cross-stitching kit for a picture of a hedgehog.

We opened up all the presents from our little family before we had breakfast, then waited for grandparents to wake up while we were eating crepes.

As you can see, Natalie got a ballet leotard in pink and was so excited to put it on. Here she also has on the apron that Heidi made (with some help from mom) her for Christmas.

Asher and Leif were eager to help make breakfast (especially the sausage) but did not want to wear one of my aprons. Asher took it off the minute after I tied it on.

After breakfast we got ahold of grandparents and opened the presents from them.

This year we did a cousin name draw so that they gave/got a present to one of their cousins. Natalie was thrilled with the gift from her cousin Fletcher who gave her a dress with dogs on it and a puppy book.

The kids spent the rest of the day playing with their new gifts and eating yummy food. We had lasagna by candle light (which the kids just love doing) and Christmas cookies.

 

Christmas Baking

One of my favorite things about Christmas is making Christmas cookies! And eating them! We've made several different batches this year. The kids love to help me and I usually have the patience for it, but sometimes I just like to do it myself. Even then, though, the kids usually find someway to convince me to let them help with something.

This year I let them decorate the gingerbread house all by themselves while I ran to the grocery store and this is what they came up with. They enjoyed eating some of it, but discovered it really wasn't that good and mostly ended up just playing with it. Poor Trevor threw up after he ate some because it had milk products in it that I hadn't noticed when I read the list of ingredients. Luckily, after he threw up, he seemed to be fine, so we are glad about that. We have since decided that graham crackers are a good choice for him when the other kids get to have things that he can't.

Heidi has helped me make peanut butter kiss cookies for the last couple years and was looking forward to it this year. Her special job it to unwrap all the kisses, roll the balls of dough in sugar and put them on the tray, then push a kiss onto each one once they come out of the oven.

 Chocolate cookies with Andes mints and/or M&Ms are my favorite Christmas cookies and the only ones that Austin really likes since they taste like brownies. The kids all fight over unwrapping the Andes and putting them onto the cookies when they come out of the oven. Too bad nobody ever fights over cleaning up and doing the dishes ;) (except Natalie, who makes more of a mess than anything when she washes the dishes)

And it wouldn't be Christmas without a batch of Christmas bread. This recipe has been passed down through my mom's family and was part of every Christmas when I was little. I still make a batch each Christmas for my kids to enjoy and Heidi loved helping with the cinnamon sugar filling this year.