Christmas 2021

 CHRISTMAS EVE

We hosted the annual Friends Christmas Eve party for the second year in a row. We'd debated about renting out the Sacajawea Center or using the church gym, but everybody assured me they'd rather be "cozy" in my house than at a larger location. We had quite the crew in our home, and we all had so much fun! We ate, talked, laughed, and played games. The adults have a competition every year between boys and girls, and once again, the boys team won. 

We announced to everyone that we won't be able to host next year because we're planning to go to Arizona at Christmas to visit Ammon. Before we hosted, the Linger's hosted every year--they're the ones who started the tradition, but they moved to a smaller home 2 years ago and weren't able to host our large group any more. This may have been the final Christmas Eve friends party--as everyone's kids are growing up and moving away, the dynamics continue to change, and it seems like the right time for some traditions to end and new ones to begin. I had a delightful night; it couldn't have been more wonderful! I began crying silent, happy tears as everyone was leaving, realizing that it was probably the last time we'd all be together for Christmas Eve. It's been such an enjoyable tradition that we've been a part of for 10 years! Here's an ode to previous Christmas Eve's with our friends:

2010

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Everyone was gone around 11pm, and after the boys went to bed (Ammon slept in one of the twins' rooms with them for the night), Santa came and got stuff out just as the clock turned to Christmas Day:

CHRISTMAS MORNING:

Josh woke up that morning and did chores for his dad who was going to Boise. The rest of us slept in, which was so nice! The boys didn't even get up until around 9am! They looked at their Santa gifts and opened their stockings first: Ammon got clothes, Jonah and Micah got luggage, and Kanyon got a punching bag with a stand.

We all had scratch tickets in our stockings this year, so then the scratching commenced. We only buy them once a year, and we always realize why after we scratch them on Christmas morning--the payout never equates to the level of hope that is projected while scratching them!

We discussed if we should have breakfast and then open gifts, but everyone voted to just open gifts first and then have breakfast because there weren't a ton of gifts under the tree this year, so it wouldn't take as long. And it didn't! The longest part was sending the boys on scavenger hunts to find gifts that were for the whole family that I'd wrapped and hidden around the house. I had 8 small boxes, and they each had a clue in it. Each boy got to open 2 boxes and find the gift. There were 2 sleds, a DVD set, a puzzle, 2 video games, a board game, and a card game. 

Ammon looks like he's out of a Dumb &
Dumber scene in this photo!

Nobody wanted to take a photo with their pile of gifts this year, so I don't remember what they got. However, I remember what I got from Josh...a new dishwasher! It was desperately needed; our old one had accrued mold in it and always stank and it didn't wash the dishes good anymore. The best part about it was that he installed it, too! My gift to Josh was a stay at Quinn's Hot Springs over Christmas Break. Although they both cost nearly the same, his gift is the one that keeps on giving!

We ate our traditional breakfast of bacon, French toast, eggs, and eggnog after all the gifts were opened, after 10am. It's rare that we have a sit-down breakfast together, which is part of what makes Christmas breakfast so special every year. 

CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON/EVENING:

We started using the new family gifts after breakfast. We played several rounds of the videogame Tetris and watched the first 2 Rambo films in the series before we started cleaning up the house and making dinner.

We had our traditional meal of ham, potatoes au gratin, creamed corn, rolls, and sparkling cider. Grandma Parsons came down on her golf cart and joined us for the meal, which was nice to have company. I love spending Christmas days at home. I'm so grateful we could spend the day together! I treasure days like this!