Blog break over + Christmas 2024

Hello!! I’m back.

As has been the case multiple times this year, I did not exactly intend to take a long(ish) blog break, but, I did. The last couple of days before Christmas got really busy, and then it was a whirlwind of having a very full house, holiday fun, etc.

I will also admit that since it’s now December 30th, right on the cusp of the new year, I am feeling a little itchy to just gloss over Christmas and put out some new year’s content! A “year in review”, perhaps, sharing some goals for 2025…. All such fun posts to write. Also, as much as I love Christmas, I got a teeny bit burnt out feeling and am generally ready to move on.

BUT, this Christmas was very special and I really want to make sure to document it!

You all already know my sister’s family is back from Ireland. This is the first time in like…. 8 years, I think, that we spent a Christmas together! And it was really wonderful. Her kids are 5-7-9 and at that perfect age to still experience all the “magic of Christmas” (which is great, because mine are sort of on the other end, aging out of that big excitement level).

Everything went really well! I think everyone agreed that things went smoothly, and it was all just very enjoyable.

I feel like I took a record LOW number of pictures this year!! In part because I was just busy being wrapped up in the moment, I guess, which is a good thing! And also, while my kids are used to me photographing their every move, I didn’t really want to be the weird aunt shoving a camera in my nieces’ and nephew’s face every 5 seconds. 🤣

Christmas 2024

Weekend (December 21-22)

I was pretty thrilled with the timing of Christmas this year. I took a vacation day on Monday 12/23 and LOVED having Saturday, Sunday and Monday OFF before Christmas Eve.

The weekend was spent tying up loose ends, cleaning the house, and wrapping presents! And baking cookies.

Monday December 23rd

Asher had swim practice at 8:30 a.m. and I ran to get our holiday groceries. Got some sheets changed and rooms ready for all our guests, who arrived around ~1:00 p.m.

We had gotten a BUNCH of snow and it actually started snowing again just as they were arriving- the big, fat snowflake kind! It was sooo pretty. As soon as they arrived, my brother-in-law asked if they could jump in the hot tub! (Snow + hot tubbing is the best! And it’s something their kids won’t experience often in Ireland.)

I had just showered, so I didn’t go in, but my sister’s whole family slipped their suits on and braved the cold! It was super fun. My BIL took a portable speaker out and played Christmas music while the snowflakes fell…. The perfect activity + atmosphere to kick off Christmas. 🙂

The kids gleefully ran around the yard in their swimsuits, in the SNOW, challenging each other to actually lay down, before making a beeline for the hot tub. Hahaha!

I took some funny videos and rotated being outside with them and watching from the window, where I was finishing up making a final batch of cookies.

The rest of the day we mostly just hung out! The kids played (Charlie still a major hit with all of them and he loved them all right back), I think my sister wrapped a few gifts, etc.

In the later afternoon we watched 8-Bit Christmas, which my sister’s family had never seen. When Ivan got home, he made his famous nachos for dinner!

After dinner we watched the Packers game (not the most exciting game- a 34-0 win, but hey! We’ll take it.).

Tuesday December 24th

Christmas Eve!! I woke up pretty early and found my mom and my middle niece out in the living room already.

I just chatted with them and we put some Christmas TV on for the kids while others woke up.

It was a nice, cozy morning with no big plans.

I talked to my sister some over her coffee, and then I put on a Christmas music/ fireplace scene from Youtube on the kitchen TV and started making potato soup for lunch.

I puttered around in the kitchen for a long time making the soup, and then my sister and dad both also had some other things to prep for Christmas Eve night. The kids mostly just alternated playing and watching bits of Christmas movies, etc.

My sister and I took Charlie on a ~25 minute walk, just the two of us, which was really nice!

We had lunch of the potato soup and some yummy artesanal bread I had bought, followed by rotating through the showers and getting ready for the night.

Christmas Eve church was at 3:30, so we headed out by 3:00 to get seats.

Me with my sister on the way out the door:

The church looked really pretty! Poinsettias all over the alter and two big Christmas trees.

I love the Christmas Eve service because it ends right around 4:30, just as it’s getting dark. They turn the lights down and everyone lights candles and sings Silent Night, which is just so, so beautiful. I really wish I had a picture, but I also didn’t a) want to be weird and b) ruin the moment!

(I looked back and found a couple pics from 2017 when we sat in the very last row and I did sneak a few pictures!):

We did snap this 2024 pic after church:

Christmas Eve family pics at home:

One more, where Charlie walked into the frame and sat and posed, all by himself, at the last second! So funny.

The rest of the evening we spent in the basement rec room. We had carnitas tacos, meatballs, shrimp, cookies, cheese and crackers and sausage, pizza rolls, mini hot dogs/ crescent rolls, and cheesy potatoes! So. much. food! (We always do a “snacky” style meal on Christmas Eve.)

