Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was one of the most quiet, relaxing holidays we have had in a long time. Usually we alternate between spending Christmas Eve with one side of the family, and Christmas Day with the other side. This year, we decided to go to both parents' houses on Christmas Day and had Christmas Eve all to ourselves. What a great decision this turned out to be.

The day started with sleeping in. Every now and then, Gwen sleeps in, which is always a treat. It was a great way to start the day.

Next, we packed up all of the Christmas ornaments that we had made the weekend before. My friend Leah told us about them. They are made of just cinnamon and applesauce and they smell delicious!

We also packed up a few pictures we brought and headed to a nearby nursing home. We went from room to room and Gwen handed out ornaments and pictures to the residents. Saying the experience was amazing would be a serious understatement. We didn't want to invade any one's privacy, so we didn't take photos while handing out the ornaments, but we did take a photo of Gwen by the tree before we left.



Later, Gwen helped me roll out the sugar cookie dough that she and I made the day before. We ended up with a lot of flour on the floor. but she loved it. Eventually, Rick tempted Gwen away from the dough with the movie "Polar Express" and I was able to roll out the rest of the dough by myself.


Once the cookies were baked, the decorating began. We all had lots of fun with our creations.

Because of Gwen's inability to keep her little tongue off of the frosting knives, we decided it was best not to give these cookies to our friends and neighbors. Not that I really wanted to anyway...

Gwen's works of art

Rick's creations
My cookies

While Rick was giving Gwen a bath to wash off all the the excess frosting that she couldn't lick off, I made a nice Christmas Eve dinner. We ate in the dining room- which we never do, and I even lit candles. We also let Gwen eat off of our huge Santa platter, which I knew she would get a kick out of.

For dinner, I made a recipe that my sister gave me called "Company Chicken". It is delicious and completely artery-clogging. It is basically made up of chicken, tons of heavy cream, mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese. I also made mashed potatoes and a fruit salad. Yum.


After dinner, Rick told us the Christmas story from the Bible and we sang our favorite Christmas hymns. The three of us sounded awesome- we should go on tour.

Gwen also insisted that she teach her own Chrismas lesson. It was priceless.

Before bed, Gwen set out some of our saliva-infested cookies for Santa to eat. He doesn't get sick anyway, right?

Gwen went to bed like the good angel she is. It didn't take Santa long to set to work, leaving presents under the tree and gifts in our stockings. Of course, he stopped for some refreshments...