Christmas 2011

The Hubs and I Christmas Eve 2011

 We had a fabulous Christmas.  Technically we still have one to celebrate since Hubby's side was sick with the flu for the holidays but this post covers my side.  We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at Jas and Nell's.  Nell went all out with the decor this year. 

Part of the gorgeous decor done by Nell.

 We had ham with all the fixings, a buffet of desserts and a hot chocolate bar.  Of course, no Christmas Eve is complete without seeing who gets the almond in their chocolate mousse.  If you find an almond in your mousse then you get money.  There is always an almond in one of the kids and one of the adults.  Jas and Kiki were the winners of the cash this year.

J as Santa's Little Helper- the kids take turns handing out the gifts every year and this year it was his turn.

The kiddos put on their annual Christmas play.  This year it was about how "The Grim Stole Christmas".  For the past 2 years these plays have centered around poking fun at my Dad.  We always called my Dad Grim when we were kid/teenagers.

Lou showing off the coveted white elephant gift.  It was a cosmetic bag with some funky purple polish that I gave and all of the little girls wanted it.  She held that thing tight throughout the game so that nobody would take it.

We then added a new tradition by doing a white elephant gift exchange.  Everyone had a good time but Lou was the happiest with her gift.  It was really funny to watch the kids trying to figure out if they should or should not switch gifts with others.  The adults weren't so shy!


The biggest surprise of the night- Mimi was gifted a Kindle by Pappy and she had no idea she was getting one.

Next we exchanged regular presents.  I think the most exciting gifts came from Pappy who gave Mimi an e-reader, E that got some remote control helicopter and Gigi and Munchie who got a Barbie house.  The siblings and spouses always draw names for secret Santa at Thanksgiving so it's always fun to see who got who.  This year Hubby was given an amazon gift card from Nell and I was given Victoria's Secret perfume from Roc. 

Kiki and Lou gave out their own presents to the adults this year with money that they earned.  The men were given gum ball machines, the women got notepads and our little lady got a cute little lamb bib from her cousins.



My Hubby said that this is the best gift my parents have ever given him.  It's a pen that has a bullet as the point, he loves it.  This will also have to suffice as the traditional shooting yourself at the holidays photo-op that is typically done by Bab.  We somehow managed to not get that shot this time.  :(



An angel picture for my sister draw especially for her by Kiki.



Some of the baby's loot.  Gigi was officially booted out of her position as the baby of the family by being given a normal sized stocking.  Something tells me she didn't mind!





Christmas pajamas have been a tradition in my family since we were kids and now the next generation continues it.



I think that pretty much sums up the Christmas Eve festivities in a nutshell.  We had a great time celebrating and look forward to next year!