Family Christmas

Knowing we would be headed home to be with our families for Christmas, and knowing we didn't want to haul *everything* with us, we decided to do a family Christmas the weekend before we left. At first I didn't know if I would like doing a Christmas before Christmas, but it ended up being so much fun. The kids were so excited that night & we loved celebrating twice. Plus we didn't have to haul a bunch of things with us- like Emily's mini kitchen-that thing could have taken up the entire back by itself!

It was nice, because we had everything wrapped and ready to go a couple weeks before Christmas, which really reduced the amount of things to do right before Christmas, and allowed us to just enjoy the spirit of the season for the rest of the time leading up to Christmas. We told the kids that we were giving them the gifts from us and Santa would be coming to Grandma & Grandpa's with a couple things. Jeff and I gave each other all of our gifts, so we didn't have to take anything with us.

The night before

It might look like a lot, but we gave the kids things like suitcases, travel pillows, clothing, books, and a toy that we didn't want to transport. Emily got her kitchen, some clothes, books, and a little people farm toy. Matthew got a race track, magnetic letters & blocks, a book, and some clothes. and Jacob & Caleb each got a suitcase, a couple books, a sweater & a sled. Caleb also got a robot fighting game, and Jacob got a football.

Jeff got me some new boots & new bathroom towels! I got him a couple sport coats (on clearance at JCP's for $19!) a phone case, and a couple tools.

For breakfast we had caramel pecan pull-aparts. I made it the night before, let it rise all night, and baked it in the morning so it was ready when the kids woke up. Super yummy!

It was so fun to watch Emily seeing her kitchen for the first time. She was so excited and ran right over to it. What I really loved though, was how excited the boys were for Emily. We didn't say a thing to them, but they didn't touch a single one of their own presents, they all just went over and helped and watched her open all her presents. They were laughing and just so happy watching her. In fact, even when Emily had opened every present, the boys were still playing with her. I finally had to remind them to go open their presents too. They're such sweet, good kids.

Matthew was thrilled with his magnetic letter set.

One toy we got for all of the kids to share was a collection of tinker toys. I remember them being a favorite for the kids in my family, and they didn't disappoint! They were an instant hit and the kids have been playing with them ever since. I'm constantly amazed at the fun things they build. Matthew seems to have a knack for coming up with just about every sort of weapon you could imagine, but they really have provided hours of fun for all the kids.
It was a perfect morning. We had a really laid back day enjoying the time together. The kids had fun playing games, reading books, and playing together with the new toys. We didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do (until later on) and it was such a perfect day. I'm grateful for the time we can spend together and would have loved for the day to never end.

And Emily made good use of the leftover boxes.