We had a holly jolly Christmas

We drove back from Thanksgiving in Gulfport and dove head first into the Christmas season, putting up our decorations the very next day. We got our largest, and most beautiful tree ever and had a great time hanging ornaments, stockings and lights, and pulling out all of our favorite Christmas movies and books for the kiddos. We took advantage of several of our favorite seasonal activities, starting with Sweet Treats with Santa..... Next, Adam and Lovie took the kids to the Alpine Village..... Hayes attended her first Daddy-Daughter Snowflake Ball at Farmington, complete with lip gloss and sparkly shoes... we walked up the street and caught the Germantown Christmas parade with some friends... Hayes had a fun time at a friend's Christmas pajama party.... Gray wished for his two front teeth for Christmas.... and our favorite annual neighborhood tradition, the luminaries and carriage rides. As garden club president, I can now truly appreciate all of the hard work so many people do to pull this off every year. But, it is so, so worth it! Adam and I had several Christmas parties in the weeks before Christmas and really maxed out our babysitting budget. But it was great to have some kid-free conversations and fun and we are so grateful for the friendships we've made since we moved to Germantown three years ago this month. We also got a visit from our Elf, "Bill".... baked and decorated our favorite gingerbread cookies... and made a gingerbread house! My parents came into town on the 23rd and we had two parties to attend that night as well. We spent Christmas Eve in the kitchen, making preparations for that night and the next. P and Pop even let them open their gifts to them, which really made their day! The kids participated in their second church Christmas pageant and it was as sweet as ever. Hayes was a sheep and Gray was a shepherd, who by the way, was not at all happy with the behavior of the rowdy sheep he was tending (notice his face!). After the pageant, we hosted our second annual Christmas Eve supper at our house and enjoyed some of Pop's delicious duck gumbo. After we put the kids to bed, we had our Olivier gift exchange. I might be bragging, but I'd like to think Adam and I won the award for best gift..... The next morning, the kids rushed down the stairs at 6:30 on the dot and tore through their gifts in mere minutes. Gray was thrilled about his Disney Infinity starter pack, the new game table, and his Pokemon cards. Hayes loved her Gabby the Chatster doll, Monster High girls, and dress-up costumes and accessories. Next, we headed over to Lauren and Andrew's to do our annual Patterson gift exchange. The cousins loved seeing each other and we finally got some cute pictures of them in their matching Christmas pajamas. That night, we hosted everyone at our house for Christmas dinner. It was a lot of work, and I couldn't have done it without my parents' help, but it was also a very nice evening overall....yummy food, good conversation, and even a performance by the kids! We were plum worn out after all that merriment and are planning to spend the next week recovering and keeping it low-key. Another Merry Christmas is in the books! Until next time, The Pattersons