A quiet but wonderful Christmas Eve...

We had a quieter than normal Christmas Eve this year since we'd seen Ommy and Poppy for lunch - but you know what - it was perfect! I still set a festive and fancy table and cooked up Christmas fettuccine with shrimp - a family favorite. We sat around the dinner table talking about the fun we'd had during the month leading up to Christmas and talking about how excited everyone was for the big day. Adam even got to drink his milk out of a Spode wine glass so you know it was a big night. ;) 

After dinner we snapped a ton of pictures and gifted the boys their traditional Christmas Eve pajamas and books. Their eyes just had that glistening to them as the anticipation for the morning grew. 

We put Harper to bed first, after reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" of course. He was so excited that Santa would be coming and promised to fall right asleep - and thankfully after the big day we'd had - he did! 

Adam got to stay up a bit later and helped assemble the cookies for Santa and his reindeer. He then watched "A Christmas Story" for awhile until he decided he better get to bed as well. 

So now everyone closes their eyes and waits to hear the hoofs on the roof and the jingle bells on the reindeer...

Merry Christmas Eve..

Christmas Eve with Ommy & Poppy...

We kicked off our Christmas Eve celebration with a fun lunch at Ommy and Poppy's house. The weather was pretty mild so we got to spend a lot of time playing outside. The boys love the cabin that Poppy built and in the spirit of the movie "A Christmas Story" Adam got in some bb gun practice. Don't worry mom - he didn't shoot his eye out! 

We exchanged gifts and took lots of pictures. Harper was thrilled to receive a little piano that he had actually pointed out to Poppy in the store months back that he wanted - great memory Poppy! 

It was a great start to our Christmas Eve with more fun to come...

Christmas camping in Williamsburg...

Part of the perks of our season passes to Busch Gardens was entry into the infamous Christmas Town event at the park. We figured we ought to take advantage so we planned one last camping trip at the Williamsburg KOA for the year so we could see what all the Christmas Town fuss was all about.

Camping during Christmas time has become something we've done quite often. We've got all the festive lights to decorate the outside of our camper and plenty of Santa hats and twinkling necklaces to decorate ourselves. However the inside of the camper was missing something - but Al came through with a present for the family to help change that.

The boys thought it was so clever that Al would bring a gift two days before Christmas and it added just the right amount of holiday cheer to the camper. Add to that the Yule Log playing on a loop on the tv with Christmas tunes to accompany it and we had ourselves a festive abode in the woods.

We enjoyed a nice stroll through downtown Williamsburg and enjoyed seeing everything decorated for the holidays. Candles in the windows, fresh wreaths on the doors, and a perfect excuse to visit the local candy store. Adam was so excited to dive into that caramel and chocolate apple - and it did not disappoint.

What did disappoint was our timing on arriving at Christmas Town - apparently we arrived when the rest of the world had also planned on arriving - oops! I guess Busch Gardens at Christmas is all that it's cracked up to be considering the line of cars - but we don't know for sure as we decided as a family to bail out on the 45+ minute wait to just get into the parking lot - and opted for quiet evening in our festive camper building a gingerbread house instead.

I have to say - I kind of liked it. The boys did a great job working together to build and decorate the house and I was proud of myself for just sitting back and letting them do what they wanted with it - relinquishing control isn't my strong suite - but that evening in the camper was one of my fondest memories from the entire Christmas season. It's funny how life works out that way sometimes.

On Christmas Eve we packed up the camper and headed home to continue the festivities...

Spreading Cheer at the NICU...

With outfits, handmade knitted hats (thanks Grandma!) and treats in tow, Harper and I set off one December morning to spread some holiday cheer to the babies and nurses of the NICU. Our first stop was Fairfax Hospital and we just happened to visit on a day when Auntie Amy was working! Not only that but our favorite receptionist, Cynthia, was there and she went into the toy closet and gifted Harper with a really cool Playdoh set - too nice! 

After that visit we made our way over to Fair Oaks Hospital where we delivered the rest of our goodies. We didn't get to see any of Harper's nurses but the receptionist was so sweet she brought out chocolates and snapped some pictures of us. 

It's always a fun tradition to bring some holiday cheer to two places that will always hold a special spot in our hearts.