The Christmas season started out with making delicious goodies with my sister-in-law Emily. I packed up caramels and candied walnuts for the neighbors. We had met about 6 neighbors but I thought it would be nice to introduce our family to the entire cul-de-sac with the attached tag.
This was my trusty team of deliverers but I just left the bag on the front porch because there are 16 neighbors! The night before I delivered these we received a plate of cookies and chocolates from a Christmas ghost. The week following my delivery we had 11 of the 16 neighbors bring stuff by! I was so excited every night to see if we were going to get something. The gifts included cookies, Sees chocolates, mints, breads, candies and sparkling apple cider. Although most of our neighbors are in their 60s its wonderful to have so many friendly people living near us and I love living on a cul-de-sac!
I set out the remaining caramels in the foyer but that didn't last long because Brooke would slide a chair over and grab one. :-)
The week prior to Christmas we went to see the lights at Temple Square with the Waltons (my step brother and his family...the family we are always hanging out with now!).
This was the Friday after we saw the elves and it was another very cold night as you can tell by Brooke's red cheeks and nose. She was so tired this night that she was pretty grumpy and crying most of the night. This made us decide to skip other Christmas outings until next year...just not worth it!
To kick off Christmas week the eve of Christmas eve (23rd) we had our first progressive dinner. The Waltons just bought a new house this past summer and pretty much gutted the whole thing so its nice and new now. We started at their house with soup and salad (Olive Garden style).
The parents.
My step-sister Cassie and her husband Nick and baby Dominic were in town from Santa Barbara.
Next stop was our house for dinner. I made stuffed peppers for the adults and noodles for the kids.
Then came the first gift of the night. Gigi (step-mom Gail) made these adorable knitted hats for the grandkids! Brooke and Skylar love wearing theirs!
The final stop was my parents house were Gigi handed out another gift for the kids. This time matching PJs!
Don't all the little monkey's look so cute! It was so fun having them all together this Christmas. This is all of the grandkids on this side of the family but Emily is due to have another in just 1 month!
The dessert was delicious chocolate fondue with a wide spread of yummy fruit and bread.
The progressive dinner was a huge hit! It was very fast paced, only 1 hour at each house except we relaxed at the end at my parent's house. We all live 5 minutes apart so super convenient. We will definitely keep this tradition!
I don't have any pictures from Christmas Eve but we spent it back over at my parent's house with Cassie and Nick for another tradition of steak and lobster on Christmas Eve.
Now on to Christmas morning. Here are a few pictures of the girls opening their presents at home.
Then we headed over to my parents house once again for a Christmas brunch. We had a few extra guests on this special day. Kat, Gail's friend, is in the picture below and she always spends Christmas with us. She made Brooke and Skylar their favorite crocheted blankets!
Here is my gorgeous prego sister Emily and my uncle Dick in the background.
And my other gorgeous sister Cassie with baby Dominic 3 months younger than Skylar but almost the same size!
The entire clan. We were so blessed to all be together. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family and love living near most of them.
We missed the Patterson side of the family this year but hope to spend next Christmas with them in Michigan!
2 comments:
Still love seeing all the pics. That was such an awesome Christmas!!
thanks for the pics--looks like a good time
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