The First Day of Christmas

We LOVE Christmas. So much. All November we wait for Thanksgiving to happen, knowing that as soon as we get up the following morning, the celebration/decoration can begin.

At Thanksgiving dinner we talked with Gracie and Charlie about what we were planning for the next day--to get out all the Christmas decorations, put up the tree, and decorate the house. Steve had worked all day on Thanksgiving (while I cooked and the littles played), so the house pretty naturally got thrashed. :) So as we explained our plans, Steve told them that before we could decorate, we'd have to clean up the house.

The next morning Gracie came into our room and told us not to come downstairs until she came back to get us. When she did, she and Charlie had picked up all the toys and messes on the floor, cleared the piano of clutter, and even put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher!

We got up to a house totally ready to decorate, and it was just the sweetest thing. They both had the hugest smiles when they showed us around. :)

Standing in the results of their hard work--a spotless family room!

They were so excited to get started that they couldn't even wait for breakfast. Steve obligingly got out one of our giant Christmas tupperware bins (for there are many) and the kids began unloading and exploring.

Stockings, nativities, fake Christmas trees, a Little People Santa set, and many other treasures were unearthed while Steve whipped up a gorgeous sugar-laden breakfast feast.

While he was at ACEP (his first emergency medicine conference) in Boston this fall, he had breakfast a bunch of times at a super-tasty restaurant. One of his favorite meals inspired him to make us that morning's fantastic raspberry-butterscotch pancakes. Steve put chocolate chips in mine, too. ;)

I am always amazed at how much these munchkins of ours can eat!

Filled with sugar of all kinds, we set up the tree and began unloading the ornament boxes.

And, as is tradition, when Steve tested the tree lights we discovered that a few strings didn't work! So we made our now annual unintentional-Black-Friday-trip-to-a-hardware-store to replace our lights.

Juliette had some very particular opinions about what qualified as appropriate attire to wear to Lowes.

Can you find her?

Armed with way more lights than we technically needed (and a remote control for the outside lights!), we went back home to string them on the tree.

And then the rest of the decorating could begin!

Oh yes. And while we were at Lowes, the older kids tried on--and then broke--these 3D Christmas classes. They turn all the Christmas tree lights into reindeer or Santas when you look into them. They're actually pretty cool, but I wasn't super pumped that we were forced into buying them. #disposableincomesayswhat

But happily, the kids adored them and wore them around for several days with lots of Ooohing and Aaaahing and much general rejoicing. So my Scroogeness about having to by broken cardboard glasses was overcome by their genuine pleasure in wearing them.

Also, the goofballness helps. :)

We hung every ornament and discussed all their origins. (One of my personal favorites is one of Steve's from age 14: it's a hand-painted wooden heart that says, in Sharpie, "Naughty: 1998" on one side and "Nice: NEVER" on the other. He wrote in the inscriptions himself, obvs. My little punk.)

And then finally Steve climbed up on a chair and lifted Gracie up to place the star we bought as newlyweds at an after-Christmas sale at the Crate and Barrel near our San Diego apartment.

That afternoon after the kids had quiet time, we all went out in the front yard and hung lights on the house. Gracie was in charge of keeping the high-up strands from running along the ground while Steve hung them. (Everyone was alight with excitement when he climbed out of a second-story window to hang some from the roof.) I strung white lights in the bushes, Steve put up the Moravian star, and Juliette walked in circles from the driveway to the porch and back down again.

And then we waited for the dark to fall so we could admire our handiwork.

And everybody's heart felt filled with Christmas cheer.

The End. ;)