Christmas Eve-2011

If you have been reading our blog, you'll remember that my family does Christmas Eve differently than most families.
I explain how our evening is different and the History of it in this post. If you need some background info or need to refresh your memory - please check out that link. I also have last year's post here so you can see previous winners.

Well, the Christmas holidays have come and gone, and now I'm organizing like crazy to try and find homes for all of the gifts we received. Especially Graham's new toys and clothes. It's time to pack away the baby stuff and bring out the toddler stuff.

We had a wonderful time at the Haley's Christmas Eve - let the festivities (and the competitions) begin! I'll save the annoucement of the winners until the end of the post.

My parent's home was in full swing when we got there before church. The whole family went to the Christmas Eve service at the Free Methodist and then we came back for pizza and other goodies. I'm so glad we went to church beforehand because it really set the tone for what this evening should really be focused on. Amidst all the distractions of presents, food, and laughter, I really felt Jesus was there with us as we also celebrated his birth.

We opened our Christmas "tins" after dinner. This has been a long tradition (instead of stockings) and now this year Graham opened his own tin from his Grandma Deli. She had his presents wrapped in gnome stuff - I loved how this theme lasted from Halloween through Christmas!

Here is a glimpse at everyone's wrappings. We did our gallery walk in the beginning before we began to open the presents. This year's vote was really tough because everyone was really creative with their theme.

Ours are in the center bottom.
You can see how one big present is split in its wrapping-
we pooled our $ for one gift and bought a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. So excited to use it!

There are a couple things I'd like to point out about this year's wrappings & openings. My mom (leopard theme above) not only had everything wrapped in leopard, but also every present inside was a leopard item. It got to be so funny that every time she opened a new gift we (the siblings) started meowing and purring like cats. Second, my brother had a Justin Bieber theme and when he opened his gifts he played one of Justin's songs. We all were laughing when it was his turn to open. My grandma (who didn't understand all the silliness!) was the only one not laughing :)

Third, my dad's presents were a little weird looking (although clever) and so Jessie and I had a little fun with them.

At the end of the evening, we got Graham into his Christmas jammies, but this is the only picture I could get of him.

See his slippers? The car slippers was a gift from his auntie and uncle - he loved them! He marched all over the house and made a Vrrooomm Vrrooomm sound. So cute!

And now for the 2011 Haley Hall of Fame winners....

Me - Best Bought (Keurig coffee maker)

Adele - Best Wrapped (Leopard theme)

Alex- Least Likely (Snowboard gear)

Uncle Glen - Best Deal (Motorcycle Lift)

It goes without saying how blessed Zach, Graham, & I are to have my family love us and cherish us. We realized this often, but it is all the more evident when we spend time together like we did during Christmas. I'm so thankful to have all of them in my life.

Next up, Christmas with the Gormleys.