Christmas Merriment

The holiday season is jam packed with activities and it is definitely hard to keep up let alone blog about it all.  So this is my catch-all blog post about the past 4 weeks!  There aren't even pictures for everything we did this past month - trust me, it was non-stop.  So busy in fact that several times I had to stop and think am I enjoying this at all or am I just checking this off my self-imposed Christmas To Do List?!  Next year I hope to tone it down a little bit and remember to enjoy the season more and endure the season less!

Despite how exhausting the past month has been, I am blessed to have a full calendar, lucky to have all these memories, and thankful for every minute I get to spend surrounded by Christmas magic! I want to hold on to these moments as long as possible and I am fully aware that I will miss all of this terribly when it is gone.

2013 Christmas Season Recap - 

•  Meg and I braved Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving night to kick off the holiday season! Scored some good deals and were home by 11 p.m.

• Celebrated Jeff's birthday with a seafood cioppino dinner and mud pie dessert. 

 

• We hosted the Sahotas for our annual Freeland/Sahota Christmas brunch and Emmie helped me bake and make homemade marshmallows.  We made cherry turnovers, pumpkin bread, lemon strawberry bundt cake, cowboy quiche, cinnamon roll casserole, and a Belgian waffle bar.  It was delicious!

• We played Holiday Lights Bingo in the car as we drove around in our pajamas (with Gidgit) to look at Christmas lights.  Logan won Bingo and Blackout.  It was great fun! 

• We went to Silveyville Christmas Tree Farm to cut down a real tree and enjoy all that place has to offer.

 

• Brought in our 9 tubs of Christmas decorations and set up our 3 Christmas Trees!

•  Got all dressed up and watched Joey and Logan sing in the DECS Winter Art & Music Program.  Also got to see some of their artwork on display.

•  Enjoyed Elf on the Shelf antics all month long (separate post on Oliver's activities). 

•  Joey got to ride on the Cub Scout parade float at the Clarksburg Lights Parade.  This year we were prepared with glow sticks and pizza.  Of course no amount of being prepared stopped us from encountering a few hiccups like rain and Emmie peeing her pants... oh well! Unfortunately Jeff had to bartend and missed the parade. 

• Jeff and I volunteered at the school Pancake Breakfast.  I served sausage all morning (ironic for the non-meat eater I know) and Jeff made pancakes. 

•  We went Christmas caroling through the streets of Clarksburg with the Cub Scouts.

• We went to Victorian Christmas in Nevada City (there is a separate blog post about this).

• We baked Christmas cookies and made ornament crafts with the neighbors (separate post about this too). 

• We participated in the annual preschool Santa visit.  Santa was very Scottish this year... Emmie was scared at first but eventually got on his lap.  
  
    
  
  
  • We attending Jeff's school's Pancake Breakfast and Holiday Craft Fair and Sing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  • We performed random acts of kindness including collecting and donating books to the library, making cards for sick children, and donating blankets to the local animal shelter. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Well that pretty much takes us up to Christmas Eve!  Throw in the usual Christmas movies, lights on the house, school parties, work potlucks, shopping, wrapping, getting Christmas cards out, etc. and you have our crazy month.  Wouldn't want it any other way though - okay, maybe a little more time between activities would have been nice - but otherwise wouldn't want it any other way! :o)