Every year I tell Jamie we should just get a fake tree and call it good but the hunt for the perfect tree at the farm is always too much fun and it lures us in every time. To be honest, Jamie and I are a poor judge of a nice looking tree. We usually find a great tree on the farm and then bring it home and put it up, only to discover that one side of the tree is deformed and lacking any fluff. It is a standing joke in our family that we always have an ugly tree! We looked for quite some time and finally decided on this one... 
Jamie put the star on top of the tree this year. By the time we got the topper on it was about 10 or 11 feet high!
Here she is in all her glory...
I think we may have broke tradition this year...because I think she is kind of pretty!
Jamie put lights on the outside of the house this year and decided to buy himself a little gift while he was at it. Let me explain...I came home from a church meeting one night and he asked me to come outside for the "Grand Light Unveiling". So we are standing outside of our house and nothing is happening. All the lights are up but nothing is lit up. So he says to me, "I don't understand why the lights aren't coming on. Everything is plugged in." He then proceeds to whip out a remote control from his pocket, push a small little button and holler, "TA DA"!!!! Our house was aglow and my husband was beaming! He was so excited about his remote control light system. He is such a big kid, I tell ya.
Looking at Lights...
It wouldn't be Christmas to me if we didn't plan an evening to go out and look at Christmas lights. It is one of my favorite holiday traditions. This year we traveled into the big city to mosey through some city neighborhoods and ooohhhh and aaahhhh over all the different ways people decorate their homes for the holidays. Before the night was over Ben had chosen his favorite house. So we parked out front of this home and wandered up to the front door and knocked. This sweet elderly couple came to the door and at this point Ben presented them with a prize for being our favorite house of the night! They were so happy...the woman kept repeating how she would remember this moment for the rest of her life :)
The Prize...
Cookie Decorating...
Ben truly enjoys helping me in the kitchen especially if we are making sugar cookies for Santa.
Ben worked HARD at decorating these and Santa enjoyed the tasty treat!
Christmas Eve. Just the 4 of us...
Because we go to my parent's house for Christmas we always have our own celebration ahead of time. So on the Saturday before Christmas, Santa made a special visit to our house because he knew we wouldn't be home during his normal deliveries. In fact, Ben even heard the reindeer's jingle bells just before Santa and his crew took off.
11 comments:
Oh Jodi, the looking at christmas lights and knocking on the door of your favorite to present them with a little prize just warms my heart. I love that so much that I might have to steal your idea. Just when you think your holiday couldn't get any better you hear of a new idea. Thanks so much for blogging about that.
I also loved the idea about giving your favorite house a prize! You guys are such a fun family and seem to ejoy every minute together:)
How cute that you guys give a prize for the best house. That's awesome. And Jamie totally cracks me up with his REMOTE. We could use one of those...
That looks like such a wonderful Christmas! And your tree is quite beautiful! My boys would be quite jealous of the socker boppers, we have denied them that gift for a few years now, we figure they just don'e need one more reasone to take a swipe at each other!
What a fun idea to give a prize for the favorite decorated house and a prize for you that it was received by such a sweet little couple!
I loved hearing about which house you chose and what a sweet couple they were. And your tree was beautiful!!
Your traditions are great! Ben did an excellent job decorating Santa's cookies.
Hey there! It's been so long since I have commented that I have some catching up to do :) But I've been reading every chance I get a little here and there whenever I take a breather.
* I loved the Christmas poem/saying you shared. I plan to print it out and put it on my fridge every Christmas to remember those things.
* I still laugh thinking about Jamie out there with his little light remote beaming with excitement over his new toy. Too funny!
* Way cool idea about giving a gift to your favorite house! Seriously, that's the sort of thing you would read in the Ensign about sharing in the Holdiay Spirit. How special you must have made those people feel. We look at lights every year too but have never done anything like that. You have inspired me once again!!!
* Fun Christmas pictures! I remember last year at this time seeing Meg all wrapped up with a bow by the tree, just a tiny little baby, and now she is a 1 year old opening her own gifts! What a sweet family you have.
* Annnd, Happy New Year!
Sounds like you had a nice holiday. You are so awesome! I can't believe you give out prizes for lights. My dad usually tries to get us all to go out together and look at lights, but it usually turns into a fight in the back and my dad doing all the oohing and aahing... poor guy, his favorite part ruined sometimes (not by me of course, but by the "bad" siblings! :)
Looks like you all had such a fun Christmas morning! I loved seeing all of your kids playing with their toys. (all three of them!)
Pretty tree!
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