Christmas

We all slept in a little on Christmas morning after a late night out the night before. Claire woke up, went into the hallway and picked up a Barbie Doctor set that she had asked me to open for her the night before (Note to self: If I open a new gift and set it up in the hallway, Claire will wake up and begin playing with the toy allowing me to sleep in! A win-win situation!).

After making ourselves presentable, we drove over the river and through the woods to Grandma and Grandpa's house to see if Santa left any presents for Claire. She must have been good this past year, because there was a whole pile of presents under the tree with her name on them! She opened them all before her cousins arrived and was so thrilled with each of the gifts.

This year we had a full house for Christmas because my cousins and Trish and Johnny celebrated with us. We had a nice dinner consisting of spicy lasagna and ham, the proceeded to open gifts. Christmas Day was another whirlwind of gift opening. The kids (3 readers) were able to read the gift tags, pass out gifts and open any gifts bearing their names. The good news was that the gift opening festivities did not take hours. The bad news was that we didn't really get to see what everyone received because of the paper-ripping frenzy. Next year we will be more organized!

Christmas Eve

This year, Christmas Eve was extra special since it was my 60th birthday (according to Claire). I will gladly take "60" because, if I were in fact 60, I would look quite fabulous for my age! My brother and his wife hosted a lovely soiree complete with delectable appetizers, an unbelievable Chilean sea bass dinner and lots of family fun!

The kids eyed the many, many gifts under the Christmas tree, but they were very patient and did not beg us to open gifts the entire day. Once the gift opening began, however, there was a whirlwind of activity with paper flying all over the place amidst squeals of delight and joy. Since both Claire and her cousin can now read, they were reading the names on the gift tags, passing gifts by until they came to packages with their names on them, then proceeding to open them immediately. Next year we'll have to slow things down a bit so we can fully enjoy each of the gifts as they're opened.

We ended the evening with everyone singing Happy Birthday to me and enjoying a delicious ice cream cake. I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate my 60th birthday!

Gingerbread House Decorating Contest

Our town has a special Christmas celebration each year. We've never gone to any of the events, but this year Claire decided she wanted to build her own gingerbread house and enter it in the gingerbread house contest.

We went to an old fashioned candy store and selected some candy we thought would look fabulous on a gingerbread house and I picked up a few other items to have on hand for the project.

After mixing, cutting and baking the dough, we put together the gingerbread house and began decorating. Claire had so many great ideas for her house. I was merely her little helper. When the gingerbread house was complete, Claire was so proud of her work. We stressed that even if she didn't win first place, the most important thing was that she tried her best. This had to be stressed over and over, since winning first place is an important goal for a 5 1/2 year old.

We dropped off the gingerbread house on Friday night for judging, then came back to pick it up and see the results of the judging on Saturday afternoon. We were absolutely thrilled to see that Claire had won first place!!!! She was so excited!! She received a beautiful medal which she displays proudly in her room and shows anyone who visits our house. Way to go, Claire Bear!!!!

Holiday Photo Cards

One of my favorite things about the holidays is receiving (and sending!) holiday photo cards in the mail. I love, love, love it! It's so exciting to see everyone's pictures and, if they're long distance friends or family, how much their children have grown. Claire loves seeing the cards from her friends' families and eagerly awaits our mail carrier Robin's arrival each day. All of our picture cards are displayed on our refrigerator and pantry doors until the end of January. I simply can't put them away right after Christmas!

Our Cards on Display

I also agonize about the holiday card we send out each year: Which picture should we choose? Which card should we choose? It is literally hours and hours of agonizing for me. It's probably a little OCD on my part. : )

This was our 2010 card:

A Very Merry Christmas

We had such a nice Christmas today. We headed to my parents' house around 11:00. When we arrived, Claire went to the Christmas tree and marveled at all of the gifts there. She studied the gift tags until she found one that said "Claire" on it. We read the tag together: To: Claire, From: Santa. She was so excited that Santa had visited Grandma and Grandpa's house and left presents for her!! We let her open a few Santa presents and she was thrilled with the gifts she received. I just love experiencing the magic of Christmas with Claire!

Later, after my brother and his family arrived, we opened a few more presents that were nestled under the tree, then took a break to enjoy a dinner - filet, broccoli, rolls, potatoes and string beans. Everything was quite delicious!

The children were quick to point out that we still had more gifts to open...so we headed back to the family room. Everyone in our family must have been really good this year because there were tons of presents! After Claire opened a gift, she brought it to me and asked me to open it (for most of her gifts anyway). My dad had to help me with a few because they were wired into the boxes so tightly.

Once all of the presents were opened, it was time for dessert! I made Mr. L's cream puffs and I was eager for everyone to try them (They were great!). We enjoyed the cream puffs along with vanilla ice cream with my mom's raspberry sauce, panettone, cookies and chocolates. We always have tons of desserts.

I truly feel so lucky to have such a wonderful, fun, kind, loving family! Being part of such a family is what life is all about.

Christmas Eve

We had a great day celebrating Christmas Eve (and my birthday) at my brother and sister in law's house! They are such wonderful hosts and holidays (and regular days too!) spent there are always filled with fun, laughter and delicious food! Today was no exception. My parents were there too, of course.

Relaxing by the Christmas tree

Reading The Night Before Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

Singing Happy Birthday to Me!

Christmas Party

I have been a member of a local moms' group since February '07. Joining the group was one of the best things I've ever done as a mom. We've met so many other great families through this group who have filled our days with playdates and park outings and our nights with parties and get togethers. It has really been great for us!

Last year the group hosted a family Christmas party for the first time. We were unable to attend, but we didn't miss it this year! Approximately 113 moms, dads and kids attended the party which was held at a local church's auditorium. The kids rode around on little cars and bikes while the parents socialized. There was a ton of food - both catered and homemade. Santa Claus himself actually came to the party! We clapped as he walked through the room and headed for the stage where each child was called to come up on stage to receive a gift. This was actually the first time Claire sat on Santa's lap and she jumped right up with a huge smile on her face! She was absolutely thrilled with her gift -- a Sleeping Beauty doll. It was the only princess doll she needed to complete her collection. How did Santa know?