Christmas 2010 Wrap Up

Guess what? I finally put away all our Christmas stuff today. Which means Christmas is officially over for the Smiths. I rallied the troops early this morning to help take down the tree and Clayton asked, "Is this what everyone does on Martin Luther King Day? Is this the holiday that means Christmas is over?" Actually kiddo, for the rest of the universe, Christmas was over almost a month ago.

So here's the good news for the rest of the universe: This is the last Christmas post. The very last. After this, I promise I'll at least be in our current decade. Hello 2011!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has always been my favorite part of Christmas. Even when I was growing up, I loved the anticipation of Christmas morning. But mostly I loved our traditional family Nativity re-enactment with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents from far and near. We were lucky to own a real hay-barn with all the barnyard animals (including a Shetland pony for the donkey) and authentic costumes from Egypt, Jerusalem, and the Middle East. I also, of course, loved the fabulous food, the great music, and enjoying the dear company of family on Christmas Eve.

So in honor of that tradition, we hosted our own (simpler, less authentic, less family) Christmas Eve party at our house again this year with neighbors and friends from church. It was, as always, the best part of Christmas.

I didn't take any pictures of the food (boo!) except this:
But it was all delicious and definitely worth the effort! I did, however, take lots of pictures of the Nativity program. Here they are:
Clayton and Brigham were wise men.When it was time for the Magi to present their gifts, Brigham opened his box, pulled out his treasured McDonald's toy from lunch that day, and placed it in the manger. Aw, tender. It turned up missing from his box later in the evening and caused a moment of panic, tears and accusations until we found it still buried in the hay where he left it.
Eliza was the littlest angel - adored by everyone.
And Isaac, for the first time, played Joseph.
He was very attentive to Mary and the baby.
He sang with gusto.
And he somehow managed to jab, hook, or snag just about everyone in the vicinity. . .
with his shepherd's crook.Here's a short clip of the final scene (where Joseph, Mary, and the youngest Wise Man eat the hay and where everyone else sings "Joy to the World".) And because we invited our German friends, a short clip of "O Tannenbaum".



The evening was a wonderful success. The only thing we were really missing was family. Wish we could have been with you all. . .

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was just as magical as we imagined it would be. Santa Claus delivered everything the boys asked for: a Lego set, a new light saber, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (again for the fourth year in a row).
Eliza got a pink push-around car, which she loved.
And a doll which she wasn't quite sure about.
The boys also enjoyed opening each other's homemade Lego creations. I love this picture of Isaac explaining all the intricacies of his gift to Brigham.Besides that, the day was spent opening presents from family,

emptying stockings,

performing light saber duels,


and enjoying all our gifts.
Here's a clip of Eliza (and Clayton) with her new toy, followed by one of her opening her look-alike doll.


Merry Christmas Universe!
finally.