Late night present wrapping is a common tradition in my house hold. This night will be no exception.
It is also done at the last-minute as in a day or two before Christmas!
It is also a tradition to have the presents hidden, to which you keep adding to, and then when it comes time to wrap them you find out you purchased more than you thought.
Happy Wrapping
Christmas art work. Okay, so it is not a tradition yet. This is our first year, but I plan to make it a tradition.
Ian isn’t as much into painting, coloring or drawing as some kids I know. He is too busy to sit down for that long. So when he does I like to make sure I capture it on film.
While at the craft store one day he found this wooden snowflake and ceramic snowman he wanted. My mom bought them for him and she let him paint them at her house.
Ian really likes to mix all his colors together in the painters tray before using them. Such lovely artwork.
Happy Painting
Every year my mom hosts Gingerbread House Day. This day to decorate gingerbread houses has morphed into a friendly family competition with the building and decorating more than a dozen houses.
The competitive portion came about through my cousins. My aunt has a set of shelves that she would place the houses on each level with her favorite on the top shelf. The honor of “Top Shelf” is now coveted by all (even though she doesn’t take home all the houses).
This was Baby Sid’s first time, although he didn’t participate. Ian really got into the decorating this year.
Ian would have help with applying the frosting but the candy placement was all him. He was there when I put the houses together a couple of days before the event. He helped put together some houses so we were able to talk about decorating them, which helped to build the suspense.
It will be nice to see how his decorating skill progress over the years.
How many gingerbread houses do you build each year?
Happy Building & Decorating
When I was little we would go to Breakfast with Santa. Over the years the quality went down hill and we stopped going. Last year I wanted to take Ian, but looked into it too late.
This year I made sure we got tickets. We went to the McMenamins breakfast at the Crystal Ball Room.
Ian had a great time and loved the bouncing dance floor!
Mon: Sage Pork Chops with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower*
Tue: Sesame Beef with Rice Pilaf
Wed: Buffalo Chicken Soup
Fri: Kielbasa Tortellini Alfredo with Easy Parmesan Knots
Sat: Left Overs
Sun: Maple Bourbon Pork Chops with Parmesan Rice
*After making the cauliflower I puree it and add it to the mashed potatoes. Happy Meal Planning
I Tri and Craft 