This year we celebrated Christmas at our house a little early since Jenny spent Christmas Day with her mom this year. Aiden didn't really understand the difference, and Jenny was very excited that we were going to get to open gifts early and also because Santa came to our house early too!
We did everything just the way we would have done it on the actual Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On our Christmas Eve we baked gingerbread cookies for Santa, set out the cookies a milk for Santa, and then read The Night Before Christmas and The Christmas Story before putting the kids to bed.
Santa was up very late this year getting all of Aiden and Jenny's toys set up and their presents wrapped ( next year, remind me to wrap gifts a few days before Christmas Eve!). At our house Santa doesn't wrap gifts - he brings them unwrapped, opened, and already put together and ready to play with. Any gifts at our house that are wrapped are from Jaime and I, or from someone other than Santa. That's how it worked when I was growing up, so that's how we do it now with our kids. Something new we started this year, was having Santa only bring 3 gifts each - the same amount of gifts Jesus was brought when He was born. :)
Aiden's stuff on the left; Jenny's stuff on the right.
Aiden was the first to wake up the next morning, around 9:00am. He woke Jaime and I up, and then we woke up Jenny. The kids began playing with their Santa stuff and then we opened gifts from each other. Once all the gifts were opened, we ate breakfast and everyone got dressed so we could go outside and let Aiden ride his new bike.
Santa forgot to bring Aiden a helmet...oops! Don't worry, we have already purchased a new one for him. Aiden was not too impressed with his bike at all. He liked it at first, but got frustrated with the pedals so he gave up. We haven't had a chance to really try again, but we will try again soon!
Jenny on the other hand (who needs a new helmet), rode her bike without training wheels by herself for the first time!! We have been working with her on this for a few weeks so it was nice to finally see her do it on her own. She was very proud of herself too! We're hoping to get her a new bike this Spring once the weather warms up a little as her bike is getting a little small for her.
After bike riding, we came back inside and the kids played some more with their new stuff. While they played, Jaime and I made lunch. We had ham, dressing, green beans, asparagus, mashed potatoes, and rolls. After lunch the rest of the day was spent playing with all of the new toys the kids received. It was a wonderful day! I hope you all had a great Christmas, too!
