With Christmas behind us I only have three questions on my mine: 1.) Why isn’t it as exciting to take Christmas stuff down as it is to put it up, 2.) Why does it feel more like Christmas now that the weather is cooler and 3.) How on earth am I going to get my daughter to behave now that the threat of Santa not bringing her toys is no longer valid?

Because we took some time off over the holiday, we realized we are delayed in giving you a little recap of how the holidays were in our respective houses. So, in addition to Allison, here is how our holiday season was.

Vanessa

This was the first Christmas where Caroline truly understood what was happening. Our elf, Ike, was a key player in terms of behavior control, Santa was a friend and every night we hosted a countdown-to-Christmas.  Christmas morning was really exciting as she walked around the corner from her bedroom and immediately laid eyes on her brand new bicycle and said, “::gasp:: It’s a bike. I wanted that.” She then say the Doc McStuffins toy she would not stop talking about it and he morning was made. I’m sure we could have only purchased the Doc McStuffins toy and she would have been content. Actually, I grabbed this $5 Ariel tin at HEB and she would have been wildly content with this and only this. Drives me crazy to know I could have spent maybe $100 total and I would have had a happy little clam.

After we opened presents we went to the home of a family friend and enjoyed a nice lunch. The next day, Matt and Caroline departed for Grosse Pointe, Michigan where they enjoyed several days in the beautiful snow with Matt’s parents and I departed for Rome, Italy where I enjoyed several days where wine is customarily served with every meal. It was a great holiday for all.

Barry

 

Allena

Our Christmas was low-key and wonderful!  We spent Christmas morning with my family and Christmas night with Brent’s family.  Our kids got spoiled with presents and had so much playing with all their cousins.

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Lisa C.

Since Lucy was born, we haven’t traveled for Christmas. Our family members have come to us either for the holidays or right after. This year, we decided to visit my family in South Carolina. And we decided to drive there from Austin, over 1100 miles.

The road trip was great! We hit a little bit of rain in Alabama but made it to Hilton Head with no trouble. Even George was an absolute angel, despite our concerns about his smelly gas. Lucy’s Mee-Maw and Pap-Pap were super-excited to see us, as were Aunt Krissy and Uncle Alex. Christmas Eve was church and Chinese food, then helping Santa’s elves. Lucy was very good this year, judging by all the loot she got. Her favorite gift is her yellow Hello Kitty car.

Our trip was punctuated by lots of delicious food and quality family time. Plus I got a mani/pedi. We stayed in South Carolina for a week and were back on the road to Austin. We’d planned on stopping in New Orleans but since we left a day later than we planned, we headed straight home.

Overall, it was one of the best Christmases in recent memory.

Caldwell

 

Elisabeth:

We had two Christmases in Oklahoma, with first Christmas on the Sunday before.  It was the first time in the history of ever that my mom, stepdad, all of my siblings, step-siblings, our spouses, kids, grand-parents and great grand parents were all in the same place at the same time.  It’s was chaos, but so fun.

Christmas Eve was a smaller group with just my family, sister and brother in law, parents and grandparents.  We had my grandpa’s famous ribs for dinner, and opened gifts.  The kiddos had a blast and loved their gifts.  Finn, of course, loved ripping paper.  After I put the kids to bed, my sister and I sweated and cussed over the trillion pieces that make up a Cozy Coupe.  (Note to self: Don’t wait untilmidnight on Christmas Eve to assess what Santa is bringing.)

Christmas Morning – kids woke up, Hudson was bouncing off the wall and was super stoked (even faked fainting) when he saw what Santa brought.  Finn was not too sure about it and seemed a bit overwhelmed.  Once he realized things were for him, he was excited.  A can of Target Brand Baby cheeto’s were his favorite gift, with the blasted Cozy Coupe a distant second.  Hug Me Elmo was a total flop.  He still refused to go near him.  After the kids settled down, the adults all opened our stockings (our favorite part of Christmas), and then had our annual breakfast of Egg Nog Waffles, Sausage, Bacon and mimosas, obvi.

Christmas in Austin

Kristen

The Jansen Christmas was a whirlwind, but good.  We hosted my large family’s Christmas Eve celebration at our house, and then left for our week-long ski trip on Christmas Day.  Despite the flu and strep invading our lives, it’s been a nice break for both myself and the kids to recoup.  Looking forward to an exciting 2014!!!!

How she gets all four to smile is beyond us!
How she gets all four to smile is beyond us!

 

How was your Christmas? 

 

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