It's Christmas Eve Day here and three high strung minis are tearing through my house as I try to clean it and make room for all of the new toys that are headed their way. I've temporarily given up and planted myself on the couch (which is why I'm currently typing away). I can feel their excitement, remembering those same feelings when I was a child, and realizing that now, as a parent of three, I feel that excitement again only stronger. Something about seeing it through your children's eyes and all of that jazz that I have no interest in attempting to explain today. The excitement is just too great. They know what is coming. This afternoon/evening is our annual Christmas Eve celebration with the Murillo's, my mom's side of the family.
We have spent Christmas Eve this way ever since I can remember. There's a spread of food: ham, bread, candies, cookies, dips, crackers, clam chowder, quesadillas, veggies, and more. To go with a spread of food, there's a spread of presents. As a little kid I remember thinking it's the most presents I had ever seen, like a sea of presents I could almost jump in (I don't believe I ever did though!). I can imagine that's how my kids feel when they look under, around, in front of the tree tonight.
After we're done eating, opening presents, saying our thank you's, and loading up the car, hubs and I take the kids and look at Christmas lights. On Christmas Eve, Waterbury area does luminaries up and down the streets. It look gorgeous in front of all of those huge houses! We then make our way to Beaverdale to head down the famous Ashby, where every house on the street has lights up. We cap off our night by reading "The Night Before Christmas" and sending the minis off to bed in hopes that they'll go to sleep at some point in the next two hours.
Once the minis are asleep we open our house up to elves (otherwise known as high school friends, family, anybody we can sucker into coming to help us putting the kid's present together really. Santa doesn't wrap his presents in our house and has them all put together and ready to be played with when the minis wake up). The night carries on into early morning hours with good conversations, games, debates, and drinks. When all of the presents are set up and out, the house is cleaned, guests have left, the hubs and I head off to bed, knowing that in just a couple of hours we'll be greeted by three eager faces.
This day and night has become my favorite tradition packed with celebrating, family, friends, love, laughs....everything one should be blessed with this time of year. Most people I speak with have family traditions this time of year. We have began a few new things this year that we plan on carrying on in the years to come that will hopefully become traditions our kids look forward to every year. So I ask, what are your traditions this time of year?
