Kevin always has to work a half-day on Christmas Eve, and the kids were ready to open sibling gifts as soon as he walked in the door, haha. Watching my kids exchange gifts is one of my favorite parts of Christmas! Their excitement and joy in the process is incredibly sweet. Brooke crocheted Colby a pair of beautiful navy blue slippers and Colby bought Brooke a set of fake nails, gummy bears, and curated a whole box of treasures over the last month.
Family came over that afternoon and we got right to work on the sugar cookies. This is one of our favorite activities, and thankfully my kids are super helpful in making all the cookies and frosting the day before.
Melanie and I got in on the fun as well...
Brooke serenaded us with a few songs, followed by presents and a yummy steak and potato dinner.
Our family gave Grandma and Papa a heavy Fry blanket, which is the same one we have. It is a favorite at our house, so hopefully they can enjoy it as well.
I used my new chargers and loved how the table looked...
The boys worked together on the steaks...
Then it was finally time for the nativity skit. Colby was Joseph (his forever role), with Kinley as Mary, Aubrey as a wiseman, Brooke as the angel, and Emery as a shepherd. Costumes weren't quite as good this year, but the message was beautiful.
Brooke squeezed into her baptism dress since it was the perfect white for an angel...
She helped Emery with her shepherd lines...
I love this sweet tradition to really focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We ended the night with chimes and sent family on their way!
During the night, Santa made his appearance. Colby received an electric scooter...
And Brooke received a hair tool and a pricey Sol de Janeiro body spray that is super trendy right now...
Santa ate the cookies and left a few of the carrots...
The kids cringe every year when I make them pause on the stairs for pictures, but one day they will (maybe) appreciate them :)
Nothing beats the excitement of kids on Christmas morning, even though the magic was different for Brooke.
One more pic before we started opening the presents under the tree..
Brooke started to make a blanket for Kevin and I, but she made it pretty wide and ran out of yarn before it was long enough. Kevin had spent $80 on the yarn, so I didn't really want to run out and buy more. Maybe we will wait for it to go on sale and then she can complete the project.
Colby was super into gifting this year and was the first one to put presents under the tree. His gift to me was a small stool that I can use in my speech classroom. His teacher was throwing it out because it was broken, so he brought it home, fixed it up (with some help from Kevin), and spent about 40 minutes and a whole roll of tape wrapping it up for me. But I loved seeing his sweet heart at work.
Kevin received a paper towel roll filled with yummy chocolates.
Kevin had the idea to print and frame the youth themes for the kids to display in their bedrooms. Brooke will officially join the YW program next year, but the YM theme still applies to Colby and we wanted the message to be clear that they are literally children of God with a divine purpose and destiny. I hope they will always remember that and feel of God's great love for them.
Brooke and I received matching PJs and decided to wear them all day on Christmas! I can't get over how grown she is looking and how tall she is getting! She may catch me by next Christmas!!
Grandma and Papa came over that afternoon and spent the rest of the day with us. It was very low-key, but really nice to have that one-on-one time with them.
Brooke gave Grandma a beautiful coral colored scarf she crocheted her and it was obvious that it was very special to Grandma. She complimented Brooke on her even stitches and straight rows. Grandma is the one that taught Brooke to crochet and having that shared interest has been fun this year.
It was a beautiful few days of celebration as we focused on the birth of our Savior and making memories as a family.
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