We had a very nice Christmas with the kids being way too spoiled by their grandparents! They each got to open one present on Christmas Eve- the older boys chose a Lego set from my dad and had it completely done by the time I got home from walking Torben on Christmas morning. I chose the presents for the younger three to open from my dad because I knew they would go crazy for them- they have all been wanting stuffed animals called Warmies that you can warm up in the microwave like a rice pack. Heidi has been saving money for months trying to afford an otter and they all squealed with delight when they opened the packages.
We had crepes for breakfast while the kids opened their stockings. Surprisingly the kids ate a lot fewer crepes this time since they were also snacking on Christmas candy ;)
Asher has been saving up money for about a year and got this R/C car just before Christmas. He was very excited to decorate it with lights and deliver the presents with it.
The kids FaceTimed with my dad while they opened the presents from him.
My mom got the boys huge Lego-like sets to all share together and they have enjoyed working on them. A week later there is only one left to do.
My mom also got the kids lots of little arts and crafts projects- the girls are crazy about stuff like this and spend all day jumping from one project to the next.
Austin's parents came over a little before the rest of his family so that his dad could make some of our dinner with the kids. Trevor and Natalie bombarded his mom to read them Christmas books which helped keep them out of the way.
We had everyone make their own crystal rolls, Korean beef lettuce wraps, or Vietnamese meatball sandwiches. Leif was disappointed with our Asian theme because he likes that we usually do lasagna for Christmas, but I thought a change would be nice this year. We had so much food left over that I didn't cook for the rest of the week!
Our kids always love playing with their cousins and had lots of fun with everyone.
