Post Christmas and Holidays {pt. 2}

So I forgot about two most important items of Christmas 

decorations that should have been on this LIST, if you recall.

Yeah. Forgot them. It might have been due to the fact that they

were hanging on the windows, but no excuse.

Yes! Another darling little house! With snow on it, and glowing yellow windows. So warm and cozy looking you could just melt right into it.

Also this lovely portrayal of the Nativity. Must have. Very necessary to the Christmas spirit and bringing back the joys of childhood.

Both are very important for Christmas to be Christmas at my house.
It's so sad to be talking about Christmas. It's been over and gone for a month now.
But it's still sad.

Here is our lovely Christmas tree, filled with presents. Always a blue tree for Grandpa. He loved blue Christmas trees.

Some of the new ornaments. We've probably been having blue Christmas trees for ten years now, so some of the ornaments are quite old, as you can imagine.

Christmas presents! All these mysterious, wonderful packages, wrapped up in colors beyond imagination, and shapes and sounds so secretive it does nothing but make you happy!

Photographing Christmas cookie making is one of my favorite things about Christmas!

There's just something so homey and sweet, and old fashioned about it.

The crew consisted of Mom at the dough, since she is best at rolling it out.

Someone with the cookie cutter and spatula to put them on trays.

And then someone else to decorate them.

Or frost them when they came out of the oven.
It was all sort of a rotational deal. Everyone would move from position to position whenever one got left unattended. Even the older boys got into it when the rest of us got kind of bored. Sad, really, knowing you can get bored of making Christmas cookies.

Our advent candles. We read John Piper's Advent readings this year. They were so lovely. We all really enjoyed them. And of course we read our Christmas stories. About Wally and The Candle in the Forest, and Mum added some new ones this year. Like the one about the girl who missed her train home to a house full of a huge family, and a nice pilot flew her over into their cow field, and ended up staying all Christmas vacation with them. Yes. That was a lovely one.

Hurray! Christmas Day! Here's my pile of presents! I got so many wonderful, unexpected things this year! Favorite gift, um . . . well, let's just say I loved them all. But the new mascara and the owl book ends were pretty awesome.

Christmas morning. Mum and me taking pictures of each other.

Day after Christmas sledding party! We hardly ever get out together. All six of us. Amazing.

Then a few days later, Dad, Mum, William and me, popped off to Grandma's.
We saw Aunt Connie and Uncle Donnie, and went Christmas shopping for Grandma.

And of course I picked the air mattress that was flat and piled a whole bunch of blankets on the floor to make up.

William and I went to the new shop in her town called The Hub. It's an old fashioned ice cream soda fountain with antique books! I found a 1954 copy of a Trixie Beldon. And had a Roy Rogers ice cream soda and William a Blue Raspberry. They were so delicious! Going back in the summer!

The ride home was a little slickery, snow everywhere, you know! But we made it home alright. The worst roads were closest to home, which was better, but still. It was different traveling in snow. I hadn't traveled in snow so far away in a long time. It was probably going to Grandma's at Christmas long, long ago. Grandma gave me Caddie Woodlawn for Christmas that year. The year after Grandpa died.

It was a nice second Christmas at Grandma's. I got to play her piano for her. Shopping with Mum and Aunt Connie was a tremendous. Then we got home and had a great end of year party with the family. Anyway. Happy New Year everyone! I hope it is magical and beautiful and many good things happen in it!