This face? It's what it's all about.
If this elated (albeit blurry) expression doesn't scream 'Christmas morning', I don't know what does. As a kid, I came remember the incredible excitement and anticipation as we waited for Santa to come. As I got older, Christmas was a fun holiday but it lacked that pure joy... and that magic.
Since Benjamin and Emme have come along, the magic is back - but in a bigger and better way than I could have ever anticipated. We filled our days leading up to the 25th with fun activities like decorating gingerbread houses, writing letters to Santa, making Christmas crafts, the beloved chocolate advent calendars, and lots of time spent with friends and family.
I didn't do everything I wanted to, but I could feel the anticipation building and loved every minute of it. I especially loved watching Benjamin. This is the first year that he really gets 'it', and not just Santa. Although Santa and the gifts were a big part of the magic for him, he was equally excited about celebrating Jesus's birthday. Early in the month, we had a Family Home Evening lesson on Christmas being Christ's birthday, and how we should look for gifts to give Him throughout the month. Periodically, over those few weeks, Benjamin would say, "I just gave a gift to Jesus by..." - and would fill in the blank with something good or kind he had done. It made my heart happy in that Christmas morning kind of way.
After hosting my family's Christmas party, a caroling party with 40 of our friends and neighbors, and a Christmas Eve party with Dave's family, we ushered the celebrations and people out and gathered our little family together. The kids were soon bathed and dressed in their new Christmas PJs, and finally tucked into bed. In a bit of rare insight, I had wrapped the majority of the presents weeks before which left some time for Dave and I to enjoy Christmas Eve together - and get to bed at a reasonable time for once. The cutest thing that happened shortly thereafter was when Benjamin came running into our room crying. Like many kiddos, he was so excited for Santa to come that he couldn't fall asleep. It was 10:30 and he was worried that Santa had skipped our house because he was still awake. We assured him that wasn't the case and then quietly tucked him back into bed.
The morning came - and the magic erupted all over our living room. We kept our gifts to a minimum and kept things fairly simple. It was joyous, it was so good, and it the most magical Christmas morning we've ever had. Here's a look:
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