We continued with our new tradition of decorating for Christmas at the beginning of November. I love having the decorations up for longer.
My tatted ornament tree.
David and Jalen set up the train.
I bought this Christmas countdown on clearance last year. it was a fun addition to our decorations.
We had trouble figuring out where to put the main tree, but this spot worked out well.
I love the blanket/bedspread I made with my mom.
Another new addition were the Christmas waffle makers from Aldi.
Tiff sent me this awesome gnome blanket to thank me for taking care of her. I love her so much.
Beth Bailey bought me this cute throw. I can't remember what she was thanking me for. She's a sweet friend.
Tiff also bought me these Raider ornaments when I was in Vegas.
She also bought these advent ornaments for us. We painted them and loved adding them to our daily traditions.
Next year we'll need a bigger tree!
Jalen and David even dressed up with me for the ward party.
As always, the holiday lights at Saluda Shoals were beautiful.
Making s'mores is a must!
The lights at the zoo had become kind of lame and we didn't even go last year. We almost skipped this year because we were running out of time. We were so glad we went! It was so cool! They changed them up and it was more of an Asian type theme. The lights were phenomenal. (Pictures just can't do it justice.)
There were even designs on the ground!
Notice the smoke-filled bubbles in the background. So cool!
Of course I loved the dragon.
Jalen wanted these buffalo pictures for Grandad.
The whole thing was really amazing.
And with the Asian theme, of course we had to buy a new dragon for the collection! It's so cool!
Baylie and Lydia were dear friends in elementary school.
The elders joined us for decorating.
The gingerbread dough was better than ever.
The construction left something to be desired.
They went for a sword-fighting theme.
We made latkes and sufganiyot.
Baylie and Yasmin had a pretty epic dreidel battle.
Yasmin won! (She was very competitive!!)
Jackson
Baylie lit the menorah.
Obligatory tree picture.
You're never too old to sleep under the Christmas tree!
Our soup and singing night is quickly becoming a favorite tradition. We had singing and instruments. We have some talented friends! We were joined by the Baileys, Varnons, Hunlows, and Johnsons, plus our neighbor Kevin and David's boss Jackie.
The teenagers and Brother Varnon conquered the solo cup tower challenge.
The Varnons taught us how to look for mistletoe. It's so cool that we can harvest our own! It's actually a parasite that destroys the tree it grows on.
Brother Varnon climbing a tree before mall security told him to get down.
Mistletoe is a patch of green in a tree that is otherwise dormant for winter.
It's pretty, but poisonous.
We made little garlands to hang around the house and also delivered them to friends.
Spike was feeling very festive.
Instead of our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, we were invited to the Hunlows for a shepherds dinner. We was lamb, fish, nuts, dried fruit, pitas made by Jalen, baklava made by Baylie, olives and other similar foods. It was all delicious. We were joined by the Johnsons and Moores.
The Hunlows have a beautiful home.
We invited them to join us in our annual nativity recreation. Sister Moore was very pregnant with a baby due on January 5th (actually born on January 10th). She made the perfect Mary.
My little angels.
The wise men. Or maybe one was a shepherd??
When we got home, we lit the luminaries. I love this tradition and it always reminds me of my dad and his mother. I still use the bags my dad folded for me several years ago. They're getting pretty fragile!
We opened our Christmas Eve pjs.
And took the obligatory under-the-tree photo.
There were also fun activities for the littles. We love having little people in our house!
We had the missionaries over for dinner and goodies. We gave them Simply Southern t-shirts as gifts.
The kids broke through the paper to discover the presents!
Jalen was very excited to get a SIM card for his phone.
But his favorite present was a pair of Nike Jordans.
Baylie loved her Barbie Monopoly.
They butchered my poem, but are still really excited to go see Hamilton.
I took zero pictures of David's presents. Whoops! He did get a fun game called Kazoo That Tune, which was fun and funny.Jalen got the game Splendor, which is also a lot of fun for all ages. We love it!
On Christmas Day, I made mac and cheese because the kids felt badly about not getting it for Christmas Eve. It's a Southern staple.
At some point we went to see the new Aquaman movie. We all like it - the boys more than the girls.
I was also happy to add another awesome article to my Christmas clothing collection.
We always like to clearance shop the day after Christmas. That's when I always get wrapping paper. Target has the best and we especially liked these two.
The missionaries came over that week for homemade pizza.
Elder Jones loved my new foot massager.
Elder Vea has very sensitive feet!
As usual, our New Year's Eve was pretty mellow. We barely stayed up, celebrated, and went quickly to bed. You can see our big celebration HERE.
We are looking forward to a happy and healthy 2024.
