In Which We Ate Our Way Through Christmas

I had hoped to post this earlier in the week but it looks like I'm going to be playing catch up on the blog in these first weeks of 2019 2020. Next week I'll talk about Chanukah but today I'm sharing our Christmas celebrations with you.

My parents came to celebrate Christmas with us this year and it was so much fun! We did have bits and pieces of illness throughout the holidays but we still managed to fit everything in, or re-schedule. so I'm thankful for that.

On Christmas Eve we went to our church's Christmas Eve service. It was so beautiful. Afterwards Rachel wanted a picture with two of her older friends. I love both these girls so much and have known them since they were nine months old. They will both turn nineteen in the spring. Yikes!

After the service, we went home, changed into pajamas and got out all the meats, cheeses, crackers, chips, and chocolate for our special Christmas Eve post-church party.

There was A LOT of food :)

Dave and I gave everyone new books and then we participated in the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð, which our family started last year. I think my parents enjoyed it and hopefully this will be a new tradition which continues for years to come. The kids call it the Christmas-athon which I love :) And we all read until we fall asleep. Rachel read until almost 11pm and the rest of us went to bed soon after that.

 

Christmas morning started with pictures in front of the tree.

The kids exchanged their gifts. Sam was so excited to get his sock moose and Rachel was thrilled about her Frozen sled.

My parents gave Sam a Kobo e-reader. He's read about six books on it and I think he loves it. I used Christmas money from my parents to order myself one. I plan on using it for vacations or to read books that my library only carries in e-format.

 

Last year my parents gave Rachel a Maplelea doll (similar to American Girl dolls) for Christmas. Unfortunately, Leonie got left on a plane this summer and we never got her back. Boo :( Mom and Dad replaced Leonie for Rachel for Christmas and she was shocked. I love the picture of her on the left -- she froze for about five second and then shrieked!
We lit the Christ candle in our Advent wreath and Dave fried bacon for breakfast!

That night, Tim, Janice, and their family joined us for turkey dinner. Janice brought Christmas crackers and each cracker had a whistle so there was even music - ha!

 

Rachel taking a turn at conducting the whistle choir.

  

All twelve of us eating dessert. This was such a fun way to end Christmas. Thanks for capturing a great twelve person selfie, Tessa!