Norad has Santa

headed to Medford, Oregon, so I have a few moments to review the day. Whew! How did we fit everything in, yet still manage to have a fairly relaxed Christmas Eve?

I have to think that Peter taking the day off and not having the flu was a huge help.  This time last year, I was struggling to clean up after dinner, wrap gifts, get the girls to bed, and take care of Nicholas.  The first three weren't too bad, but he had a terribly restless night and was up to nurse every half hour to an hour.  Normally, not an issue, but when Santa is out cold with the flu on the couch, and you still have to find and wrap gifts….though I shouldn't complain, as I am sure it is one of those parental rights of passage that I will really miss one day.

This year we made things a bit easier by downplaying the gifts a bit.  Each one is getting one 'large' gift, though not necessarily in size, and a few other small items.  We have realized over the years that the girls (and Boy) get so much love in the mail from others that we don't need to overwhelm them.  The big gifts?  You, like the kids, will just have to wait and see!

  We also changed our tune with regards to the gifts we gave others, and can't wait to see/hear how this goes over. In addition to making gifts for local friends, we   we changed our wrapping style. Not completely, and not for everyone, but for a few folks who we thought might appreciate the gesture.   I do have the fear it may go over like a lead balloon, as Christmas wrap generally is supposed to define the gift and add that little oomph of extra cheer.   We shall see, however, whether we end up being the cool hip eco-friendly folks who rocked Christmas with their radical gift wrap idea or ….let's be positive and stop there!  Since the gifts are likely under the various trees already, here is a picture I snapped of everything prior to the presents being shipped off to their many locales.  A major award will be given to anyone who guesses the use of the wrap just from this photograph.

Since I have already veered way off course, I should return to the point of the post: Christmas Eve.  It began with freshly baked scones (cinnamon, and a new favorite for Cait) to get us motivated to run our errands, and finish up a few chores before church, which was extremely early today.  The pageant began at 3:30 p.m., but we needed to secure seats by 2:45 p.m. in order to get that prime tripod spot. 

The girls were awesome!  The pageant commenced with 15 minutes of singing, then the 15 minute play with Caitlin in the lead.  According to the choir director, she nearly had a breakdown at practice the other day.  Today?  No hint of anything other than a confident, happy (or for the part, grumpy) Innkeeper.  Kelsey was a darling as an angel, and Nicholas loved watching both while intermittently screaming, "Outside, outside!" to entertain us all.  Yes, there is a video, and it will be available when Pete has it perfected in a day or two.

  Considering I am a Midnight Mass kind of girl, I was shocked to be finished at 5 in the afternoon.  We had plenty of time to bake cookies for friends (and deliver them), watch Nicholas open a special pre-Christmas gift from Grandpa and Dibby, and enjoy a savory sit-down dinner.  As the hours had passed, we realized the girls (and Boy) needed to skedaddle or someone might skip our house.  Cookies and milk were put out with Santa letters, jammies were donned, and the girls read The Night Before Christmas to us.  Nicholas fell sound asleep during the reading, and the girls weren't going to last much longer.  We couldn't resist watching  a few minutes of A Christmas Story, but they were tired, Santa was spotted in Missoula, and it was off to bed.

And now that I hear bells jingling overhead, it is time for me to sign off.  Here's hoping wherever you are, you are having a happy and safe holiday.  Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night…

*Actually, the 'wrap' had to be ordered well in advance, so if this the assumption, well, not quite the case.