With Love, Mags: christmas

Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Christmas Eve Festivities!

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads."

Merry Christmas Eve! It's hard to believe that Christmas is tomorrow, and it's Gracie's 1st Christmas! Even though she will only be 6 months on the 30th, she has more presents under the tree than anyone else :) We definitely spoil our little girl, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This year is a little unconventional, as my hubby and I are hosting Christmas Eve dinner tonight! This is the big celebration in my family, and for the past 40+ years, Mom and Dad have always hosted; Dad makes his famous spaghetti and meatballs that he learned from his Italian god father many years ago. Recently, some very exciting things have happened that gave hubby and I the opportunity to take on the family tradition and host. My Daddy got married!!! I absolutely love his wife, my stepmom, and I am beyond happy they found each other. More of that in a later post though :) Since they recently got hitched, and are moving in together and settling in, my house is the party house this year for tonight's festivities. Dad is still cooking though (phew!).

I am so excited for tonight. As I said, Christmas Eve is our big shindig...lots of wine, laughter, Christmas music, more laughter, and this year, BABIES!!!!!! We have four babies in the family who will be celebrating their first Christmas Eve and Christmas this year...my Gracie, my cousin's daughter who was born 10 days after Gracie, and my other cousin's twin boys who are 6 months older than Gracie. We cannot wait to see their little faces light up :) And I have a super cute Christmas Eve dress for Gracie to wear :)

With that said, I am going to leave a few pictures of our happy girl here for you to enjoy:

Gracie's 1st time meeting Santa

Sweeter than a Gingerbread Latte (onesie courtesy of @perfectlysparkledd)

Head Elf (onesie courtesy of @perfectlysparkledd)

Our happy girl :)

She was absolutely fascinated by the lights

Her stocking made by her cousin...it's HUGE!!!

Always smiling

She loves her doggies and they love her

My family <3

Friday, December 27, 2013

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

This Christmas was so wonderful! My big brother flew out from TN and my cousin flew out from London (it’s been 5 years since she has been here)! Christmas Eve is our big celebration which is always at my parents house. The whole family comes over, about 20 of us, and Dad makes his famous spaghetti and meatballs, which is an old Italian family recipe. The evening was filled with delicious food, lots of wine, many laughs and great stories. Growing up, Santa always called our house so we could talk to him and tell him what we wanted for Christmas. Well, all the “kids” in the family are grown up now, so Santa hasn’t called in years. This year, however, my little cousin is 4 years old, which is old enough to talk to Santa! So Santa called the house and my cousin spoke with him and told him what he wanted! He was a little shy about it at first, but then his face lit up with joy and he told Santa what he wanted. It was very exciting! The night continued with more conversation, laughter, and music.

Christmas Eve

The next morning, Sean and I hosted Christmas breakfast, a tradition my Grammie used to do. After she passed nearly three years ago, Sean and I took over the tradition.

Our Christmas breakfast table

After a hearty and absolutely delicious breakfast of baked eggs and beef hash with gravy, we gathered near the tree to open presents. I love watching people open their presents and seeing the delight on their faces. After breakfast, we went to my in-laws to celebrate Christmas with them. After spending a wonderful afternoon with my in-laws watching the Laker game, talking, laughing, eating, and opening presents, my hubby had to go to work, and I went to my Aunt’s house for Christmas dinner. Our Christmas dinner tradition is lamb, potatoes and broccoli…yum!

Then there were more presents! The best part was watching my little 4 year old cousin open his presents one at a time with such poise and thanks. My other cousin received a flabongo, which naturally we had to test out immediately:

Christmas Dinner

Testing out the flabongo with my brother and cousin

My husband and family absolutely spoiled me! Here is a montage of some of the amazing gifts I was blessed with:

1. Sam Edelman boots. 2. Halogen polka dot wallet. 3. “I Don’t Sweat, I Sparkle” workout tank. 4. House Targaryen fade out tee (I LOVE Danaerys). 5. Purple gemstone earrings. 6. Multicolored gemstone necklace. 7. Polka dot iPad neoprene sleeve. 8. Motorcycle jacket. 9. Sequin “Pink” tee. 10. VS sweatpants. 11. Lululemon running top. 12. Chocolate button Ugg boots. 13. Nordicware waffled pancake pan. 14. “Keep Calm and Run On” tank. 15. Alice in Wonderland shoe ornament. 16. Mickey police officer ornament.

There were more wonderful things I received too. Like I said, I was spoiled and yet I didn’t ask for anything this year…my hubby and family know me so well.

Another amazing Christmas present I received was my doctor’s clearance to work out again! I haven’t been able to workout for a month, and boy was I getting antsy! Needless to say, I went for a run and it felt so good!! I really missed being able to go for a run or lift weights and I am extremely excited to get back to where I was fitness-wise.

Christmas 2013 was absolutely wonderful. I love my family more than anything, and the holidays are all about family. We remembered loved ones we’ve lost, and embraced each other extra tight.

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” – Norman Vincent Peale.