2016 Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite times.  Ours is full of family, friends, music and lots and lots of yummy food!  This years was no exception.  Good times!

The kids always do a big musical number for Christmas Eve.  It was so fun to hear them practicing!  Don't you love how they use the tree for their music stand?

Lots of food and friends!

And lots of music!

And the grand finale of music--Miss A on piano, Miss E on trombone at top of the stairs, Mr J on saxophone, Miss O on mellophone and our 3 friends on violins playing "Angels we have heard on high."  It was awesome!

Then we have our Nativity play---Mary and Joseph this year 

The angel of the Lord speaking to the shepherds.

The Three Wisemen presenting gifts to the baby.

And our traditional new PJ's on Christmas Eve.  All ready to go to bed and hope Santa comes!

2016 Daily December 24--Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is one of my absolute favorite times of the year!  We do the same things each year and we love it! (these are last year's photos)

We eat lots of yummy food--lots!

We sing lots of songs and have lots of awesome music by very talented kiddos!  We have our own orchestra almost!

We have lots of friends and family here that we love!

And we always re-enact the Nativity story--bathrobes, towels and all

Wise men and gifts too!  Love it!

Have a blessed Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas!!!

2014 Daily December 24--Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is a big deal in our family.  It involves a lot of music and traditions.  We love it!  These pictures are from last year, but we do the same thing every year.

We start out in the afternoon going next door to our amazing neighbors.  We love them so much.  The kids always perform for them on Christmas Eve.  Mr J was playing some Christmas songs here.

Miss O and Miss E did a duet on their horns which was really good.

And Miss A played a beautiful piano piece.  We enjoy spending the time with them and also exchange gifts.  We are blessed with the best neighbors!

Then we have a big dinner at our house in the evening with family and friends.  After dinner it is music again--all the kids starting from the youngest to oldest play Christmas songs--some we sing to and some we just listen to.

Then either Ben or my Dad reads the Christmas story from the Bible and the kids and others act out the Nativity.

Everyone has a lot of fun with that!

And then we end off the night with our tradition of the kids opening one gift--new PJ's.  Then everyone tries to go to sleep so Santa can come :)  The kids always end up sleeping together in Miss A's room.  So they don't get to sleep too quickly :)

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

2013 Christmas Eve

So I'm going to try to catch up for the last week.  Christmas Eve is a big deal.  We always host, and we had about 24 this year--family and friends.  It is a lot of fun.  We always have lots of yummy food--3 kinds of soup, rolls, and lots of yummy sides with my famous Christmas Eve rice pudding which I only make once a year on Christmas Eve.  It is to-die-for.  Here is a look at our day. . . 

Christmas Eve afternoon we always go next door to our neighbors for gifts and then the kids play a little concert for them.  The kids usually always play the piano, but this year Miss O and Miss E also did a brass number which was quite impressive :)

Then later that night at our house we have another concert.  We started with the youngest kid and went to the oldest who wanted to play a Christmas song that we could sing to.  This year we had violins, piano, guitar, and the girls' brass number.  It was a pretty impressive concert.  Lots of singing--I love Christmas music!!

Mr J takes his piano very seriously :)

We had poems read--we love our sister missionaries!

and then the highlight of the evening--the Nativity play.  Mary and Joseph heading to Bethlehem.

Ben reading the story from the Bible.

Our whole cast this year--Wise men/women on the left, shepards on right, and love the sheep lower right :)

Then everyone leaves and my kids get to open one gift--new pajamas.  The girls felt like dancing after they got theirs :)

And then it was off to bed for visions of sugar plums to dance in their heads and wait for Santa to come. . .

2013 Daily December 24--Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve is very predictable.  We do the same wonderful things every year.  These pictures are from last year.  I always host Christmas Eve with lots of family and dear friends.

The kids all play Christmas pieces on the piano. 

We sing lots and lots of songs--some with the piano and some with our handbells.

