Much like the rest of 2020, Christmas was a bit odd this year. We only put up 4 trees this year and we did not set out or Nativity sets from all over the world. So decoration wise Christmas was a bit simpler this year. Being gone all of November and part of December made it so the season was crammed with things to do. Not to mention Lady Hiva had finals and I had the end of the semester.
We spent time cooking together and making several iterations of gingerbread houses. Some with cousins and some just home with us. I have never seen so many little kids become so competitive as they were over gingerbread houses. Not to mention they were all hopped up on more sugar than I have seen on one table at anytime!
Koala Bear is becoming quite the baker. She loves to measure out all the ingredients and mix. She especially loves when she and her mum both wear an apron.
We tried Chocolate bombs for the first time at Kade and Val's.
We made homemade taffy with Kell and taught everyone how to "pull taffy." I think I may have burned off a layer of skin doing it!
We hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries for neighbors. It was funny to watch the two Muggles deliver them. They had to be reminded over and over they needed to wear shoes (and slippers don't count). They were in Hawaii too long! haha
All dressed up in her new Christmas dress!
There was plenty of fort building during the holiday weeks too! There were versions in Don Gurt's room, the master bedroom, the living room, their bedrooms and any other space they could find.
These forts often had a line of stuffed animals "snuggled in their blanket."
We loved the Christmas lights. There seemed to be more people with lights this year on their homes. We drove around to see them and then did a trip to Spanish Fork to drive through the Festival of Lights.
We had some delicious food! We ate Mexican food, Italian food, and Japanese Food (or as Koala Bear says, "Ninja Food." It was all delicious! I love that our two children can appreciate food from all cultures. It is good food and WAY better than fast food.
We had Ginger's Sour Dough pancakes twice during the holiday--including Christmas morning. She gave us a start for Christmas (one that is over 150 years old) and that was one of our favorite gifts!
It was so much fun to go shopping. We all agreed that this year we would have 3 gifts each. One from each other. It was so much fun to go shopping with these two Muggles while Lady Hiva studied. They were so thoughtful with their gifts.
The bookstore is always a win for anyone in our family! I think this Christmas we kept Barnes and Noble in business!
Lucky Dragon was so excited to see the "Hula Gudetama" and his sister noticed. She chose that to give him for Christmas.
The kids were so excited that Sister Remund sewed them some new pillowcases. They love sleeping with the pillowcases that she made them for Halloween and Christmas. so now they can use these for their birthdays too!
Keeping with our annual tradition, we went and bought coats for people in need. I love that we can find time to help the kids understand that they are blessed and we can serve others that are not as fortunate.
We did virtual Christmas parties for work. I loved that our kids could join in. They loved the games and messages from Church leaders. Koala Bear helped me with my virtual craft that was started by our team.
We drove down to Beaver and brought some puppies back for people that are buying them in Salt Lake. It was fun for the kids...but 4 whining puppies away from their mum for the first time were WAY TOO much! It was fun to have a puppy for a few days. Koala Bear was so sad when the families came to pick them up. She did not understand why they were leaving and why they would not come back. Maybe some day Lady Hiva will allow us to get a dog...someday.
Christmas day was fun! I actually love Christmas Eve more, but both Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are amazing. The kids were so excited. We ate at a great Italian restaurant for Christmas Eve and then we read Christmas stories until we were tired. It was fun to read about the Savior and discuss the true meaning of Christmas. In the morning we watched the Luke 2 story and read Luke 2 as we acted it out. It was fun to do that with them. We reviewed all we did this season to serve and help others. Lady Hiva and I wanted them to know we are so blessed and need to be thankful.
They hung up the stockings and helped get cookies and carrots ready for "Santa."
All week the house smelled like Wassel thanks to some amazing neighbors. That was mixed with a cooking ham or baking rolls.
This was our baby Jesus (aka Bingo) and our gifts of gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.
Christmas Dinner was just us and it was amazing. We ate good food and were able to have great conversations.
We played several board games. We played with cousins, we played together, we had fun. We learned to love Cover Your Assets, Cover Your Kingdom, Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit, Sequence, Jenga, Candy Land...and many more
When we were in Hawaii she saw a Snoopy plush and a book. She has been talking about it since (I thought she would change her mind). But she didn't. Her brother came through and got her Snoopy. She LOVED it. They both were so thoughtful about what they bought each other. Later they both talked about their favorite gifts were the ones given to each other.
Christmas added to his Gudetama collection. Little did we know three years ago when we bought one at Target for fun that it would become a "thing."
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