For the third time in our marriage, Mr. Handsome and I are spending Christmas without extended family. We value time with family, but since I am in my third trimester of pregnancy, we decided it would be a good year to enjoy a quiet Christmas with just our family of four. If we have the energy, we might have family over to our house for New Year’s Eve.
Unsurprisingly, the kids were very excited for Christmas morning. We woke up to Little Buddy running around the house in circles, cheering, “Hooray it’s Christmas! Hooray it’s Christmas.” I did not want to be in the kitchen on Christmas morning, so Mr. Handsome and I prepared a breakfast egg and ham casserole the day before that we just needed to pop in the oven. I also temporarily forgot my low-sugar diet and made sweet rolls that were ready to cook (granted, I did cheat and start with Pillsbury biscuits).
Originally, the plan was to eat breakfast before opening presents, but Little Buddy convinced us to let him and Littlest Buddy open one gift before we ate. Our generous families gave the kids so many toys that we did not need to buy them anything from Mommy and Daddy. They also both have birthdays around the holidays, so they are very well stocked up. I did buy gifts for them to give to each other, which they loved doing. Little Buddy was very excited to give his younger brother the car that he had picked out.
Since Mr. Handsome and I don’t need anything, we chose not to give each other gifts this year. Mr. Handsom’s present to me was checking off the items on his honey-do list, and my gift to him was cooking deep dish pizza for Christmas Eve. I also spent several creating a Shutterfly book of all his paintings, which I gave him on his birthday.
This very moment, we are in the process of assembling all the kids’ toys. Those of you who are parents know that this can be a time-consuming task. Little Buddy received a Playmobil firetruck, and Littlest Buddy got a big barn for his animals, as well as a toddler flashlight. They also got magnet tiles and train tracks to share.
How has your Christmas morning been? What did you and your family give/receive?
To the Jewish readers and others who don’t observe Christmas, happy Monday.
Our gift to each other this year was ordering a new car after 2 years of looking and Covid messing up availability. It’ll be spring til it’s here.
That’s exciting! I’m sure it will be well worth the wait.
Merry Christmas! Will you share that recipe for the cinnamon rolls? Look so good. I pray you have an easy delivery of your new baby girl!
Hi Jill! Thank you for your prayers. Here is the recipe I used. I had to find a YouTube video that showed the process of rolling it out as well. I’ll put that link here, too. Hope you and your family have a happy new year!
https://outoftheboxbaking.com/2022/04/25/easy-cinnamon-rolls-from-canned-biscuits/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyir2C_zcQ
Thank you so much! Happy New Year to you and your family too!
Oh yes, my Christmas was spent assembling a doll house for the girls (that will be you in no time 😆) while my 8 year old assembled his little Lego fire station which was really cool to see cuz I always had to help him in the past.
Our Christmas was laid back, we stayed in as a family. I like it that way and then later in the week we celebrate with extended family 💞
I am glad to hear you had a nice Christmas! The meal in advance was a great idea! And sounded delicious 😋
So cute!! My kids love magnet tiles and their little animal barn! I’ll have to try the cinnamon rolls. On Christmas Eve, we realized we would be spending Christmas and the next few days at home. I had books for the girls and a painting activity that could be done outside but it looked like it was going to rain. I was really counting on grandparent gifts lol. But Tractor Supply and Walmart came through and in two hours I had them each a toy and ingredients to do a candy cane croissant and ham and egg casserole!
We had a nice day and they enjoyed playing with their little horse toy set. We’ll try to have grandparent Christmas this weekend.
You must be homeschooling if your kids don’t know about Santa Claus. Your choice, of course, but it’s a shame to miss out on a bit of magical tradition that’s so special. Most conservative Christian kids end up absolutely splurging on magical Christmas when they get to have their own kids because they missed out in their childhood. Just look at the Duggar kids.
Hi Emily. We plan to homeschool. Little Buddy doesn’t officially start Kindergarten until next fall, but we did a soft start this past spring and fall, and he is about to finish our Kindergarten reading curriculum. We have decided not to do Santa, but that decision has nothing to do with homeschooling. I think every family should have the freedom to choose what is best for them. Growing up, my family did Santa, and Mr. Handsome’s did something similar. I have a couple reasons for choosing a different route with my kids. I cried when I found out that Santa wasn’t real, when I was about eight years old, and I want to save my children that disappointment. I also don’t want to risk confusing my kids. I always strive to keep my word, be truthful, and not to make promises to my kids that I can’t keep. I see no long-term harm in the tradition of Santa, but I personally cannot bring myself to tell my children something that isn’t true. Our Christmases are still magical, I assure you.
We don’t do Santa either and Christmas hasn’t lost any of its magic here either… 🙃