In our house we celebrate Christmas first and foremost because of the birth of Jesus. We also believe that Santa comes, and we teach that he brings presents in celebration of Jesus' birth too. We had so much fun this season teaching Teagan about that first Christmas and with all the excitement that surrounds Santa as well.
One of the traditions I wanted to keep from my family was getting to open up one present on Christmas Eve. And it was typically new pjs that we would wear for Christmas morning. I had some others picked out, but when I saw these coordinating ones I had to get them!
Our Christmas Eve ended up being a busy one. We met some friends for dinner and got home a little late to make cookies. But we stayed up past bedtime and made them anyway. I love being in the kitchen with my girl, and I look forward to Reynolds getting to participate next year.
Leaving cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer!
...it's like he knows what she's about to do {see next pic} and is giving her the look of "are you sure you want to do this?!"
Teagan sampling a chocolate chip from Santa's cookie. oh my. And Reynolds looking at his dad thinking either, "can you believe that?!?"...or "but daddy, I want some too."
Saying goodbye to Josephine before she heads back to the North Pole until next year. I was seriously upset about having to see Teagan say goodbye. I read a poem that says, "one last wish for me would be, a hug from the children I'm about to leave, I won't lose my powers on this last night; cause Santa will be bringing me on his magical flight." So I told her that she could say goodbye. She gave her the biggest hug and kissed her and even told her that she loved her. Melt. And since this moment, she continues to ask where Josephine is and tells us she wants her to come back.
Another tradition we decided to start this year was an idea I got from my friend Meagan about gifts. The idea is that you give them:
something they want,
something they need,
something to wear,
something to read.
I really liked this idea because I think it keeps me from going overboard. For us, we made these presents from Mommy and Daddy, and Santa brought his own.
CHRISTMAS MORNING!
Santa came!!
{big, red lollypop and a cow necklace for Teagan...random, but exactly what she asked for!}
...and a new woombie for Reynolds.
I decided to start a new Christmas breakfast tradition this year. We made beignets for breakfast. I was prepared for this to possibly be the first and last year for this tradition, but it turned out to be fairly easy...and yummy too, so we'll be continuing this. A friend saved me from using the recipe that involved a packet of dry yeast and water at 105 degrees. She said her family uses the Cafe du Monde box mix, and since that's where I fell in love with beignets I figured we would give it a try. Thank you Angela! Teagan slept in until 9am on this morning so it gave me time to prep everything beforehand.
Not sure about this face. Who knows.
I definitely watched many youtube videos to try and prepare myself for making these, and in one of them they used cookie cutters rather than the traditional squares to make it fun for the kids. I love anything festive, so I was all for it!
This little man is awake and waiting for his sister!
...and the princess woke up!
Only on Christmas morning can you start eating a lollypop the size of your face before breakfast.
Dear Santa, we promise he was excited.
This year, we tried to really involve Teagan in on the gift giving. We allowed her to pick out presents for our whole family. Many came from the $1/$3 spot at Target or at Marshall's. So it wasn't that these gifts were that expensive or nice, but I liked being able to teach her about giving to others and that we could leave the store with presents for other people and not necessarily something for ourselves.
...so with that, Daddy got an Elmo Christmas Hugs book and a shirt from "Hobby Lobby" {He did get a shirt but it was not from Hobby Lobby...but that's what she told him when she almost spoiled the surprise.}
...little man still sleeping through this.
Growing up, Patrick's parents always did a scavenger hunt for the last present. Sometimes it was their big present, sometimes it was money. This was definitely a tradition that he wanted to continue for our family. So, we set aside Teagan and Reynolds' "want" presents for the end of this. Teagan got the hang of it pretty quickly, and Reynolds even woke up in time to go along. We got a video of the whole thing, but forgot to snap pictures along the way. Here's Teagan opening up her DVDs at the end. She got Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladin, and The Lion King. {Thank you ebay for letting me spend less than $30 rather than $80 retail.} Reynolds got a little bookbag with his name monogrammed on it, and they both got some coins to put in their piggy bank.
Once all the presents were opened, I started cooking breakfast while everyone else started The Little Mermaid. Teagan was so excited to watch the movies as soon as she opened them. And I may have been looking forward to this day since I found out she was a girl.
Little man hanging out while we eat.
Patrick cleaned up the kitchen while I watched the rest of the movie with T.
After naptime, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house {Papa G and GiGi}. My cousin Mandy had just gotten into town and we all had dinner together. We had blackened prime rib, french onion soup, wedge salads, and baked potatoes. It was absolutely delicious, as is anything that my uncle cooks. And we were stuffed, as we are any time we leave their house.
It was a day full of excitement and it left us exhausted, but in the best way. Thankful for a Savior that humbly came to this world as a baby and for family that make celebrating His birth so special.
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