It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

As I type this, the wind is howling, the snow is swirling and we're hunkered down, ready to brave the blizzard that is in full force. Sounds somewhat similar to the end of October when Superstorm Sandy hit--hopefully we don't lose power for 6 days like we did a few months ago!  Seems like the perfect time to post about our Christmas festivities, so get comfy--there are a bunch of photos :)

I really do believe that it is the most wonderful time of the year!  I love everything about the Christmas season--the sights, the sounds, the smells and, of course, the yummy tastes!  Another thing that I love about Christmas is all of the traditions.  The tried and true ones and the newly established ones.  From year to year, our Christmas remains pretty similar, but that's how I like it.

Christmas Eve we always go downtown to this wonderful foodie market that is celebrating 100 years of operation.  You can pretty much buy anything here--goat, pheasant, a whole pig, Middle Eastern pastries, crepes, Irish pasties, purple potatoes, kumquats, and pomegranates just to name a few.  Our city has a large immigrant population that has changed as the years have gone by...this market is a definite reflection of all the different cultures, customs, languages and foods.  When we go, we don't usually buy a whole lot, but we do do a lot of gazing and salivating.  Ha!  This year, the sight of the whole pig left the Noodle a bit squeamish and freaked out--not that I blame her!

Our church has a children's service that begins at 4:30.  This year, the Noodle sang in the choir (a first!).  She was front and center and sang her little heart out.  So cute!

After that, we came home and had Christmas tea with Lollie and Papa.  Again, another tradition that harkens back to when I was a child and we lived in England.

Christmas morning, the Noodle actually slept in a bit (I believe it was 6:45 this time) and then we took our time opening gifts.  When she walked down and saw the tree, she couldn't believe it.   She just kept gazing at it and saying "Wow!"  Santa definitely found his way to our house ;)

 

Christmas morning wouldn't be complete without an opportunity to play with some of the new gifts.  Both J and the Noodle were excited to rip into the new LEGO horse stable set and to get building.  It was definitely the year of the horse.

Then we headed out to celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa, J's brother and his wife and all the "peeps". It was a whirlwind of activity and excitment but so much fun. By the time we were ready to leave, all 3 of us were exhuasted. We had an uneventful trip home, got our jammies on cuddled on the couch--the perfect end to a wonderful Christmas!