11. Arthur Christmas Movie
A couple of my friends and I took our kiddos to see the new movie, "Arthur Christmas". We were the only ones in the theater and the kids loved the freedom . . . maybe too much. The movie was very cute. 
12. Zoo Lights
We toured the lights at the zoo. It was cool to be there at night and see all the lights. It was even cooler to each get a $10 gift card to Macy's from Santa. Wahoo!
Ava told us this guy didn't look like Santa (she was right) and she wasn't about to go talk to him. She did stand back and watch while Brielle filled Santa in on what Ava wants for Christmas (an Easy Bake Oven).
13. Christmas Shopping Date Night
We spent the morning at Target shopping with the kids. They each chose a name out of a hat and got to buy that sibling a present. It was fun to see them choose gifts for each other. They were so excited and have done a great job at keeping their big secrets.
14. Christmas Tea Party
Brie, Ava and I were invited to an annual tea party that Brian and Rachel put on. It is a little girl's dream. The house was overflowing with little girls and their mothers all dressed up. We ate little finger foods and desserts and chatted. My girls for sure LOVED it all.
15. Shortbread
When I finished baking and wrapping 60 plates of Scottish shortbread I texted Scott and said, "Are you sure we have to be Scottish?" It does take some time, but I really am glad we have this tradition. We once again made, wrapped and delivered shortbread to all of our friends and neighbors. It always makes me happy to see the girls so excited to run up to each door and GIVE something we've made.
The delivery man. He's a good sport to wear a skirt when it's 28 degrees outside.
16. Allred Christmas Dinner
Landon and Sarah invited all the Allred kids in these parts to our own special Christmas dinner. It was DELICIOUS. Seriously. And it is always fun to hang out together . . . . especially with Annie on piano and Brielle putting on a dance show for us.
17. Ava's Pre-school Christmas Performance
Ava actually got up in front of all the parents and sang (or mouthed the words to) Christmas songs in her pre-school Christmas program. It was, of course, very cute to see all those 4 year olds singing away. Ava was quite proud of herself.
18. Neighboor Treats
Zachary was VERY excited when our island counter looked like this and he discovered last year's candy canes inside.
The gifts from the neighbors started rolling in. Imagine his delight when now our counter looks more like this. Now every time the door bell rings Zachary goes running toward it yelling, "TREAT!!"
19. Sub for Santa
Scott got to coordinate his team at work to do a Sub for Santa for a single mom and her four kids. He came home in tears telling me about the day they had gone shopping. He got to shop for gifts for the 8 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. They also took good care of the mother. I'm so glad that he got the experience of providing Christmas to a family that didn't have the means this year.
20. Elf on The Shelf
When Scott was growing up they had an elf on a shelf that watched to see if they were bad or good and then reported to Santa. (As teenagers they terrorized the poor elf.) Rama gave us our own "Elf On the Shelf" a couple of years ago. The kids wake up every morning and come running out of their rooms, SO EXCITED to see where the elf has moved to in the house. He changes spots each night and watches them to make sure they are being good. Zachary stands in the middle of the room, looking up at him and shouts out his requests for Christmas presents - "I WANNA CAR!!!" Hopefully the elf is reporting this back to Santa.
3 comments:
Wonderful traditions! I love the elf, but am happy I don't make the shortbread.
It all sounds wonderful Alicia! And good for you for still keeping up with it all being prego and tired. Elf on a shelf is HUGE here. I am too afraid I would forget to move him though. I figured I better not start something I couldn't do correctly.
So much fun!! I was laughing about the Arthur pancakes... at Denny's. Ha!
And oh, how I wish we could have some Scottish shortbread someday.
And Ava's little red dress for her preschool party is sooooo adorable. maybe my favorite ever.
Your elf-on-the-shelf is so cute to me. Although, at the first of the season, Samantha emphatically told me, "I hope we NEVER get an elf-on-the-shelf, like Brielle has. I would NOT like that AT ALL!!" ha! Apparently, she really doesn't like the idea of having an elf checking in with Santa every night. :)
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