This year for Christmas, I really wanted to do more fun activities to celebrate the season. I love Halloween because there are so many fun fall activities: caramel apple making, costume making, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, parties, and it culminates with trick-or-treating where the kids run around with their friends. The whole holiday season is fun, with very low expectations at the end. I really enjoy the Christmas activities, but sometimes get discouraged that the actual holiday is all about getting presents. So I wanted to spend more time doing the fun, family activities.
Each year, the kids get to have their very own Christmas treen in their room. I think it is magical for them to fall asleep to the Christmas lights of their own tree.
I also made the kids some fun Grinch shirts with my silhouette.
This year we went to Luminaria at Thanksgiving point. Isaac's work was giving out free tickets to the employees, so we were able to take the family there. Sophie even invited her friend, Makenzie. The lights are really cool, and there's a really nice section with statues of Christ that you can walk through.
We went to see the elves at Gardner Village with Lacey's family.
We also went downtown to the Planetarium at the Gateway. The Salt Lake Temple is under construction, and the lights at temple square aren't what they normally are, so we decided to see a show at the Planetarium to make the trip downtown worth it. The kids always think riding the train is fun.
We made gingerbread houses. The pre-built ones from Costco are the way to go.
We also went to the Christkindlmarkt at This is the Place. I thought this would be fun for Isaac to go to, since he served his mission in Germany. But it was really crowded. There are all sorts of little shed that people sell things out of, but there were so many people it was hard to get into any of them. And I thought Isaac would really enjoy the food, but the lines were really long and the kids were whining about trying weird foods. Plus, everything was outside, so the food got cold really quickly. It was really cold that night and we had lots of very cold children by the time we left. I think it could be fun to come another time, but I would probably do a few things differently.
We went to the Ogden Christmas Village with Isaac's family. They seem to think that's the greatest thing ever, but I think it's just ok.
We also went to see Santa through Travis Sorenson's work event. This is seriously the best way to see Santa because the line is always short, the kids get hot chocolate and donuts, and it's free.
We also rented a theater to invite a bunch of our neighbors and friends to come watch Elf. We had a great turn out and it was a ton of fun. I never liked that movie much until watching it on the big screen again, and now I think it's a must every Christmas.
Isaac made his annual German dinner and we invited the Frandsen's over. And for Christmas Eve dinner, I made a fancy steak dinner. Then we read our new Christmas book and the story of Christ's birth.
On Christmas morning, we woke up and opened presents as a family. Isaac gave me some new pots and pans. I gave him a new mountain bike. Sophie got some books and a trail camera for the cabin. Aspen got a Gabb watch. Luke got a Harry Potter train. And Hazel got a kitchen and strider bike.
Then we went to Grandma Sugar's house for presents and lunch (and pickles and egg nog). And then finished off the day in Ogden with Isaac's family. Christmas is always busy, but a good day seeing how excited the kids are for everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment