Happy Christmas Eve Eve. We are just about to what I consider “the good part”. Meaning, the part where all the “work” is over, and we can just hopefully relax and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
As I mentioned, my maybe favorite part of the season is actually early December. But the 24 through ~27th or so is right up there, too. Actually, I’d say I really enjoy the entire week following Christmas, up through the 31st. It still feels festive- Christmas movies and music are still appropriate- but all the work/prep is behind us.
We don’t really prepare a huge Christmas meal that requires a ton of work, and I like it that way. We tend to do more like appetizer style foods, plus usually some Mexican inspired food for Ivan. For Thanksgiving we do the whole formal sit-down meal, and it’s lovely and wonderful, but it’s a lot of work. For Christmas, there’s so much other work that goes into preparing for the holiday, that I have zero desire to cook all day long on Christmas. ZERO.
I am feeling more and more that holidays are really best when you are <18 years old. They just magically “happen” for you at that age and you get to enjoy all the benefits with none of the effort. 🙂
Once we get to Christmas Eve, it always feels like we can breathe a collective sigh of relief. We tend to watch a lot of Christmas movies during Christmas week and the week after, and I find that to be extremely relaxing. All the gifts are bought and wrapped- whatever we have, we have. No time left to do any more shopping. The cookies have been made; now we just have to eat them. Same with the decorating, etc…. it’s all been long done. All we need to do now is sit and enjoy.
I’m still working today, but probably 85% of my department took the day off today. Our standing 8:30 a.m. Friday meeting was cancelled- yay! Should be a low-key day. I’m going to try to get a lot done early so I can hopefully check out sooner than later.
It definitely feels wintery outside. Temperature when I woke up said -14 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr…. good day to stay inside and be cozy. 🙂
We did exactly that last night. After having a family game night (grandparents included) by the fireplace, we watched a romantic comedy Netflix movie called I Believe in Santa, which was very cute. (Rated PG, but I might not recommend for Santa-believers! Just a LOT of very real talk about adults not believing in Santa, etc which might cause some…questions/ confusion especially for kids that are on the cusp of aging out.)
Hope everyone is staying warm and feeling ready for this weekend!
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful that we didn’t get as much snow as originally thought, which hopefully has minimized issues for people traveling on the roads this week in our area. Still icy and slippery, but hopefully better than it could have been, at least.
GRATEFUL KAE 
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family. I’m glad you got less snow! We ended up with 8”. But it is so horribly cold! I can’t wait for the warm up next week! If we have all this snow, I want to be able to sled with the boys to tire them out!!
Your Christmas meal plans sound perfect! We go to Phil’s cousin’s house tomorrow night and they also have a bunch of aps and some soups. No one sits down to eat, besides our kids. You just mingle with a plate in hand which is ideal! Phil will make a Spanish tortilla for brunch on Sunday and then I will make ham, mashed potatoes, gravy and asparagus. But that is a pretty easy meal to put together. And we love having ham leftover for soups.
I agree that Christmas is best when you are young. It is fun to have a hand in the magic making but it’s still more fun to be on the receiving end of the magic and to have all the excitement or new toys!! Paul is hitting the peak age for Christmas, I think. Taco is still clueless!
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Yay! I’m so excited for the next few days. Sure, it’s bitter cold outside, but I’m inside and it’s warm and smells like gingerbread and the Christmas tree is up and it’s so wonderful. I’m trying to hold on to this feeling because we’re planning on spending Christmas Day at my in-laws and my husband’s immediate family (his sibs, their kids, his dad and stepmother) is twenty-three people in one house and unlike Thanksgiving, we won’t be able to send the kids outside for most of the day because it will be too cold. It’s going to be LOUD and chaotic. I shall have to stockpile these calm, cozy moments for reflection when I’m losing it on Christmas Day!
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Today was just such a fun day and, like you, I think some of that comes from all the stress of prep being largely behind me. We listened to Christmas music. I cleaned up the house in prep for Christmas morning (but in a fun, non-rushed way). We did a few little projects. The kids coloured and watched movies. I went on a loonnngg walk with a friend and finished delivering the rest of my local Christmas cards. My parents came over for supper, but arrived early so we had this unexpected long time just hanging out in the living room talking with the lights of the tree on and I was just SO happy.
It has been a tough December for our family (just some underlying health woes that have been exhausting!), and tonight just felt so, so festive and wonderful.
I always say that Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year, but this time around I think Christmas Eve, Eve will be hard to beat!
Merry Christmas, friend ❤
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we are so low key here for Christmas eve dinner. I agree that I prefer to be kids for Christmas than the adult who needs to organize it. I feel like needing a vacationto do nothing right now. hahahah… Merry Christmas.
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You’re so right – by the 23rd, most prep-work is done and now the time is here to just enjoy and celebrate.
But boy is this true: When we were kids, the holidays just magically “happened” and we got to enjoy all the benefits with none of the effort. (Although I find that some of the effort can also be fun).
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