We had the Christmas program in Sacrament meeting on the morning of Christmas Eve, and that was the end of church for that Sunday. It was such a relief to have the program out of the way.
In the afternoon the kids and I decorated sugar cookies. We had some fun sprinkles and ended up with some pretty cookies and some pretty interesting cookies. The kitchen looked like Candyland.
We delivered cookies to some of the neighbors and some friends in the ward. Maybe to some people this is a small thing, but for introverts like us it takes a bit of effort to get the courage to go knock on someone's door to give them cookies. The neighbors were very appreciative, though, and I was glad we did it because we don't talk to them enough.
For dinner we had potato soup, rolls, and our traditional cheese ball and wassail. I thought the cheese ball looked pretty rolled in the slivered almonds this year.
We did the nativity with the kids. Kevin was Joseph (he insisted on getting tools and building things because Joseph was a carpenter), Heidi was Mary, and Ann Marie was the angel. Ann Marie finally consented to dress up when I offered one of my white shirts as her costume.
Then we got the kids put to bed and worked on getting Christmas presents put out. I actually worked on wrapping presents ahead of time, so everything was pretty much ready to go under the tree.
I always want the magic of the present-opening to last longer, but the kids went so fast that it was over pretty quickly. But then there was the magic of everyone playing with their new presents for the rest of the day, which is also lovely.
We received so many lovely packages from people and had a very full Christmas.
The girls both got Barbies. It turns out that Barbies don't have obnoxious baby doll voices like their dolls do, which to Ryan and me is a bonus. They played with them for hours.
Ryan gave me an Instant Pot. I was completely surprised! I didn't expect it at all. It's turned out to be pretty handy in the kitchen. I actually haven't taken it off the counter to put it away because I use it at least a few times a week. I kind of want to giggle like I got away with something when I use it to make mashed potatoes because it's so easy and there's no starchy mess all over the stove. I also really like it for "boiled" eggs because I can time them exactly and they're super easy to peel. I'm still trying out recipes and figuring out how to use it, but it's been fun.
Kevin got modeling clay and Legos from us. I gave Ryan a book and some water beads (which was a random gift, but it was on his wish list, and as I expected they've been interesting to play around with).
We got the game Forbidden Desert for a family gift. Kevin really enjoys it.
These are called Brain Flakes, and they're very fun. They were a family gift. I think if the kids asked I said that these were Santa's gift (because they were the only present nobody saw before Christmas . . . I'm not good at hiding presents). I think I played with them more than the kids on Christmas. One thing I've learned is that if I'm going to play with the kids, it's a lot easier if we have toys that I like playing with too. I made this little person.
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