The above 'ornaments' were Paula's 7gypsies Christmas project. I followed her tutorial and made my own. They're just pinned to my valance. I really like them!! Thanks, Paula.
Every year we gather as a family on the Sunday before Christmas for our annual candlelight Christmas dinner/program/ornament exchange. This year Mark and I had to make some adjustments since we were in Flagstaff the two days prior to that day. We asked the kids to pitch in and help with the side dishes. And they did! Kamille provided her yummy from-scratch au gratin potatoes. Dan make his famous stuffing....he adds celery, onion, corn and sausage to Stove Top stuffing. Man, it's good! And Erin stayed up all night the night before making us some yummy Lion House dinner rolls. We appreciate her dedication and willingness to stay up so late for us. They were so light and tasty! And Aunt Dovetta brought cranberry relish and her famous broccoli/bacon salad. It's always a request when them come over!! Then everyone provided a Christmas goodie to share. We provided the ham and drinks. It was a tasty, fun meal. We generally use 'real' dishes, but this year we opted for paper plates so we wouldn't have to many dishes to do. We wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the evening rather than doing dishes. And we changed our candles a bit. In the past, we've used battery candles that are taper-like. This year we decided to try using battery-operated votive candles in some cute (Crate and Barrel) candle holders. They worked great. No fussing with batteries in and out of the candles and no more tipping over of the candles. We may have started a new tradition. We like to make the tables look festive so everyone feels like it's a special occasion, which it is! After dinner, we went to Sister Clem's caroling. For some reason we missed her last year, so this year she made sure we knew she'd be home so we could come by. She looks forward to our visit, and it's fun for the kids to connect with her. Then we had our traditional reenactment of the nativity. The kids are a lot more fun performing as they get older. Luke did a great job as the innkeeper. He had to have no coaching and responded at the appropriate time, "No room!" It was so cute. After that we had our ornament exchange. It's always so fun to see what everyone gives as well as receives. I think Mark got Dovetta the best ornament of the evening. It was a fully decorated ambulance....it sort of fits their year last year! Then Mark and I gave the grandkids their two pairs of pajama pants! They LOVED them. The couldn't wait to get changed into a pair and pose for a picture. I truly appreciate my family and their willingness to keep this tradition alive and fun. It's a most memorable evening for everyone.
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