Christmas 2016
Our Christmas celebrations span at least three full days. As has become our tradition since we travel for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, the Hedenberg six celebrate Christmas together on December 23. The 24th, 25th, and usually 26th are Decatur Christmas for us. After three to four FULL days of Christmas, we kind of feel like we have just run a marathon.
Truth be told, Ben angles a little harder every year to not travel at all on Christmas but to stay in our home and celebrate Christmas morning as a family in our own house- something we've never done. I don't agree, but can see the appeal. We've never attended church on Christmas Eve with our church friends because we are always gone. We've never seen the luminaries that light up our neighborhood on Christmas Eve because we're always gone. We've never made our own Christmas morning breakfast or filled our own kids' stockings. Our Christmas has always required some flexibility, some packing, and some travel.
All this being said, I just can't picture spending Christmas any other way. Our tradition is to spend Christmas Eve at my parents' house with my siblings. Ben's family joins us most years as well. We always play games, eat lasagna, have a drink or two, or just enjoy the evening together. Over the past couple of years, we've even added Ugly Christmas Bowling to the day. The night always ends with "It's A Wonderful Life" in the living room before last minute Christmas morning preparations occur.
Christmas morning means stockings and coffee with my parents and brother as we await the arrival of the Clarks. When the cousins arrive, the excitement explodes. The kids make piles of presents around the room and we open presents by turn in age order. The opening is more drawn out this way and it's fun to see what everyone opens. After presents, there is always monkey bread and a second cup of coffee before heading over to Patti's for another round of excitement.
The rest of Christmas day is spent at Patti's house with Ben's family. After a flurry of presents, the kids are always ready to immediately play with whatever cool thing Nini has just gotten for them. The entire day holds food and drinks and conversation and laughter and sometimes a quick snooze wherever it can be caught. The Koski family joins in the fun as well as, at least most years, my parents and brother. It is relaxed and perfect.
Christmas 2016 did not disappoint. Every year I am blown away by the love and generosity heaped onto my little family at Christmas time. More than just the presents- though goodness, were we spoiled!- it is the attention and care we are given that makes us just feel so loved. Every single year I think to myself that I can't imagine spending Christmas any other way.
We decided to head home this morning rather than sticking around Decatur for one more day. As much as we would have enjoyed more time with our extended family and attending Wingard Christmas, the draw of home won out. Gracie had plans with friends and Ben and I had some things we wanted to work on, number one being our mountain of dirty laundry- the result of our broken washing machine- and number two being getting our invisible fence buried as we prepare for the arrival of our new puppy in a couple of weeks. Ben has a laughable amount of travel coming up over the next ten weeks, so a week at home is an especially rare and cherished event. We hope to soak in as much family time as we can while also getting some items checked off of our to-do list.
A photo dump of Christmas 2016:
Truth be told, Ben angles a little harder every year to not travel at all on Christmas but to stay in our home and celebrate Christmas morning as a family in our own house- something we've never done. I don't agree, but can see the appeal. We've never attended church on Christmas Eve with our church friends because we are always gone. We've never seen the luminaries that light up our neighborhood on Christmas Eve because we're always gone. We've never made our own Christmas morning breakfast or filled our own kids' stockings. Our Christmas has always required some flexibility, some packing, and some travel.
All this being said, I just can't picture spending Christmas any other way. Our tradition is to spend Christmas Eve at my parents' house with my siblings. Ben's family joins us most years as well. We always play games, eat lasagna, have a drink or two, or just enjoy the evening together. Over the past couple of years, we've even added Ugly Christmas Bowling to the day. The night always ends with "It's A Wonderful Life" in the living room before last minute Christmas morning preparations occur.
Christmas morning means stockings and coffee with my parents and brother as we await the arrival of the Clarks. When the cousins arrive, the excitement explodes. The kids make piles of presents around the room and we open presents by turn in age order. The opening is more drawn out this way and it's fun to see what everyone opens. After presents, there is always monkey bread and a second cup of coffee before heading over to Patti's for another round of excitement.
The rest of Christmas day is spent at Patti's house with Ben's family. After a flurry of presents, the kids are always ready to immediately play with whatever cool thing Nini has just gotten for them. The entire day holds food and drinks and conversation and laughter and sometimes a quick snooze wherever it can be caught. The Koski family joins in the fun as well as, at least most years, my parents and brother. It is relaxed and perfect.
Christmas 2016 did not disappoint. Every year I am blown away by the love and generosity heaped onto my little family at Christmas time. More than just the presents- though goodness, were we spoiled!- it is the attention and care we are given that makes us just feel so loved. Every single year I think to myself that I can't imagine spending Christmas any other way.
We decided to head home this morning rather than sticking around Decatur for one more day. As much as we would have enjoyed more time with our extended family and attending Wingard Christmas, the draw of home won out. Gracie had plans with friends and Ben and I had some things we wanted to work on, number one being our mountain of dirty laundry- the result of our broken washing machine- and number two being getting our invisible fence buried as we prepare for the arrival of our new puppy in a couple of weeks. Ben has a laughable amount of travel coming up over the next ten weeks, so a week at home is an especially rare and cherished event. We hope to soak in as much family time as we can while also getting some items checked off of our to-do list.
A photo dump of Christmas 2016:
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