Simple Celebrations
We celebrated Christmas rather simply this year.
Christmas Eve was spent with my in-laws. We had a nice dinner and opened our presents. We also spent a lot of time just sitting at the kitchen table and talking. The kids even sat with us. It is amazing the power chips and dip can have over our kids. Even with piles of presents waiting for them in the other room, they were content to shovel food in their mouths while the adults talked.
We got home late enough on Christmas Eve that all of the kids fell asleep while we were driving. We woke them all up and helped them set out cookies and Pepsi for Santa. (Sorry, he doesn't drink milk at our house!) Then we turned off all the lights in the house, with the exception of the tree, and cuddled up to say prayers together. It was such a sweet, simple moment, but it's one I think I'll remember for a long time.
Christmas day was quiet but wonderful. We stayed home all day and didn't have any company come over. In fact, Eric and I stayed in our pajamas all day, just because we could!
The kids opened all of their presents then we had our traditional Christmas breakfast favorite of mini-blinis. This is a tradition I've carried over from my childhood and it will not be changed! Fortunately, Eric and the kids love the mini-blinis as much as I do.
I also made a ham and some potato pancakes later in the day. It wasn't much, and it wasn't fancy, but we still really enjoyed ourselves. The kids spent the day playing and it definitely felt like Christmas!
My parents buy a nice, big ham for us every year as one of our Christmas gifts and we still have a lot leftover. I'm excited to package it all up for the freezer. I think leftover ham is one of my favorites, especially using the ham bone to make soup.
Did you have a big celebration or a simple celebration for Christmas? Which do you prefer? I've personally struggled with embracing a simpler Christmas, but it gets easier with each passing year. Plus, I still get to indulge in the big celebration every other year when we go to my parents' house.
10 comments:
What a great Christmas! :) (Hehe- that's hilarious- Santa drinks Pepsi. It's like a commercial.) :)
We lazed around in our pjs for most of the day, then chatted with family on the phone. Then we walked over to visit some friends for the afternoon. It was so fun to go caroling through the snow!
Yum- leftover ham. :)
Blessings,
Michele
Ahhh, a simple Christmas sounds so nice. We used to have that when I was a kid. Actually, we do in a sense, but not as simple as it should be. Glad to hear you had a great Christmas. Thanks for sharing.
We had a much simpler Christmas this year than we often do, and it was SO nice! There was no let down today, just content thankfulness. I thought I'd miss the bustle and to-do, but I actually found it refreshing to have a change. We'll see what happens next year, though. ; )
I love a layed back, relaxing day. Most of the day I spent in my pj's. Family came over around 5. Then it got all crazy. The kids went on present overload.
All and all, a great day : )
Thanks for sharing your Christmas day with us. Ours was very similiar to yours and we liked it that way. Come on over to my blog to read about our day!
Sounds like a wonderful day---I love all-day jammie days! We have introduced those to the kids for special occasions.
And I think the chip/dip thing is a universal one with kids. My 3yo hovered over the "grandma dip" for most of the night on Christmas Eve. We learned the "dip once" rule LOL
We love celebrating Christmas just the 6 of us. It is so relaxing and fun. Last year I had 3 relatives come and stay for a week and while it was fun, I can't say it was relaxing. I prefer just us.
Your Christmas sounds so nice, especially the pajama part:)
Your Christmas breakfast sounds yummy, too. We have a special one that I've been making for years now--I just might blog about that!:)
Thanks so much for sharing your Christmas traditions! :0)
Sounds like you had a nice Christmas.
I like a combination of both a quiet Christmas and a fun-filled Christmas.
I just stopped by to say hello.
Happy New Year to you.
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