Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve day was pretty casual. Not too much going on. Kameron, Erin, Tyler, and I took the dogs for a walk at Manito Park. It was so pretty and Dwight did a great job walking on a leash. He got a lot of attention. He is such a cute puppy.
Tyler and I like going to the 4pm Christmas Eve Services at St. John's Cathedral. I REALLY love it! This year Kameron and Erin joined us. It just feels so Christmasy to me. I love the candles, incense, flowers, ringing of church bells, passing of the peace, and singing carols. The church always looks so beautiful.
After the church service it was time to head home and get ready to celebrate! Christmas Eve is my favorite part of Christmas.
While we were gone, the ham and funeral potatoes were cooking, and Ailey and Bryn set the table. Reilly, Hunter, and Karson arrived shortly after we got home and the festivities began!
Our Menu:
My Mom's Coors Ham
Funeral Potatoes
Christmas Strawberry and Spinach Salad
Rolls
Assorted cookies and candies for dessert
Bubbly, Izzies, and Eggnog to drink.
We had the Christmas music going and good conversation happening. We asked Erin and Hunter about how their families celebrate Christmas and their traditions and special foods. I love learning how other families celebrate! Then it was jammie time.
The Junior Johnsons
Hunter, Karson, and Reilly
Karsy
Lovey, Karson, and Pops
Tyler, Beverly, Ailey, and Bryn
After dinner we changed into our pajamas and we gave everyone their special ornaments for the year. Tyler and I found some great ones!! All were very meaningful this year not just pretty. Every year I tell the kids that they need to contribute something to the night's entertainment. Reilly and Hunter always do the game with the big Saran Wrap Ball full of candy, money, gift cards, lottery tickets, and little gifts.
Everyone loves it!!
For the past few years Ailey has done a funny family Trivia Kahoot game. Tyler and I picked our jingle bells ringing family performance of Barbara Streisand's iconic Jingle Bells to be performed twice. Erin plays the piano BEAUTIFULLY and she brought back singing carols around the piano! Love it!! Kam collected everyone's top songs of the year and made a family 2024 Spotify playlist. We play a "Guess who picked this song?" game. (We moved this to Christmas brunch.) Bryn picked (with Ailey's assistance) making a family TikTok. We made two. One PG and one that was a tad more inappropriate but that inappropriate one is HILARIOUS!
Screen shot of our TikTok.
We also played some more games.
We took our traditional family picture. I love that this year we added another person and another pet!
Then it was time for Reilly and Hunter to get Karson home and to bed. After they left one of my favorite moments occurred and it was absolutely spontaneous. The kids, of their own volition, dipped into the Christmas book basket and began reading their favorite Christmas books out loud. That was a Christmas gift to me. All those years of reading those books and wrapping them up and counting down to Christmas with a Christmas book every night meant something to them and still does. Cue all the tears.
Every year there is a magical moment for me. A time when I REALLY feel the Christmas Spirit and this was that time. Priceless. I love that Tyler took these pictures too. He very rarely even takes pictures. And to think that I almost didn't put the Christmas books out because the kids are grown and Karson isn't at an age where he will sit and listen to a storybook. I love this so much!
After that we turned out all the lights and read the Christmas Story from the scriptures by candle light. Kameron now does the reading. Then we sang Silent Night and Tyler walked the kids to their rooms by candle light. They still wanted it. LOL. Tyler and I stayed up for a bit after everyone else had gone to bed. Marveling at how our family has grown and how blessed we feel this Christmas season.
Christmas Day
Everyone was up on Christmas morning by about 9am. Reilly, Hunter, and Karson were back and still wearing their jammies. They roused us all out of bed. LOL. They had an early Christmas morning at their house with Karson. Santa brought him some fun toys! So cute!
The kids exchanged the stockings that they filled for each other.
Karson opened his gifts from all of us and the kids opened their gifts from us and from grandparents and other family members. Our kids were so generous to us and gave us the most thoughtful and fun presents. Tyler spoiled me as usual. He is a great gift giver and I got him exactly what he asked for which is how he likes it. LOL.
Then Tyler and the kids made our Christmas Brunch. We had our traditional crepes with raspberries, strawberries, whipped cream, Nutella, and lemon curd as toppings. Along with bacon, sausage, and leftover funeral potatoes. LOL. While we ate...Kam did his Christmas activity...which was play the family 2024 Spotify playlist and have everyone guess who picked what song and then that person explained why. I love this so much. It was interesting and also surprising how many tears were shed as people explained why they had chosen a particular song. AND we all got a new great playlist out of it! So fun!
After brunch we talked to my dad, Tyler's mom and sister, my brother and his family, and also Luke. Erin got to facetime with her family and brother who is on a mission. We were getting texts from all our friends and extended family. It was lovely. Then it was time for Reilly, Hunter, and Karson to go to Hunter's parents house. They have a big Christmas dinner and family gathering on Christmas Day. Later that afternoon we headed downtown to go to a movie.
We ended the night with two more light displays. This one and the Dancing Lights.
Then it was back home for eggnog, leftovers, and games. It was a fun Christmas and Tyler and I felt so blessed to have everyone home!
New Year's Eve
The day before we went to the movies again. This time we saw finally saw Wicked. Well everyone except for Bryn who ditched us for the Stake New Years Dance. Ha Ha!
Ailey gets MARRIED in 2025!! She is excited!!
Reilly, Hunter, and Karson came back over on New Year's Eve. This was also our Lefse Night. Tyler and Ailey were cranking out the lefse. It was so good! I love that we have moved this to New Year's Eve rather than try to cram it in before Christmas.
We had a delicious dinner and went through our little wood box that holds our family goals for the year aka our "Gifts for Jesus". We did pretty well this year!! We set our family goals for 2025. We wrote on slips of paper the things that we would not be taking with us into 2025 and burned them. That felt good!
We played a few games and then did a modified ringing in of the New Year so that Reilly and Hunter could get Karson to bed before midnight. After they left we played some more games. When the clock struck midnight we celebrated with tooters and confetti and poppers and banging pots and pans. Everyone went to the door to welcome in 2025. Then we went outside and had a pop it war and watched the illegal fireworks that were being set off near us.
Then it was back inside for a few more toasts and some kitchen dancing! 2024 was very good to us and we never take that for granted!
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is always my least favorite holiday and this was no different. All the fun is over...and it's just winter now...for months. We slept in and then went to lunch. A final farewell before Kameron, Erin, and Dwight flew home that afternoon.
I hate saying goodbye to our kids. It's crazy that the next time we see them it will be in April for Ailey and Luke's wedding. That is surreal. I am so grateful that our kids all made the effort come home for the holidays. It isn't easy to take off work. It's expensive. It's hard to miss out on celebrating with your own family like Erin did. It's hard to be crammed in a house and all up in everyone's business. It wasn't perfect...kids fought...people lost their tempers...parents had a meltdown or two...but it was also really fun and full of laughter and good times and great memories were made. I am so appreciative of the wonderful families that our children are creating and that we get to share in. Our family is only getting better and better with each new wonderful addition. Tyler and I just can't believe it!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
