Since we leave Christmas morning to go to my parents, the four of us have our own traditions on Christmas Eve. It starts with Craig making homemade doughnuts for breakfast. He only does this once a year, but it's something we look forward to.
Here are the doughnuts frying in the skillet. They are simply canned biscuits with a hole cut out of the middle.
Here are the yummy toppings: melted chocolate and cinnamon and sugar.
The finished doughnuts. Don't they look so delicious?!
Here are the taste testers. As you can see, they love the chocolate doughnuts.
Another tradition we do starting December 1 is looking daily at our Advent Calendar. I made this last year. It was a craft I found in Family Fun magazine. It was very easy to make and I was able to personalize it for our own family. I simply cut out 25 doors or windows from magazines and glued them on red cardstock. Then, I cut around 3 sides of each picture. I then glued the red cardstock to green cardstock. I cut a yellow dot sticker in half and put it next to each picture and wrote a number (1-25) on it. Each day the kids took turns opening one of the doors or windows and we just followed what it said. For example, Day 3 says "Sing Jingle Bells" or Day 20 says "Bake some Christmas goodies". On Day 6, which is Craig's birthday, it says "Make A Card For Daddy". The kids really looked forward to reading it each morning.
Kaitlyn made some reindeer food in school this year. It's simply glitter and oats that you sprinkle on the lawn. It's supposed to shine in the moonlight and guide the reindeer to your house. Kaitlyn bravely stood out in the cold drizzle and sprinkled (and then dumped) the reindeer food on the lawn.
Every Christmas Eve, Craig works until 8 pm. I make finger foods for dinner and the kids wait for him to arrive. They know as soon as he gets home, they get to open their gifts.
They just can't contain their excitement!
Our kids know about Santa, but it is so important to us that they know all about Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas too. They've always known about the story of Jesus' birth and this year Craig decided to do what his dad always did. Craig opened the Bible to the book of Luke and read to the kids about the very first Christmas. 
Of course, we have to get out Santa's goodies too. Santa's preferences seem to change every year. Luckily, I always seem to have what he's craving. I got this 'Cookies For Santa' plate many years ago at a fabric store in El Paso. We use it every year to set out for Santa.
This year, Santa wanted fudge, a candy cane cookie, and Dr. Pepper.
Once that is all done, the kids head to bed. Santa comes while they're sleeping and fills their stockings and leaves one big present for them.
Kaitlyn was the first to wake up. It was about 5:15 am, but Craig and I were already up. We were leaving for Abilene and 6 am. Kaitlyn got some brown and pink cowgirl boots. She loves them!
I had to wake Preston about 5:30 am. He's checking out his stocking and didn't even see his big present sitting on the floor next to it.
Finally, Preston saw his Leapster 2 and was so happy to have his very own. Now he doesn't have to borrown Kaitlyn's anymore.
We got dressed, loaded up, and headed to my parents house in Abilene. Two of my sisters and their families live in Abilene as well. One of my brothers lives in Ft. Worth and he heads to Abilene too. It's a full house on Christmas.
Here are the taste testers. As you can see, they love the chocolate doughnuts.
Another tradition we do starting December 1 is looking daily at our Advent Calendar. I made this last year. It was a craft I found in Family Fun magazine. It was very easy to make and I was able to personalize it for our own family. I simply cut out 25 doors or windows from magazines and glued them on red cardstock. Then, I cut around 3 sides of each picture. I then glued the red cardstock to green cardstock. I cut a yellow dot sticker in half and put it next to each picture and wrote a number (1-25) on it. Each day the kids took turns opening one of the doors or windows and we just followed what it said. For example, Day 3 says "Sing Jingle Bells" or Day 20 says "Bake some Christmas goodies". On Day 6, which is Craig's birthday, it says "Make A Card For Daddy". The kids really looked forward to reading it each morning.
