As I mentioned last year, today is one of the most sad days of the year for me. I am obsessed with the Christmas season, so the end of it is just so depressing. We usually leave our decorations up until New Years, but honestly, I am just ready to put everything away because it makes me so sad how far away next year is from now. I had a great weekend with my family and it went by SO FAST and I don’t want it to end. January and February are my least favorite months of the year. Christmas is over, and It’s just cold outside! Ok now that I have bummed everyone out, here is what we did on Christmas eve.
I woke up early to get into the kitchen. I had a LOT of baking to do. I always give our relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins) a bunch of baked goods for Christmas. I made the Snickers cookies I make every year, fudge, reindeer food, and pretzel candy. My mom was baking as well, so it was fun to just hang out in the kitchen all day listening to Christmas music. The boys could come in and out from playing the Wii and watching TV. (They also had to make a quick trip to the grocery store for me for pretzels!)
My dad cooked some prime rib that we were going to eat for dinner, so we had to smell it all day as it cooked. Delicious!
I took a couple breaks to take pictures and watch the boys for a few minutes.
she wouldn’t look at the camera!
neither would she!
We had pizza for lunch, then that afternoon we headed into New Orleans to visit my grandmother and my uncle. Unfortunately, the only picture I took was of Bobby holding my grandmother’s obese dog. You can’t tell from the picture, but this dog is massive.
We ate an early dinner over there before heading to church.
Side note…anyone ever heard of Jessee Duplantis, the televangelist? Well, he just built his “new house” down the street from my grandmother….it’s over 31k square feet and has a bowling alley. He “preaches” on TV and begs people to send him money in the name of God…and then he lives in this. Makes. me. sick. DO NOT SEND HIM MONEY! HE IS A FRAUD! here is his house:
I wish I was kidding. Ok, back to happy thoughts! So we headed to church at First Baptist New Orleans (my parents church), which is where I got married almost 5 years ago.
It was a great service. We were all given candles, and at the end, we all lit our candles by passing the flame from person to person all around the church. Then we stood up, raising our candles with all the lights off in the sanctuary, and sang silent night. It was absolutely beautiful and such a great moment. My favorite part was when we sang this verse, all holding out candles:
“Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth “
It was just one of those moments you would love to just freeze in time. So very cool. After church, we came home and had a delicious supper.
I used those new stick on nails strips. So far they are holding up well and look cool!
We made a fire and chatted for awhile.
Then, my sister and her husband came over and my dad read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
He has been reading out of that book since I was a little girl.
We were all pretty exhausted, so it was off to bed so Santa could come!
QOTD: What did you do on Christmas eve?
It sounds like Christmas Eve was fantastic and relaxing! We read the NIght Before Christmas and Luke 2 as well in front of the fire and it’s a great part of the evening! My least favorite months are January and February as well, so I’m starting to set up a plan to take care of myself mentally and physically those months so I make it through in one healthy piece:)
good idea! I like to plan vacations for jan and feb to get me through!
This sounds like an absolutely perfect day!
Christmas Eve was a marathon day for us, we had three stops across our two families. 1pm at my aunt’s house (dad’s side of the family), 5pm at Aaron’s aunt’s house (his dad’s side of the family) and then 9pm at his dad’s house to exchange gifts with his sisters and dad’s girlfriend. Got home at midnight, fell asleep to A Christmas Story on TBS (which was always our tradition on Christmas Eve growing up, watching that after the candlelight service) only to get up at 8am for three stops on Christmas day!
oh my gosh I am tired just reading all of that.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Looks like you had an excellent Christmas Eve. I love those moments that you are talking about with the candles and Silent Night….super cool. I also think it’s really cool that your dad reads the Christmas story.
I hope that you have a great night!
yes he has done it every year since I was a little girl, I can’t wait to have kids one day and keep the tradition alive!
I LOVE stick on nail strips! I think there are some you can get at Walmart (or CVS or Walgreens…can’t remember!) for $2!
oh wow thats cheap! these were definitely not two dollars, but I will have to look for those next time!
sounds like yall had a wonderful day!
We spent Christmas Eve afternoon with my Dad, step Mom and brother and sister in New Orleans. It was a nice change of pace and something different from most years. And the best part was watching my dad open his gift from us (a trip to the Bristol Nascar Race). Mr “i don’t show emotion” actually started to tear up. That reaction made the cost totally worth it.
aw thats so awesome, I love watching people open gifts!