In Our Christmas Jammies

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  As always, we kicked off the Christmas season with some Christmas jammies to get us into the holiday mood:

Sadly, this might be our last year with a real tree.  Costco stopped selling them, most local tree lots charged hundreds of dollars for a small and scrawny selection, and none of the kids were that interested in driving up into the mountains to chop one down.  With some patience and diligence, Chris finally find one that was reasonably-sized and reasonably-priced.  But he declared he was done with real trees and ready to invest in a fake one.  Time will tell...

This is what they did when I said, "I want a picture of you decorating the tree."

This is what it looked like when they actually decorated the tree.

In addition to the tree, we also decked the halls.

Christmas has arrived!

This might also be our last year for gingerbread houses.  Danny can't stand the smell and Aaron thought it was boring.  Jill was the only one who put any effort into it.

Danny popped his head in for the picture, but then immediately left because "gingerbread makes me nauseous."

Even Jill lost steam after she finished the roof.

Low-energy gingerbread neighborhood.

Festivity fatigue.

While we stumbled a bit in the tree and gingerbread house department, our cookie game stayed strong.  In fact, cookie-baking just keeps getting easier as the kids get more self-sufficient!

In addition to our homemade cookies, I got invited to a neighborhood cookie exchange.  This meant that we got to try tons of new cookie varieties for the first time!

The cookie party.

The loot.

In fact, our holiday schedule was quite packed with holiday parties and performances.  Not only was Jill busy with her Christmas Story production (which prompted a number of visits from family members who came in town to see the show), she and Aaron were also onstage for the Nutcracker dance performance.  Such a great show!

We are so grateful for all the friends we got to see, Christmas cards we received (and sent), and holiday celebrations we got to take part in.

Our 2024 card featured trips and pets.

On Christmas Eve, it was lovely to just relax and enjoy time at home.  We watched a Christmas movie, played Settlers of Catan (our new obsession), and put the kids to bed.  And then Chris and I wrapped the presents, stuffed the stockings, and ate the cookies.   

Christmas Day was a bit more chaotic, but at least there was coffee.  Highlights included a new Kitchen-aid mixer for Jill, a VR headset for the boys (including Chris), chew toys for Pickle and Pepper, and lots of hugs and snuggles.

Merry Christmas!

The family that jams together, stays together.

As the kids get older, our traditions will have to grow with them.  And while it can be hard, and a little sad, to say goodbye to those "little kid" years (and to trade in Santa for screentime, and elves for electronics), it's comforting to know that one thing will always remain the same: Christmas jammies.