Kaitlyn made some reindeer food in school this year. It's simply glitter and oats that you sprinkle on the lawn. It's supposed to shine in the moonlight and guide the reindeer to your house. Kaitlyn bravely stood out in the cold drizzle and sprinkled (and then dumped) the reindeer food on the lawn.
Every Christmas Eve, Craig works until 8 pm. I make finger foods for dinner and the kids wait for him to arrive. They know as soon as he gets home, they get to open their gifts. They just can't contain their excitement!
Our kids know about Santa, but it is so important to us that they know all about Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas too. They've always known about the story of Jesus' birth and this year Craig decided to do what his dad always did. Craig opened the Bible to the book of Luke and read to the kids about the very first Christmas. 
Of course, we have to get out Santa's goodies too. Santa's preferences seem to change every year. Luckily, I always seem to have what he's craving. I got this 'Cookies For Santa' plate many years ago at a fabric store in El Paso. We use it every year to set out for Santa.
This year, Santa wanted fudge, a candy cane cookie, and Dr. Pepper.
Once that is all done, the kids head to bed. Santa comes while they're sleeping and fills their stockings and leaves one big present for them. Kaitlyn was the first to wake up. It was about 5:15 am, but Craig and I were already up. We were leaving for Abilene and 6 am. Kaitlyn got some brown and pink cowgirl boots. She loves them!
I had to wake Preston about 5:30 am. He's checking out his stocking and didn't even see his big present sitting on the floor next to it.
Finally, Preston saw his Leapster 2 and was so happy to have his very own. Now he doesn't have to borrown Kaitlyn's anymore.
We got dressed, loaded up, and headed to my parents house in Abilene. Two of my sisters and their families live in Abilene as well. One of my brothers lives in Ft. Worth and he heads to Abilene too. It's a full house on Christmas.We arrived just in time for a huge Christmas breakfast. Then, it's time to open presents. Here is the tree full of gifts. The kids are eagerly anticipating the gift opening to begin.
Here is my lovely dad. He looks good for 73 yrs old! He's watching a video slideshow my mom made for him of his 4 youngest granddaughters.
Of course, there was the Wii and Just Dance. I think I'm doing "Cotton-Eyed Joe" with my niece and nephew.
Here are some of the kids getting their groove on!
Later, we did a White Elephant Gift exchange. I ended up with a Tattoo kit (it's used with markers) and Craig ended up with a black Lancome make-up case full of soaps, lotions, etc. He actually "stole" it from my sister (who "stole" it from me) so our daughter could use the case for toys and I could have everything in it. There was also a $20 bill strategically placed in the box of soap. Like I said, he got it so I could have EVERYTHING in it. LOL
And so ends another holiday of family, food, fun, and being thankful for all that Jesus did for us so we could live the wonderful life that we all have.
Here is my lovely dad. He looks good for 73 yrs old! He's watching a video slideshow my mom made for him of his 4 youngest granddaughters. 
Of course, there was the Wii and Just Dance. I think I'm doing "Cotton-Eyed Joe" with my niece and nephew.
Here are some of the kids getting their groove on!
Later, we did a White Elephant Gift exchange. I ended up with a Tattoo kit (it's used with markers) and Craig ended up with a black Lancome make-up case full of soaps, lotions, etc. He actually "stole" it from my sister (who "stole" it from me) so our daughter could use the case for toys and I could have everything in it. There was also a $20 bill strategically placed in the box of soap. Like I said, he got it so I could have EVERYTHING in it. LOLIt was a long day and we were all in bed just after 10 pm.
The next day, we had leftovers for breakfast and then I helped my mom make another big lunch. It was so good and we all gained 10 lbs.
Here's Kaitlyn playing with her cousin outside.
Here's Kaitlyn playing with her cousin outside.
And so ends another holiday of family, food, fun, and being thankful for all that Jesus did for us so we could live the wonderful life that we all have.
I loved the long post! Thanks for sharing your Christmas, it was a lot of fun to read about!
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