Christmas Eve

Continuing to build on our "family traditions," year two. Does two years a tradition make? I guess every tradition had to start some how. We made sugar cookies for Santa again (the good kind, with lots of sugar and butter, you can't be schiesty with the man in red!), and this year we had red and green sprinkles so they are even more festive (and gluten free, just in case). The kids opened gifts from each other again, and they were both big hits. It was really, really sweet to see B give C a hug for picking such a good gift and then her expression when she saw how much he liked the gift she picked out...its enough to make our hearts sing! This year we let them open a couple of gifts through out the day, based on T's theory that this way they can enjoy each gift a bit more instead of being overwhelmed by everything at once; also known as T's inability to wait when it comes to presents. We think it did work out well, but not sure if its going to make it into the official category of "tradition." One new activity that will be added to the holiday repertoire is making breakfast together on Christmas Eve: Santa's Favorite Muffins (we swear that is what they are called). We told the kids we got the recipe direct from Mrs. Claus and if its good enough for him to eat on his big day then its good enough for us! They were actually so good that we all snacked on them all day. Healthy too, with banana and cranberries. As usual we had lasagna for dinner and T made chocolate pots again, this time with devonshire cream as the recipe calls for, although we couldn't find it in the store and T had to make some herself (really just a specific kind of whip cream when it comes down to it). It will be good on our traditional "day after Christmas raspberry scones."