Christmas Day

We had a wonderful, white Christmas this year!  The kids of course woke up bright and early and kept running in to give us updates as to what they got from Santa (Santa doesn't wrap our presents, the jury is out on this one).  We invited my father-in-law, his woman, and my sister-in-law just a couple of days before Christmas and it was nice having them here.  I was worried about the effect the extra Christmas chaos would have on them, but they were good sports.  :)  My sister-in-law thanked us later, saying that Christmas is so much better with little children.  I have to agree.  It was great having her and the others with us.

I was a little embarrassed to post this, because, frankly, there are starving children in Ethiopia and we have been so blessed.  With of course the biggest blessing those happy, bright, healthy little faces lit up with the wonder and excitement that only Christmas Day can bring.  (and as a side note, I realized, that yes, it looks like a lot, but we were doing Christmas for eleven people!  not so bad when I think of it that way)


(Enough gift wrapping cast offs to paper the planet, right here)

There were an abundance of pillow pets this year.  Even the baby was head-over heels for the pink and purple pillow pets; saying it must have felt good on his tongue, because the whole day, no matter what he was doing (playing trucks), he kept mindlessly saying "pi- oh- pet. pi-oh-pet."


(When I was trying to wrap this for one of my girls, this little boy kept loving on it and would not let me have it.  If I snuck it away for a second he would squeak loudly and take it right out of the box)

My girls caught me by surprise when they asked for a bow and arrow.  What?  (After a little sleuthing I have to place the pointing finger of blame in the direction of a cute fiery red-headed Scottish princess)  Fortunately they have a compassionate aunt.

(Photo bomber alert!)

I love her little face in this one.

Some of the toys pictured were not Christmas presents, just pulled from our toy box.

Do you think I'm obsessed with books and cookbooks?  These are my presents, lucky me.

How was your Christmas?  Does Santa wrap your gifts or leave them sitting out?

Bethlehem Dinner

This is the second year we've had a special dinner on Christmas Eve.  Another idea I got from a family I knew in Dallas.  We attempted to dress like and eat as the people of Israel would have 2000 years ago.  (I know we're waaaaay off)

Of course Christmas Eve is a crazy time for parents, right?  And of course we (should I say "I") procrastinated making our gifts from the heart until Christmas Eve day, so the house was a wreck, we had company coming, and I had yet to make the dinner.  So our outfits definitely left something to be desired (ha, just check out our "sashes"-- old tights, we have plenty of those).  And I didn't comb any one's hair, either.  But it was the thought that counted.

Again the kids and I made this bread together.  It's not as hard as it looks and they loved helping me braid it.  And man alive, that stuff is good.  (I linked to a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but I used a recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)  In a way, it was nice to have a mini-cultural lesson aside from the Christmas thing altogether.

I was really nervous about asking guests to sit on the floor and eat with their hands.  But they were very good sports.  And my kids just loved sitting on the floor and eating with their hands for once!  And I shut off the lights and lit a few candles, and they loved that too. Christmas gets so crazy with all the things that start to seem like must-haves.  Including the fancy tree and presents.  Yet sitting on the floor, eating basic food with our hands, remembering the humble circumstances surrounding what I want my kids to see as the real reasons for our celebrating Christmas (this is just my family!  Christmas can mean different things to different people, or maybe your family celebrates Hanukkah or Kwanzaa).  It brought the simplicity home.  And that special Christmas feeling sunk into all hearts.  And it brought so much into perspective-- just how much we have to be thankful for.  (we joked that at least we weren't sitting on a dirt floor outside!)

When we were finished we watched these beautiful Luke 2 videos. 

Things got really quiet and a little more somber, for lack of a better word.  I knew they were thinking.  The Spirit of Christmas was really strong and quiet.

We exchanged our little handmade gifts.

 And we topped it off by having pie and milk in the kitchen.

O Holy Night.

This dinner was my idea, my husband is supporting me by making sure people feel authentic.  If a brown or pink towel make you feel authentic.

It's a good thing I'm taken, or I'm sure they'd be knockin' down the door about now after seeing me in this photo.

 My father-in-law graciously accepted the task of making this dish.  Probably much more "authentic" than I would have.  He is a great cook-- it was yummy.

 Huh!  Didn't notice Bob Cratchit carrying his little Tiny Tim in the bottom of this photo until now.  Perfect for Christmas Eve dinner.

 Paper plates extra authentic, too.

 And a little boy who is much more interested in cup stacking than dinner.  Maybe the tights around his waist have affected his appetite.