Pre-Christmas festivities

We began celebrating the Christmas season the day before Thanksgiving and we haven't stopped yet!  Amid the seemingly endless packing and planning for our move, we have managed to enjoy several activities to help us get in the holiday spirit.

Before Thanksgiving, Abbie, Jason, and their cousin Taylor made adorable gingerbread houses.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we met our friends, The Carothers, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg for Christmastown.  We rode a few rides, saw a few shows, and enjoyed the twinkling lights.  Although the line was long to visit him, the kids also got a chance to wave at Santa.
We didn't take many pictures that night, but here the kids are snuggled up in the stroller near the end of the night, followed by Abbie at the "Scrooge No More" show.

That weekend, the kids got busy writing their letters to Santa.  Abbie asked for an Anna dress (Anna is a character in the movie Frozen) and Jason asked for a robot.  Interestingly, his request evolved over the month into a giant robot that cleans his room and Abbie's room.  Then he decided he didn't want it after all because he was a "naughty boy" (his words, not mine!).  But, I hope Santa pulls through with his original request and makes Jason happy! :)

It has been our tradition the last couple of years to have a big cookie decorating party in December and invite many of the kids' friends and their families to join us.  But with our house full of boxes, and my fear of a sprinkle explosion shortly before we are supposed to close on the house, I decided to keep it low-key this year.  So, over the next couple of weekends we enjoyed cookie decorating with a few close friends in small batches.

As a special Christmas surprise, we took the kids to see Frozen on Ice.  And at the request of Jason, we went out for a delicious dinner beforehand.  Jason was literally on the edge of his seat throughout the show and Abbie was cuddled up with her daddy, enjoying every minute!

Each of the kids had a winter singing event at their schools.  Unfortunately, Abbie's turned out to be more of a sing-along than a performance, but we got a few cute pictures of Jason's.  I was so proud of him for actually getting up there and performing, as were his teachers.  None of us thought he'd make it through, but he did!

Throughout the month, we had lots of family time to watch Christmas (and non-Christmas) movies on the couch.  Then, we finished out the month with surprise morning of light **SNOW**, yes SNOW in December in NC, and one more gingerbread house for good measure.

I'd say our "family Christmas at home" was a giant success.  And, of course, it took me over a week to finish writing this post.  And so now, we have arrived at Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's house.   The kids are still snug in their beds (7:23am), getting rested from their fun night with the Ahlstrom clan on Christmas Eve, and Tony and I are lying in bed waiting for that first peep to kick off the excitement of Christmas morning!