Christmas Afternoon

A few pictures from Margaret's Christmas afternoon at Nana and Grandpa's:

She tromped around in her boots,

wore Christmas clippies,

loved on Nana,

lounged on Nana,

"helped" Daddy and Grandpa play video games,

ate lots of food,

played with the Christmas decor,

and read books with Grandpa.

We Need a Little Christmas... Morning

Margaret woke us up bright and early Christmas morning. Fritz made funnel cakes with his new toy, then we went downstairs for gifts.

Our family tradition is to give the kids three gifts apiece, one each for gold (a special gift they've really been wanting), myrrh (something practical), and frankincense (something that promotes family togetherness). They also get a handmade gift from Santa.  The stockings are filled with consumable goodies, little luxuries, and practical items made special (eg. character toothpaste versus generic).  Margaret also gets a Meg and Mog book every year.  I imagine we'll have a similar tradition with subsequent children.

Margaret's gifts this year were:

Gold - Haba Lotta doll

Myrrh - Mini Masters board book set

Frankincense - Melissa and Doug chunky tool puzzle and vehicle maze

Meg and Mog - Owl at School 

Santa - soft busy book I made

Stocking - set of fairy board books (from Target's dollar bin), Charlie and Lola board book set, cereal bars, and an orange in the toe

My mom also bought her a child-sized recliner, which was delivered straight to our house.

Margaret immediately went for the box of art books.

She gave each gift a bit of attention...

until she realized there was a great big present under all those dinky, little ones! She spent the rest of the morning climbing in and out of her chair.

We lazed around in our jammies and watched Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (while Margaret continued to climb in and out of her chair), and then we got ready to go to my parents' house.

Christmas Eve

This weekend was packed with holiday fun for the Wannabe family.

On Christmas Eve morning, Margaret and I met Fritz over at his work for an office party.  It was a pleasant and casual get-together.  We ate, chatted with his coworkers and their families, did a white elephant exchange, and played a few games.

At Fritz's old (horrible) job, his boss catered a meal in the drafty, unfinished basement of his multi-million-dollar home, raffled off a couple large gifts and a whole lot of crap trinkets in lieu of holiday bonuses, and treated the employees and their families to a speech about how if they only worked harder and were better employees, they'd be invited to the fancy managers' party.  Yeah.  This year's party was miles better.

At home, we finished baking goodies and wrapping them up, then we walked the gifts around to our friends' and neighbors' houses. Margaret loved this part.

Chex Muddy Buddies, Rice Krispie wreaths, donut hole snowmen, and a Christmas card all packed in last year's discounted felt goody bags.

Margaret finally deigned to wear the Christmas tree clippie I made her.

Later in the evening, we bundled up and headed out to pass out a few more goodies and to look at Christmas lights. A house nearby does a great show. The owner coordinated an incredible light show to music you could tune into on your radio. That was such a treat, and we've decided we need to make it a tradition to visit this house every year.

We came home to find the elves had left a gift for Margaret. A new set of cozy jammies!

Fritz and I decided to open our gifts to each other, since we'd be traveling to my family's house the next day.

Fritz had searched through many antique stores to find me the perfect teapot. He did an incredible job picking one out. It's cobalt blue, small enough for just a couple cups of tea, and it has such a perky little shape. Among other little goodies, he also bought me a knitting magazine featuring a whole set of woodland animal patterns. Of course, he stuck our traditional wheel of Gouda in one of the packages, too.

Fritz's big gift from me was a funnel cake maker.  Can you believe he's never had a funnel cake before?  Sacrilege!  This travesty has, fortunately, now been remedied.

A Christmas House

Kids' Bathroom

Guest Bathroom

We sent out 75 cards this year.  Each one was signed by Fritz and myself and had a crayon scribble from Margaret.  I found an "H" monogram stamp at Michael's for $1 (it was the only monogram stamp in the pile - what luck!).  Those who got the "Naughty Elf" cards also received a family photo tucked inside.  I loved this year's winter postage stamps.  So pretty!