I thought last year was as low-key as we could get on Christmas, and I even vowed we'd kick things back up a notch this year, but the reality is this year was even more low-key because we didn't see anyone outside of our family and never set foot out the front door. Food, treats, watching our church's Christmas Eve service a day late, gifts, games, Tim reading The Legend of the Three Trees, Christmas music, messages and phone calls with family, and quite a bit of laughter. Plus a little conflict and tears, because that's real life.
I'm always taking pictures of everything, but told the fam the only one I was taking today was our usual family picture. But several hours later I busted out an inflatable antler ring toss, similar to this one. Tyler and I were the only Ws who ended up playing and it's a lot harder than I expected, so I felt compelled to document our only successful tosses with a picture.
I'm always taking pictures of everything, but told the fam the only one I was taking today was our usual family picture. But several hours later I busted out an inflatable antler ring toss, similar to this one. Tyler and I were the only Ws who ended up playing and it's a lot harder than I expected, so I felt compelled to document our only successful tosses with a picture.
It was a good day, both fun and relaxing, but we also had a few other Christmas highlights over the last several days.
On Saturday we watched The Christmas Ships. Those volunteers have been cruising the river for a couple weeks every December for fifty years and I always enjoy the times we're able to watch their parade.
Tuesday night we drove through Keizer Miracle of Christmas Lights, as well as through some streets of Woodburn. From classy displays to tacky ones, simple to elaborate, Christmas lights are inherently cheerful and I think it's fun to look at them.
I'd decided not to bake this year because we already had some treats for Christmas day. Then I hopped on Facebook Wednesday morning and saw posts in my memories of the cookies I'd made previous years. So, I made a spontaneous decision on Christmas Adam to crank out some goodies. But not before we headed over to our neighbors to check out his most recent LEGO Christmas decor. So fun! Then it was time to don a Santa hat, choose three cookie recipes, and start pulling out ingredients.
I ended up with thirteen dozen cookies, most of which we distributed to friends and neighbors. I'm glad I chose not to bake this year because I needed to not feel pressure to get more done. I'm also glad I changed my mind and could enjoy an unexpected day in the kitchen that satisfied lots of taste buds. Here's a little glimpse of what we ate - honey & spice, maple-glazed oatmeal, and a new cranberry orange recipe I don't have up yet.
Finally, yesterday I posted this picture on Facebook of this ornament from a friend and asked people to link their church's online Christmas Eve services. In a season where many people are choosing not to venture out and are missing their tradition of gathering at a church to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve, I thought it would be nice for folks to have some options of services they could watch from home. Several friends shared links and I spent a good portion of the day listening to, singing along with, and sorta watching to four different ones as I went about my day. Not only was it a mood booster on a day of exhaustion-driven emotions, but it was also neat to get a glimpse into a little piece of my friends' lives.
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