Christmas 2009

This Christmas was so enchanting. Our kids are the perfect ages to be totally excited about everything. They get wide-eyed at any mention of Santa, reindeer, elves, or the North Pole. They love singing all the little songs. Our favorites this year were "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Rudolph" (see previous post.) We have sung them both many dozens of times in the car, in the bath, eating dinner, anytime.
I am also very proud of my girls and actually quite surprised at how little they ask for. They are so excited that Santa will come, but they don't expect the world from him. (Although, Santa did surprise them with a giant laminated map of the world, complete with the location of the North Pole - Grace was so thrilled when the first thing she noticed was the North Pole on the map!) Anyway, their lists are very small and very simple. Any elf could accomplish the task in a quick minute. I love that they always ask Santa to bring them a surprise too. They want to get something that they never thought of or expected. It can usually be heard on Christmas morning, at least a few times "I'm so lucky!"

AND, I do know that Christmas isn't all about Santa. We do try to teach our kids about Jesus' birthday and why we really celebrate Christmas. But I don't think you have to stomp on Santa to do it. I get a little annoyed with people who think that they can't believe in Santa unless they set aside thoughts of Christ. For me they are one and the same. I really like the little mix of both we have. Totally on their own, both kids are actually pretty plugged into the true spirit of Christmas. Hattie loves nothing more than the baby Jesus. I'm sure she'll be a collector of manger sets like her Grandma. Grace loves them too, but not because of the baby, since babies are her least favorite thing in general. But, she really likes the story and, of course, the barn. Grace's favorite Christmas carol is Silent Night. I think it is really calming to her. My favorite thing to do with them is to take tags off of an Angel Tree and have the girls choose and wrap a gift for someone who might not get as much as they do. They like thinking of themselves as Santa's helpers.
Well, this Christmas was pretty similar to the last few we've had in New England with a few exceptions. I took the girls for a Christmas Eve ride. It was pretty special to spend some time with our favorite pony. We hadn't seen her since Halloween.

Then, we honored our standing invitation to spend Christmas Eve with the Bahe family and loved being surrounded by their musical talents. The Johnson family was there too. We had a super cast for the nativity scene. My favorite cast member is Brinna as the angel (it's one of those things you just have to be there.) Hattie brought her beloved "Blue Baby" to be baby Jesus. Grace was a shepherd, and Hattie wore her Eeyore costume to be the donkey. It was sweet and hilarious at the same time. (Hattie wouldn't let Grace hold the sheep, so Grace brought her German "Shepherd" to be her shepherd animal.)

We spent Christmas day with ourselves. Grace woke up first and peeked to see if Santa came. I had to wake up Harriet.

(not sure why this video looks so black now...)

Watching the girls as they opened their presents was so much fun. Seeing their faces as they saw something they had asked for in a box was priceless. For some reason, Velvet seemed totally interested in every present too. She practically sat on our laps as we opened things.

(yes, Grace did ask for a snake. who knows, her cousin Sean asked for a spider. what's wrong with kids these days?!)

The girls get so excited about their presents for Daddy. Hattie can still tell you what she gave to Daddy LAST year!

The grand prize of the day was Hattie's leapster. Now she can sit with her hand-held technology and game it up next to Grace on her DSi and Daddy on his iphone. Mommy is happy to not have a pocket computer.
(Hattie won't even let me talk on her princess phone.)

The sweetest gifts were the ones Grace and Hattie made and wrapped at school. They were so excited to put them under the tree and open them.
We stuck to our family tradition for Christmas dinner. Since we have lived here, we have cooked a big fancy dinner just for ourselves and eat it in the dining room in jammies. (mom and dad actually showered this year though...)
Eventually we ended up at the Hangen's house. They invited us over for dessert. Dessert turned into a long evening of relaxed chatting and kids playing nicely with each other. I broke down and made my favorite Christmas dessert - a Buche de Noel - haven't made one in years. They are pretty challenging to make, but totally worth it if you are up for it.

(the Aunts never fail to send the CUTEST clothes.)

All in all, a very Merry Christmas was had by the Chapman family. We are thankful this year that we were healthy and together and surrounded by great friends.