I am a little Christmas-obsessed. I mean, I am my mother’s daughter and she has been dubbed The Queen of Christmas...so I’m not bragging or anything but that definitely makes me a Christmas princess. Along with genuinely just loving all of the festivities that come along with this time of year, there is also an added measure of stress to be a fun mom that creates magic and warm fuzzy feelings and memories that last a lifetime. I mean, really, I have big Christmas Queen-sized shoes to fill! I literally have laid awake at night wondering if I’ve established enough fun Christmasy traditions. Like... I have *actual* problems that probably should take precedence in the “worry” section of my brain, but there you have it.
I really feel like we packed in the good times last month. We decorated three gingerbread houses and more cookies than one family should ever consume on their own. We cuddled up with popcorn and cocoa and watched Christmas flicks well past bedtime. We read every Christmas book displayed in our collection. We met a couple of different Santas and marveled at all of the shenanigans our little Scout-Elf, Sparkles, got herself in to. We looked at Christmas lights, sang songs about the baby boy born in a stable, changed three advent calendars every morning, put straw in a homemade manger with each good deed, secret-Santa’d, and slept by the Christmas tree. It truly was a full month, and yet I’m kicking myself at all of the things we didn’t get around to doing. Who made me this way? Ha.
The weekend before Christmas we loaded our minivan down with gifts and luggage and drove to Colorado. Michael’s maternal Grandpa passed away at the wonderful age of 96, so we had to leave a bit earlier than anticipated so that Michael could road trip with his dad to attend the funeral. (This meant that we sadly had to cancel the annual PJ/white elephant gift party we host for my family every year for the second year in a row!) We enjoyed getting the extra time with Michael’s side of the family and especially soaked up time with Grandpa. He lets the girls jump on him, hop onto his bed, and spin around in his swivel chair. He is truly a cool Grandpa.
Ellie discovered Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land amongst Grandma’s games and solicited anyone she could to play with her. After Christmas it was Pop the Pig and Pretty Pretty Princess that she became obsessed with. My little game lover is a girl after my own heart. On a weirdly warm day before Christmas we went to play at the park where she made a friend instantly and she spent the rest of the trip talking about hoping she’ll see her friend again.
Scarlett had everyone wrapped around her little finger and spent a lot of time “helping” in the kitchen and coloring. She’s just at that adorable age where she everything she says is gold. During the song Santa Baby she told Aunt Kelsey, “This song not nice because Santa not a baby!”
Lila was highly entertained by Grandpa’s pantry, Uncle John’s electronics, and climbing onto the table to channel her inner Sia as she tried to swing from the chandelier. She loved to ruin a good game and was good at finding snuggly stuffed animals all around the house to love on.
My girls are so lucky in the cousin department and loved seeing their cousins perform in a Christmas show as well as being doted on by their tEenAgE cOusIns! They are big teenager fans and constantly want their hair styled like teenagers and fantasize about the day they’ll get to be teenagers so getting to hang out with real live teenagers was just a dream come true for them.
Unfortunately, our plans got a bit interrupted when I tested positive for Covid a few days after Christmas, but we are grateful that it was a mild case and that we had good company in each other as we recovered. (Michael and the girls never showed symptoms, and we are grateful!)
It was good to come home and Michael and I tag-teamed unpacking and putting all of the Christmas decor away. I can’t help but get a little blue when the tree is stowed back in the attic and the synthetic pine-needles are all vacuumed up. I always wonder what life will look like the next year as we are unpacking it all. If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that every day of good health is truly a gift. I do not take for granted that for now, for just this moment, we all feel good and we all are good. Life is fragile, but we are so lucky to have each other…and PTO so that we can slow down and take a little time to enjoy each other’s company. Time with my people is my very favorite thing.
Love to you all! Happy New Year!
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