A Very Merry Christmas

Hey hi hello! Did you have a good weekend? If you celebrate, did you have a good Christmas? I hope so. I most certainly did. And now I get to relive it by sharing it with you! 

I intended to have this post up this weekend, but I caught a cold just before Christmas, and I’ve spent the last couple of days pretty much crashed on the couch watching TV with a box of Puffs Plus, some Airborne, and cough drops. I think I’m on the mend now, though. So I’m posting now. Better late than never, right?

On Thursday morning, I prepared my usual super-pretty salad to lunch (and forgot to take a picture) and put together a cookie tray to share before we got on the road to my mom’s brother’s house. There was also some minor drama involving me trying to sell my old iPad, but my mom helped take care of it and I did manage to unload the iPad.

Lunch included the standard spread of ham, corn, green beans, salad, rolls, and mashed potatoes. Plus cookies, of course. We all mostly just relaxed in the living room and caught up on life while we ate; I hadn’t seen this side of the family since before I left for school.

We exchanged gifts and gratitude after eating, and the kids opened up their gifts to play with while the rest of us chatted and grazed on more cookies. Somewhere in there, my youngest cousin, Molly, plucked out her loose tooth. Her excitement was adorable – as is the gap where her two front teeth should be. 🙂 This prompted a lot of talk about whether it’s possible for Santa and the Tooth Fairy to come on the same night. Verdict: yes.

In the early evening, my little family headed off to my dad’s parents’ house.

Once we had unloaded all the presents and our bags from the car, my cousins passed out collages with words describing and relating to my parents and me.

It was such a sweet gesture and will serve as the perfect confidence boost whenever I need it. Thanks, guys. ❤️

We had dinner there with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents, and then spent the evening relaxing and playing cards.

Excuse the blurriness. It’s an action-packed game.

Bedtime was pretty late for everyone, but I think I was in bed before all three of my cousins. I was exhausted and sincerely hoping to kick the cold that had fully set in. At 5 am on Christmas, I realized I was unsuccessful at that. After lying around for a bit, I decided to get up and go for a quick run around the neighborhood. It was dark and a little breezy, but the stillness (minus the prancing deer in the fields) and quiet were the perfect start to my day.

Also part of the perfect start to my day: I was in the bathroom across from the room my mom and I shared, chatting with my cousins and my mom across the hall while putting on some makeup, when my 4-year old cousin said to my mom (out of the blue), “Aunt Jen, if you died and were in Heaven, I would be really sad.” Always good to know you’d be missed, right? 🙂

After most of the adults were showered and ready, we opened our stockings and the kids (and I) opened our Santa gifts around 8 am. I knew brunch would be fairly soon, but I ate a quick breakfast while the kids were finishing up before I passed out the other gifts. We all started passing out gifts, but my cousins all got a little distracted with their own before we finished.

Opening gifts is chaotic, to say the least. Wrapping paper gets everywhere, and it is loud, but the pure joy of my cousins on Christmas morning is one of my favorite things ever.

Oh, and my dad and I managed to surprise my mom with a mother-child necklace that I knew she wanted, so that was fun. 

Present-opening seems to take less and less time each year, and we were done in about a half an hour. Since the weather was so nice, my cousins went out to rollerblade and Ripstik (new gifts) and my dad and I walked Pippa while my grandma prepared brunch. 

{French toast casserole, buttered toast, fruit, egg casserole}

Around 9:30, we all sat down to brunch. My grandma’s egg casserole is one of my favorite dishes and we’ve had it on Christmas morning for (I think?) my whole life. So much happy chatter and memorable conversation happens around this table. I love it.

We spent most of the day just enjoying each other’s company… and enjoying new gifts. I read some of the books I received for Christmas, played ping pong with my dad, and played Pounce with my mom, aunt, and grandma.

This was most we had gotten to play with just the four of us in years, since my cousins were otherwise occupied with very exciting Christmas gifts. We’ve taught them how to play, but they don’t love it as much as we do since they aren’t as experienced. 😉

After a longish hike through the woods with my dad and Pippa, it was time for dinner.

{Broccoli corn casserole, rolls, Swedish spice bread, ham, salad, cranberry salad, goody potatoes}

And this is one of my favorite meals all year. It’s huge and comforting and wonderful. Sweet ham and creamy, cheesy potatoes, and creamy broccoli and corn. Oh, and the spice bread is heavenly. My grandma pretty much always has some on hand. We tried (and failed) to estimate how many loaves she’s made in her life, but we know she’s been making it for around forty years. It’s perfect.

After dinner, it was time for cookies!

Obviously, dinner was filling enough, but I still had approximately one million cookies over the course of the evening. We kept playing cards and I did a little more reading before we packed up and headed home.

At home, we unpacked everything and went straight to bed. Aaaand since then I’ve been trying to kick this cold while watching ABC Family’s Harry Potter Weekend. I have plans with my parents and/or friends pretty much every day this week to make the most of the rest of my break, so hopefully I get to feeling better quickly.

Wow. That recap was long. Thanks for sticking with me! 

Your turn!

What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?

How was your holiday?