Christmas Shenanigans

We really dove into the Christmas festivities this year, but we changed it up quite a bit from how we normally do it. My work went all out this year with a Toyland Theme and Santa for the kids. So instead of braving the cold at The Village to see Santa there, we opted for indoor, with free cookies and hot chocolate, as well as a bunch of other goodies for the kids while visiting with Santa. It was such a fun night!

Of course, we still wanted to get over to The Village to see all of the lights, and the huge tree, and Santa's workshop, so we strolled around a bit one evening after seeing Avatar 2.  The tree never ceases to amaze me, and the fountain with the synced music. Such a fun place to see during the holidays.

Even though we weren't feeling 100%, Kendall and I still got a ton of Christmas goodie baking done this year.

The softball girls got together for a big pot-luck and cookie decorating party. These girls.....holy smokes. What a FUN group! I am so glad that Kendall has this group of friends, and all the moms too! It's definitely been a highlight of my year having this group.

And then a sickness like no other had most of the family within its grip for most of December. So it was a day filled with good food, lots of laughs, and even more coughing.  And then more coughing....and more and more. Ugh! 

Holidays!

Warning!  Massive photo dump ahead.

Given all the continued COVID restrictions, it was a challenge to make Christmas feel like Christmas this year. However, looking back through all of these pictures, I think we definitely succeeded in doing all the "normal" things we typically do, just in a different fashion.

The kids still got to see Santa! I have been trying to stay away from The Village for Santa, simply because waiting in line was turning into a multiple hour wait, and nobody is in a good mood after that. This year, they offered "reservations", which was a freaking life saver. You could reserve a specific time, and we only waited for 10 minutes. This is the way to do it! Even though there was plexi-glass, the kids still got a great experience with Santa.

 We also ventured out to Indian Creek to check out all the lights. This is one of my favorite places. I absolutely adore Christmas lights. It was a super chilly evening, but we bundled up and avoided crowds as much as we could. 

On the way home from Indian Creek, we stopped to check out the lights at Scentsy. As always, the light tunnel was a huge hit. They had a new, huge Christmas tree that changes colors, so that was fun to watch.

Kendall's class still got to have their Christmas party, thankfully! We were wondering if they would be able to pull it off. Her school had themed dress-up days each week leading up to Christmas break, and they got to wear Christmas pajamas for their class party/movie.

Banks got into the holiday spirit as well!

Each year when we pass the ice skating rinks at The Village and Indian Creek, the kids ask to ice skate. And each year, I tell them "another time". Well, another time finally came and they were able to get out onto the ice for a 30 minute reservation. This kept the crowd small and they were able to move around freely on the ice.

We started our hunt for a gingerbread house a little late this year. We finally got a gingerbread train, and the kids worked together to make it a masterpiece.

As usual, the gifts outgrew the tree. :)

We celebrated Christmas Eve at my parents' house with a warm fire in the fireplace, good music, and yummy food.

Matt and I were able to continue our Christmas Day tradition of finding snow. We ventured up to Grimes Creek this year, then onward into Idaho City, and then up and over the mountain through Harris Creek area to Horseshoe Bend. It was a beautiful drive!

Addie was in Mexico over Christmas, so the kids graciously waited until she got back to open presents. She was very homesick on Christmas, as Mexico wasn't exactly her idea of where she wanted to be during the holiday. Carter and Kendall were counting down the minutes until she got home, and then it was GAME ON for opening gifts!  Santa was very good to them this year!!