My dad reads The Christmas Story and we re-enact it.  A huge highlight of the night.

Of course we have really good food that we eat all night too :)

We also track Santa on Norad here.

Then everyone opens new pajamas, we make a plate of cookies for Santa, and then off to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads!

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve 2012

Soooo, wanted to fill you in on our Christmas activities.  Most of these are from Christmas Eve which we always host at our house.  We had about 20 family members and friends who we consider family there.  Lots of fun!  

Miss A had a birthday--not on Christmas Eve, but close.  She is 15--man, where does the time go????  She is a beautiful, talented, smart, and most of all kind, good young woman, and we are so blessed to have her in our family!!!!

Okay, so Christmas Eve--we always have soup--this year we had homemade hearty chicken noodle that my sister made and was amazing!  I did my DeeDee's chili, and my mom did potato cheese--yum!  After we eat we sing lots of Christmas songs.  Each of my kids play.  Mr J started us off.  

We also sing Christmas songs and play hand bells to go along.  Music is a big part of our Christmas Eve celebration.

We always re-in act the Nativity story from Luke 2.  Mr J was so excited to be Joseph this year, and we had some sweet, awesome sister missionaries with us from our church.  One of them played Mary.  

Miss A was the Angel of the Lord--and a very good star holder too.

My mom, Miss O, and my brother-in-law were the shepards--who were being afraid as the angel talked to them and told them to "fear not!"

The three wise men(women)--my nephew, Miss E, and the other sister missionary bearing their gifts to the new baby.

Then one of the sister missionaries shared with us one of her family traditions.  She recited the poem The Boy who Laughed at Santa Claus by Ogden Nash.  She said her sister recites it every Christmas Eve in her family.  It is a cute poem and easily found on the internet--google it, and you will find.

Finally we end with the kids opening one gift Christmas Eve--which is always new pajamas.

I think they loved them, or at least posing in them.  Then cookies and egg nog (non-alcoholic, Miss E was quick to point out in the note for Santa) were left for Mr. Claus and these kids went to bed, and we followed. . . several hours later :)

Christmas Eve 2011

Mr J played 5 Christmas songs that we sang to.  I was impressed.   He did a great job.  Miss A, Miss O, and Miss E also all played Christmas songs that we sang to.  We sing a lot on Christmas Eve :)

Miss O and my brother-in-law played guitars while we sang.

Then we do our Nativity re-enactment.  Miss E was Mary.  The 3 wise men are visiting the baby here. (yes, the baby was a teddy bear, can you believe we have no baby dolls in my house?  The kids looked and looked.  Not a one could be found.  Where did they all go?  Kind of made me sad.

The kids always open one present on Christmas Eve---new pajamas.

This year they got a bonus present to open Christmas Eve, and I think it was their favorite of all.  Ben's dad always makes the kids some cool thing for Christmas.  He is very creative.  This year he made them all real wood, fancy, individualized (with their name and different designs and jewels) Harry Potter wands in boxes with labels from Olivander's in Hogsmeade and with labels that said, "This wand picked you, Mr J"  The kids were so excited about their wands!  Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!  The spells are flying around my house!  Huge HP fans here!

Daily December 24: Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at our house is all about lots of yummy food.  The kids each get to pick one food to have--their favorite of anything--shrimp, cheesecake, bean dip and chips, etc.  It is an interesting meal, and then we have lots and lots of music and singing.

We sing and play the hand bells.

We sing and Miss O plays the guitar. 

We sing and each of the kids takes turns playing Christmas songs on the piano.  This will be the first year that all 4 of them will be able to play.  Mr J is really excited about that.

And then after all that singing we re-enact the Nativity story using lots of bathrobes, towels, and ties.  Everyone loves it.

And then we end the night with the kids opening one present--new pajamas, then they are ready for bed, and we all say good-night and try to go to sleep so Santa will come.  Sleep well!