We had a fantastic Christmas this year and the biggest reason for that…no one got sick. As seen in earlier posts, the lead up to Christmas was quite exciting for the kids thanks in large part to Blizzard the elf. Every time the kids left the house and came home, that crazy Blizzard had gotten into some other kind of mischief.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, as a family we put out the cookies and the milk out for Santa Claus. We also had to put out 8 carrots for each of the reindeer. We concluded that Rudolph probably wouldn’t be flying because it was not too foggy on Christmas Eve. After they were placed out Melissa went to work. Before we went to bed we read The Grinch and watched Twas a Night Before Christmas.

I am certain that Santa had trouble arriving on Christmas Eve because the kids got up for several reasons. First around 10 Aiden got up because his Dad did not put him in a pull up for bed and he had an accident. Shortly after that just when I thought I heard Santa, I heard Abby coming down the stairs because she was having a stomach ache. I laid down with Abby for a few minutes and then everyone fell asleep. Sometime after that Santa showed up and dropped off the presents and ate his snacks.

Christmas Morning

On Christmas morning, the kids came into my bed and I turned on TV sos that we could wait for Melissa to come home for work. Abby told me that she had snuck down to see what presents that Santa had dropped off for her, but that she had not touched anything. Once Melissa came home and got changed, we went down as a family to see what Santa had brought. We opened up all of our stockings and then we had breakfast. After breakfast we started to open the presents under the tree. There are a few videos showing Abby & Aiden checking out the gifts.

We then dug into the presents. Abby couldn’t open the presents fast enough, but she was very understanding when we told her to slow down so that everyone could enjoy what everyone else was getting, Also, it was important for us that she know who each present was from so that she could thank them once she opened them. As for Aiden, he was almost shaking he was so excited. After every present from the smallest to the largest, he would say either “this is my favourite present” or “this is what I always wanted,” in a way that only Aiden could. That was until he heard that there was another present for him, then that present he always wanted was quickly pushed aside so that he could open the next present. Below are some videos and pictures from our Christmas morning.

After we finished opening all the presents and the kids had some chance to play with a few of their favourites, we packed up the rest of our personals and clothes and hit the road for Douro.

When we arrived at Mom & Dad’s house, Rob, Peter, Julie and Macklan were already their and enjoying their Christmas day. After we got settled, the kids opened their Christmas presents from their Aunts, Uncles, and even their Great Uncle Joe. After the gifts were opened, we visited with everyone for the remainder of the afternoon paying special attention to Macklan who had grown a lot since Thanksgiving. We also played several rounds of Kerplunk, which we had bought for the kids for Christmas. Abby was quite good at the game, and Aiden didn’t completely understand the strategy behind the game, but still had a lot of fun playing it with everyone in the family.

As the afternoon wore on into the evening, Craig and Jane, Joe, Bruce & Jackie, Mark and Susan, and Betty all arrived ready to enjoy a wonderful family dinner. This year the the turkey we ate came straight from Joe’s farm and weighed a whopping 27lbs. Before we cut the Turkey, everyone gathered around to take a look at how big it was. There was so much turkey that we only half of it during the dinner.

Below are a few pictures of the before dinner activities. The highlight for me was getting a picture of our kids with their cousin Macklan. it was also nice to be in the picture because then there is actual proof that I was at the dinner 🙂

I also really like the picture of Aiden giving Macklan a high five. It was just such a cute picture. 

Peter & Craig with Aiden, Macklan & Abby.

At the end of the night, we visited for awhile and then everyone headed home with a severe case of Turkey Coma. I had to take a picture of my little nephew in his car seat bundled up for the trek back to his house. Check out that hat!!!

I wrapped up Christmas day, watching the TED with Rob. All in all it was great day.

December 26th

On December 26th, it snowed about 10cm, which was great because prior to that, there was only a light layer of snow on the ground. What was even better was that we had absolutely nowhere to go, so we just stayed at mom & Dad’s and played in the snow. We played in the backyard for over an hour going sown the hill on the side of the house and the hill on the driveway beside Wayne’s house. The kids had a blast because up until then, we had not had snow at home, so they were eager to get out in the snow.  Here are a few highlights of the day in pictures and video.

As you can see this day and the Turkey hangover was toughter on some in the Rob and Melissa who squeezed in a late afternoon nap before robe went home so that he could go to work n the 27th.

December 27th

On Dec 27th, we got up and got packed and ready to go home to our house. We had to be packed up and ready to go early because once we left for the day to visit other people, were were not coming back to the house. Before we left the house, Abby and Aiden performed Gangnam Style for Momma, Papa & Auntie Julie. This was to make up for the fact that Abby did not get a chance to show the dance to everyone on Christmas Day.

At lunch time we headed to Lakefield to have lunch with Ted & Sandra. We had our normal dinner with Chicken Wings highlighting the entire spread!!! At the end of lunch Abby also performed Gangnam Style for Sandra who gave her a big round of applause. After we finished having visiting, we went to pick up Grandma & Grandpa for supper.

This was just a random picture that we took just before we left to go see Ted & Sandra. Macklan is catching up to Aiden, but has a long way to go to catch up to Abby.

When we got to Grandma & Grandpas, we opened up their presents with the kids. Abby and Aiden particularly liked the Pram that Grandma had picked up for Aiden and spent the majority of their time pushing it around the house with the doll that Grandma had gotten Abby. Unfortunately, we could not fit it into the van to bring it home, so we have to bring it back to our house the next time that we are back to Lakefield.

After we finished opening presents, we headed out with Grandma and Grandpa to go and meet Shawn and Megan for dinner  at Montana’s. Before we got there, we made a quick stop at Costco to pick up a few groceries. It was there that Grandpa, the kids and I checked out a really cool 3D TV demo. It was really awesome to see some of the objects coming out of the screen at us. Unfortunately, we forgot to take any video of them opening their presents. Sorry about that Grandma and Grandpa, “Brain Fart”

Anyways after we finished at Costco, we headed over to Montana’s. When we arrived, they seated us in a corner booth, which was nice because it gave a us a nice chance to visit with everyone while still feeling liek you were at home. As you can see from  the pictures, the kids as well as Grandpa really had a great time. At the end of the the dinner, Megan and Shawn gave the kids their presents, which were a magiician’s cape and and hat. The hat even came with a secret compartment for a rabbit, which the kids, in particular Aiden, thought was really neat.

After that we headed home. 2 hours later, we arrived home to about 10cm os snow blocking our way into the house. So, once we got through the snow to put the kids down, we just crashed in our own beds.

December 28th 

On the 28th, the kids got up and spent the day playing with their toys from Christmas. We had a chance to put together Aiden’s car track that he got from uncle Rob, and the kids spent most of the morning and into the afternoon playing magician with their costume. Aiden must have pulled the rabbit out of his hat 20 times, with each time more exciting than the last. Aiden was so enamoured with the hat that we found him napping with it in the afternoon.

And thus ends another wonderful Christmas with family and friends. Until next year.