Christmas 2014

This Christmas was definitely one for the books. We had such a special time this year and it was so fun to celebrate our baby girl's first Christmas and to watch the holiday really come alive for the first time for Beckam. He was just old enough to really start to comprehend not only Santa Claus but the true meaning of Christmas. 

We kicked off the season with a fun surprise package for both of our kids. We gave it to them the day after Thanksgiving as a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit. I always love to give my kids their Christmas jammies at the beginning of the holiday so they can wear them all month long! 

The package included Christmas pjs, a fun classic Christmas movie, popcorn, hot chocolate and for Beckam a new snowman cup and a chocolate Santa.  

Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Since we were in Utah visiting family we got to go to the Festival of Trees which has always been one of my favorite Christmas traditions. Hundreds of decorated trees adorn the massive expo center as a fund-raiser for Primary Children's Medical Center. It is such a good cause and nothing gets you in the Christmas mood quicker than a trip to the Festival. The festival turned out to be a little more stressful with kids than anticipated though. There were definitely some tears and a few too many tantrums and some awkward efforts to nurse a wiggly baby in the corner of a very public and very hot and sweaty expo center and I may have sworn that I would never take my children back to the Festival ever again haha. But that's life! Despite the stressful moments, what sticks out in my memory though is my baby girl experiencing the sights and sounds of her very first Christmas...

And moments spent with family and cousins who we rarely get to see...

And the delight of a superhero obsessed little boy standing in front of THE coolest Christmas tree his little self had ever seen...

And my two crazy little elves who make my life, albeit way more stressful and exhausting, so much fuller, and richer and sweeter :)  

We also did some fun Christmas tree crafts, along with putting up and decorating our actual Christmas tree. 

One of our favorite tree activities was a little Christmas get-together to which Beckam's friend Paul invited him. Beckam got to make a yummy, edible Christmas tree! So fun!

And I got a real pine wreath for our front door so we could smell fresh pine all month long!! 

Here Comes Santa Claus

While we were still in Utah we made a trip to see Santa Claus! It was seriously magical! Beckam insisted on wearing his SpiderMan sweatshirt to show Santa, and Santa was totally awesome and asked him all about Superheros and fighting bad guys. 

"Santa! I know him!" =)   Haiya's reaction was priceless!

We also did some fun Santa and reindeer crafts and read and watched the Polar Express while drinking lots and lots of hot chocolate! We definitely BELIEVE!

Beckam loved reading all of our Christmas books over and over!

The Doll's Christmas

This year we got to celebrate our annual Doll's Christmas with family!  This is another one of my favorite Christmas traditions from my childhood and I was so glad my kids got to celebrate with their cousins!  For a look at what this tradition entails for my family see my post HERE.

My sister and I picked up some beautiful holly to use as a centerpiece. 

And my baby girl got to celebrate her very first Doll's Christmas with her doll from Great Grandma Charlotte :)

My mom laid out a beautiful spread of doll-sized foods like tiny shortbread cookies, finger sandwiches, miniature fruit pies, cutie oranges, and other hors d'oeuvres. Everything was the perfect size for little fingers and beloved dolls and toys :)

Each child got to decorate a tiny Christmas tree with itty-bitty ornaments. Beckam brought his stuffed mouse Morty as his guest. He and Morty did a great job decorating their tree. =)  

 

Run, Run as Fast as You Can!

We then did our annual Gingerbread unit. This year we got tasty soft gingerbread cookies from Trader Joes and their yummy gingerbread pancake mix. I served ours with homemade Buttermilk syrup. 

We read our Gingerbread books and also made a gingerbread house. 

O Come Let us Adore Him

It was very special this Christmas to see the true meaning start to really click with Beckam. We did a lot of talking about the Nativity and I loved this book! It tells the story of Christ's birth but let's you design each page using stickers. It got Beckam a lot more involved in understanding the story.   

Example:

We also visited the beautiful Christmas lights at the Mesa LDS Temple. They have a huge life-size nativity and Beckam was so excited to point out who all the figures were. 

Afterwards we got some delicious dessert waffles at the Waffle Love truck that was parked by the Temple! It made for the best end to the funnest family night! 

Feed The Birds 

(The Bird's Christmas)

Each year growing up my mom always liked us to give a little Christmas present to the animals and birds just as a way to show appreciation for all of God's creations. We had fun making Peanut Butter bird feeders and watching the birds come eat off them.  When we hung them up Beckam yelled as loud as he could, "Birds!!! Come get your Christmas present! NOW!!!!"  Hahaha. 

Twas The Night Before Christmas

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a quiet evening with just our little family. It was our first time celebrating as just us and it was really peaceful and quaint.  

We made some delicious steaks and baked potatoes and topped it off with sparkling Chardonnay cider of course. 

And then finished the night by reading the Christmas Story in Luke, watching the Grinch and having some hot cocoa and christmas cookies. Don't worry, we saved a few for Santa. 

I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for this time of year to remember His birth. I am so thankful that He was willing to come here, to walk among us, to teach us, to be an example to us, to show us the way to return to our Heavenly Father, and most of all, to die for us. I am thankful that His sacrifice has made it possible for me to be with my beautiful babies and my wonderful husband and family forever. This above all is the greatest gift. 

XOXO