Our Christmas Tree

It’s Christmastime and I’m happy. My favorite time of the year. I love the smells, the cold, the lights, the Christmas music, the candles and the Christmas tree. All, minus the shopping. This is our second Christmas here in California, not spent with my family, but with Ryan’s family. Once again, we decided to keep things simple and not go crazy on shopping. We made fudge for everyone as presents and just buy a few gifts for each other. We also did Secret Santa with his family so literally, we only bought one present. It was great.

Last year I baked so much, it was frustrating and ended up spending way too much on ingredients because I made a cookies, chocolate covered pretzel sticks, sugar facial scrubs, granola, and more cookies….. It was too much. This year was just fudge and it was much, much, much easier and peaceful…aaah.

We also decided to not buy a Christmas tree and make our own out of wood. I got the idea from here. Total was $15 on wood and nails. Can’t beat that! I used craft paint on hand and it came out, oh, so pretty. We figured we can reuse it as many times as it holds up and/or until we have little ones, then we’ll buy a real tree.

So on Christmas Eve, we went to his parent’s and stayed there until the 27th. This was perhaps my most favorite Christmas ever. It was just perfect. They really make it special. On the 24th, we have a normal day…spend time together, etc. This year we watched the usual Christmas movies such as “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, and a few more, aside from our last year homemade Christmas movie :)

The tradition has continued since they were kids. His parents decorate the house beautifully, with candles, lights and Christmas decorations. They put out the presents and fill the stockings early in the morning of the 25th, and they play a special song…a classic tune, the same one every year. They kids get up to that song and walk over to the living room. This is my favorite part…it’s so early, so dark and you wake up to this sweet, happy song and everyone’s in a good mood, surrounded with Christmas spirit, I’d say, it’s quite magical…oh yes it is. So we moved on, open the stockings together. Ryan’s mom fills ‘em up with amazing goodies…enough for that being our presents. After stockings, we read a few verses from the Bible and then each one opens one present at a time. I love that too.

I think last year, we went back to bed and had breakfast afterward. This year, mom made breakfast and THEN we took a Christmas nap. She has been making scrambled eggs and blueberry muffins, maybe every year since Ryan was little? Right mom? or how is it?

So it was a fantastic day. We played games, laughed our heads off, cooked, had a nice dinner and bummed around for the rest of the day and the rest of the next day watching Christmas movies and being with each other. The only thing that would have made it better, it would be for my family to be with me and experience all of that together.

Thanks mom, for making Christmas so special for all of us!