The kids all slept until about 8am and then waited patiently while we got the coffee going and put breakfast in the oven. They were excited once it was time to go downstairs and open presents!
We always start with stockings and the kids were very excited that Santa knew just what to leave! Lexie was especially excited that he remembered that what she REALLY wanted for Christmas was a Frozen cup.
This year Santa only left one gift for the whole family to share and the kids were shocked that it was such a small package. The boys let Lexie open it since she wasn't feeling well and she was excited to find the blu-ray version of "Newsies". We told Christopher to check inside the case to make sure it was just the movie and he found the tickets to the Broadway show "Newsies"!
After stockings and our Santa present, it was time for a break and breakfast. Growing up, my mom always made an egg casserole that we affectionately called "egg stuff" for Christmas breakfast but mine never turns out as good as hers. We had an amazing eggs Benedict casserole for breakfast this year and I think it will be our new Christmas breakfast.
After breakfast it was time for presents! We always go youngest to oldest and do one present at a time. It takes a lot longer than everyone just tearing through everything, but this way we get to appreciate each gift and everyone gets to see what everyone else gave and received.
Every year we make Grandma a new windchime-- this one was made out of bottle caps-- I wonder what next year's will look like! Ellie loved her Frozen car from Grandma and Grandpa.
One of Nick's favorite gifts was a new, fully stocked, first aid kit-- the kid likes to be prepared! Lexie really wasn't feeling well on Christmas morning but she had a great attitude. While she wasn't nearly as excited as she normally would be, she still made an effort to smile and say thank you after opening her gifts.
Silly Grandma, don't you know that Legos are for kids?? Ellie had fun opening her presents and then waiting for it to be her turn again. She ended up going down for a nap right after this and sleeping through the rest of presents.
We got Grandpa some new family pictures for his office. One of the goals in our family is to give him gifts that make him teary-eyed (and you really don't have to try hard!).
Ben moved his presents over by Grandma and made a fort out of them
Christopher was excited to get National Treasure 1 and 2-- they're his favorite movies! The kids all draw names and buy a gift for one sibling (it's way easier than trying to coordinate (and pay for!) them buying for all of them). Ellie drew Nick's name and got him a weather radio-- he was VERY excited!!
Lots of fun things to play with!
The big group gifts ended up in the very back of the tree. The kids were VERY surprised to get a new laptop and a new Xbox this year!
Grandma and Grandpa surprised the kids with Disneyland tickets for our trip next summer. They were very excited as evidenced by the screaming faces!
Ellie woke up from her nap after we were all done opening presents (at around 1pm!) so after a quick lunch, she got to open the rest of hers.
Ellie's first Little People set :)
Lexie drew Ellie's name in the Sibling Exchange and decided to give her all of the food, dishes, and play kitchen that she no longer used. Ellie LOVED the gift and spent the rest of the day playing with the kitchen.
Lexie spent the rest of the day sick on the couch. Luckily, whatever she had was very short lived and no one else ended up getting it. Ellie showed Grandpa how to use her kitchen and made him lots of yummy treats!
The rest of us spent the day playing with new toys and relaxing around the house. We had a delicious lasagna dinner (our family tradition for Christmas!) and ended the night watching "It's a Wonderful Life". It was a fantastic Christmas and made even better because we were able to spend it with family!
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