I played some Christmas tunes on the piano while the food was set out. (I love playing Christmas songs!)

Then, presents!! We had a LOT, for 11 people.

We made the (very smart) decision to do presents in shifts. The little kids opened all their presents first (which actually took quite a while, factoring in gifts from lots of people). Charlie got lumped in with the kiddos. 😉 He got a new jacket, a new collar, and several toys/ bones!

We then took a break while my sister put the littles to bed upstairs.

Then, round 2! All the adult presents (plus the boys, who wanted to be in the “adult” wave).

Everything went great! After all the stress of trying to figure out gifts for everyone, in the end, it all worked out. (As it always seems to.) Everyone seemed happy with their gifts, I think, and everyone just gave really thoughtful gifts all around!

*I am still determined to make the gift buying process easier somehow next year!! Namely, I need to be better about capturing gift ideas throughout the year, and leaning more into the idea of “wish lists” (maybe by soliciting ideas earlier, so people can have that time to tell me, “hmm…. I don’t know… let me think on it!”- but then actually get back to me with some tangible ideas! lol!

Wednesday, December 25th:

Christmas morning!

Christmas Day is historically a very relaxed day at our house. Typically, I don’t even change out of my PJs. (This year, I showered/ did hair/ makeup midday… and then put my Christmas PJs back on. 😅)

I liked this scene of the sun glinting through the snow-covered tree out my kitchen window:

Santa came! He only brought a couple gifts for the Ireland crew, but did leave a thoughtful note letting the kids know that he realized they wouldn’t have much space to bring things back, so he had left the rest of their gifts in Ireland! What a guy! (Girls, if you’re reading this, you’ll have to text me and let me know what Santa left for you when you get home! (Sometimes my mom shows the girls my posts. haha.))

We had a casual cinnamon roll/ fruit breakfast.

Later, we had lasagna and garlic bread for lunch… which apparently I took ZERO pictures of. In fact, I barely have any photos at all from Christmas Day. Oh well!

We hung out, the kids played with their new Legos + the girls put on a little “concert” with the karaoke machine I got my niece and we watched several movies throughout the course of the day.

Later at night we had leftover snackies for dinner from Christmas Eve.

Charlie was a TROOPER with all the action!! (But, he literally passed out on the 26th from exhaustion! Haha! He didn’t nap too much while everyone was at our house.)

Thursday, December 26th:

On Thursday, I unfortunately had to work. Asher had swim practice and my sister’s family headed out by ~9 a.m. They went to Minnesota for a few days to see some of my brother-in-law’s extended family.

My parents stuck around one more day, mostly so my mom could help clean up all the mess Christmas inevitably leaves behind! Lots of dishes, trash, food platters, crumbs, glasses, piles of presents….. whew. I was grateful for her help in “re-setting” the house a bit while I worked.

They stayed over and we went out for dinner Thursday evening.

On Friday they also headed home by midday, and thus ended what I considered our “holiday hosting extravaganza!” (We saw my sister’s family last night one more time (Sunday) for dinner on their way back from Minnesota, but they’re with my parents this week and fly home Wednesday.)

Like I said, everything went really great!! I’m so happy we were all able to be together and that everything went off without a hitch. It is, sadly, pretty rare for us to all be together like this, so I try to really soak it up and appreciate it.

That said, I enjoyed a long mild but rainy solo walk with Charlie on Friday evening! A little quiet alone time with a podcast really hit the spot after a fairly hectic last couple weeks.

I am so, so, SO glad this Christmas happened like it did, but I am also happy to move on now to the new year and put all the Christmas tasks behind me for a while. 🙂

(Oh, here’s a shot of Charlie’s new grey Kong jacket and his mint green collar/ leash set. 🙂 )

I am looking forward to shifting focus away from holiday lights and decorating and presents and wrapping and baking to…… everything else again. Haha! We always leave our Christmas decorations up at least through New Years (I love all the cozy twinkle lights so much), but for some reason the decorations are suddenly feeling very “cluttered” to me this year! I’m oddly having some cravings to just rip it all down. I’m just craving order + clear spaces + less….stuff everywhere.

I’ll be back hopefully this week with a 2024 recap and also maybe a little goals series? (I know I said I might not really set them, or would set super minimal ones, but I just can’t resist! I always set too many goals! It’s too tempting!! Will this be the year I actually accomplish a bunch of them though??? bahahaha. I feel really excited and motivated about the goals I have pulled together, though. Stay tuned!)

I hope you have had a wonderful holiday week. One more day left in 2024!! Eek!!

P.S. Anyone else really liking the sound of “2025”? Feels sort of like a milestone year. A quarter of a century. Whoa!

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for my new Ugg Tasmans! Ethan bought them for me for Christmas. ❤️