So This Was Christmas 2016

Christmas was great this year.  We were out of school on Wednesday, so thankfully we had some days to get ready.  We went to see Sing on Tuesday night since it wasn't a school night.  It was a $5 early showing...so even better!

The next night we had our annual viewing of the Grinch.  Everyone gets new Grinch pajamas for this night each year.

Thursday was baking day.  My favorite new thing this year were these bonbons.  O.M.G.  They will now be made every year.

We went to my parent's house Christmas Eve after Mass and opened presents there with my brother and his family.  I remember when I found out my sister-in-law was pregnant at the same time as me over 11 years ago.  I was so excited because I knew it meant my kids would have a cousin close to their ages to grow up with.  And that's just what has happened.

Christmas Day was a success.  As the kids get older, presents are getting smaller and easier to wrap.  Very few things have to be put together beforehand now.  While that makes it easier to be ready, I still think I would go back to when they were two and four given a choice.

Christmas Day was different this year.  Normally we just stay home and recuperate, but this year everyone came to our house for brunch.  This is actually possible now that we aren't up to 2 A.M. wrapping and putting things together.  And while I didn't get very many pictures of the people, I did manage to get pictures of the food.  Priorities.

Oh, and we weren't the only ones who received Cubs gear.

It was indeed a Merry Christmas!