Christmas 2015 (and Happy New Year!)

Happy 2016 everyone! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, holiday and New Year this season. 

Christmas for me went by in a whirlwind this year!  The first week in December we were on vacation in Florida, so I guess it felt like we sort of missed a week of Christmas prep while we were there.  The day after we got home, we went out to get our Christmas tree and decorated it a few days later. 

Every year, I say the same thing, "This is our prettiest tree, yet." And it always seems to be.

We're a tinsel type of family. :)

Our manger is one of the best parts of our our decorations.  My Dad built the stable when he was in high school and his sister, my aunt, made and painted the ceramic figures. This was the manger we grew up with and I'm glad I was the one who got it! ;)

Waiting for Baby Jesus to be born. 

This was a little vintage ice-skating village we had when I was young.  Did any of you have this? I love it..it always reminds me of Christmas.

 Whoops, man down..

 My mother-in-law gave us this cool retro aluminum pom-pom tree with a rotating color wheel.  So 60s, so great!

Jessie the Elf was back again with her silly antics!  Although there were a few times when I was pretty much tucked in bed and then realized I forgot to set her up for the morning.  Kind of glad that part is over, haha, but Pumpkin Pie loved it.  Each morning, getting her up for school was much easier. :)  Little Button was a little unsure, lol. 

Christmas Eve was really fun.  I had the day off for the first time in 3 years and we hosted it at our house like we did last year.  We just did it "tapas style" to make it easier and we had a ton of food.

I am usually always the last one up on Christmas Eve.  I love the quiet and calmness and realize that most of the hard work is done.  I always love to reflect on the history of Christmas Eve and the birth of Jesus.

Luckily the girls slept until 7 so Merry Christmas to us. :) 

My sister and brother as well as their significant others spent the night and we had our traditional coffee and cinnamon buns while opening gifts.

 Fozzie got a lot of attention. 

The girls were absolutely thrilled with their little mermaid tails they received.  I ended up getting them a cheaper version of a "Fin Fun Mermaid Tale" as they are still little and would be mostly using them for playing OUT of the water.  They had these things on constantly and flapped their tails all around the house.  Definitely a great gift idea for any little girl in the 3-6 year old range!

Here's a look a few new ornaments we added to our tree this year.  I couldn't resist the Disney Princesses as they were on sale!   The beautiful mermaid one was a gift from my sister.

For Christmas dinner, we headed to my aunt and uncle's house who live right up the road.  We had a nice time visiting with my mom's side of the family and I ate and drank A LOT.  I can't believe how much crap I ate over the course of 2 days! I enjoyed every minute, though. :)

What was really special about this Christmas is that all of my siblings and their significant others were there together.  Three of us live locally, but one of my brothers lives in Florida and sometimes it can be hard for them to take time off during the holidays.  We were so glad to be together!

The day after Christmas was very relaxing as we had no where to go and nothing planned.  We stayed home in our PJs most of the day and the girls played with their new toys. They played all day with their mermaid fins, new OG dolls and diner, did crafts and playdoh-it was great! 

And the house was already clean...#bestpart ;) 

This thing is so awesome. 

Once Christmas is over, I feel like I can fully relax again.  I try not to get stressed out, but it always seems to be a bit of a crunch to get things done and cram all the festive stuff I want to get in, in on time.  But this year I reminded myself that it all doesn't have to get done by Christmas Day.  The Christmas season, for me, really extends into January (and as long as I can drag it out, really, haha) and I can still watch my Christmas movies, listen to Christmas music, do festive crafts and especially enjoy the decorations and tree for a bit longer.

Now it's a brand new year!   New Year's Eve was spent at home with my sister and her financé as well as my long time friend and her boyfriend who where home visiting from Oregon.
It was low-key with lots of snacks, apple wine and hard apple cider.

This year, I really just hope to feel good and appreciate as much as I can in each day and find the positives in every moment.  I feel like if we focus on that, the rest falls into place.

Happy New Year to you all.  See you soon, here in blog-land. :)
xoxo Farrah