The eve of Christ’s birth deserved a palooza in my book. What is a palooza? It’s celebrating. Big. and Bold. and Fun out the wazoo. And usually it begins with feeding mythical flying creatures.
We got home from Chattanooga and most people would just simply relax from a week of Christmasy fun and family and friends. Most people would unpack. Most people would wrap some last minute presents and go to bed early. But I am not most people.
Instead, I maniacally created a jar of reindeer food for our Christmas Eveapalooza and planned out our itinerary. Yup…we had an itinerary. But first – we must feed the reindeer dry bread covered with powdered sugar and bits of peppermint sticks.
Yeah – we just threw it in the yard…cause we are classy like that 🙂
Once back within the warm glow of our Christmas tree, I gathered the needed supplies for our Palooza…everything from blankets and scarves and hats to bells and snacks.
The zebra hand puppet introduced the show…his name was Striped Delight (which is only funny if you know this inside joke).
Will loved the hand puppets. He had Moosey…who just liked to eat things and sounded like Goofy but with a lisp 🙂
Our itinerary assumed that we knew the words to Christmas songs…which we didn’t. So the entire time we were horribly singing songs but all the songs were to the tune of Jingle Bells except with made up words and sometimes a gutteral noise or a ba-bum-bum-buuuum! Next year the Palooza needs a cd with Christmas singers…note to self.
It didn’t stop Will from enjoying it though. We rang bells for Jingle Bells, we animated with a stuffed reindeer for Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, we danced for Frosty, banged the drum for Deck the Halls…
We layered on scarves and hats for Let it Snow…
And we basically were Christmasy fools. It was awesome.
Also, earlier in the evening I saw that I had a package from Lynette (she was a sweetheart that we met in DC with her family) and look how adorable this label is…
She had sent us a huge box of goodies and a book for Will – so we broke those suckers out as our ‘midnight treats!’ Thanks Lynette!
Will was REALLY excited about it in general.
Cheers-ing our carmel popcorn cobs 🙂 Will is offically obsessed with these now. I have to find a place near us that sells them or figure out how to make my own.
Back to the singing – I think this was me singing to Here comes Santa Claus…
Yup…here he comes 🙂
Angels we have heard on High. And yes, our angels are miniature 🙂
Jeremy looked like this…so funny…kinda scary…good thing we know he’s not some crazy lunatic 🙂
And then came the reading of the Christmas Story. Jeremy had no idea what I was doing when I interupted him after a few verses and started ‘recreating’ the birth of Jesus with stuffed Disney characters.
Kermit and Piggy were our shepards. and Minnie rode in on Rudolph. The sheep were, well, the sheep.
The Wise Men were two of the Seven Dwarfs and Cookie Monster. I’m not sure if Will completely understood what was happening…but he was sortof passionate about the baby Jesus (aka Tweetie Bird)…so I consider it a success.
Finally – we ended with Striped Delight closing out the night with his rendition of the 12 days of Christmas. By the way – if anyone heard us, they would probably be afraid that a cat was dying in the room or something horrible was happening because we are just not great singers…but it’s not about being on-tune, right? It’s about making a joyful noise…and boy, did we 🙂
We tucked Will into bed and kissed him so many times whispering things like “sleep in tomorrow” and “tomorrow is a very special birthday” and finally made our way downstairs to clean up and celebrate just the two of us…
I got to open a present early…
So did Jer…although I must admit that his pajama pants were not in the same league as my new lens. To be honest, I didn’t think Jeremy bought me anything…so I even wrapped up random stuff just so we would both have things to open…it’s just more fun that way. And boy did he surprise me. Next year I’ll have to remember that he is awesome at giftgiving so I need to prepare more for him.
The rest of the night I sat back with my feet propped up and sprawled out on our palooza blankets (admittedly texting Sherry about Clara’s play kitchen – so freakin’ cute) and drinking hot chocolate out of a Santa mug. It was the absolute perfect way to end the imperfect night.
So that’s our Christmas eve, what did you do? Open presents? Sing carols? Feed reindeer or drink hot cocoa? Anyone have a palooza?
Love everything about this 🙂 What a magical Christmas Eve!
And YES…Clara’s new kitchen is freaking amazing. Will should go get her to cook him some grub.
My favourite is the one where Will is about to kiss his uncle. Gotta love that open mouthed approach 😛 What a sweetheart!
Katie Bower! I had that Miss Piggy when I was a young girl. I’m so jealous you still have yours from when you were a young girl. Totes jeal.
Maybe it’s in my parents’ attic… somewhere. With those McDonald’s Happy Meal Disney ornaments…
I absolutely love your Mickey and Minnie “nativity”! Maybe my girls would have had more fun if I did it your way!!
I can’t wait until Quinland wakes up so I can show her the stuffed animal Nativity. This is going to rank up with the balloon-static hair post in her book.
What a good mom you are. I am so impressed by how intentional you are about making memories with Will. Good job, you.
And this is why, Katie Bower, you are one of my top ten favourite people in the whole wide world, and I’ve never even met you in person. You light up the world, young woman and make moments count. Thank you so much for sharing your life.
Hugs
I just HAD to say what a lovely family you are – you are creating such special memories for Will. We used to ‘sing for santa’ when we were kids, and I still love to think of it. We were told if we didn’t sing loud enough he wouldn’t hear us and wouldn’t know to stop at our house. Needless to say you could hear jingle bells all the way down our street!
What a fun Christmas eve! 🙂 We did a “treasure hunt” with clues to the next hiding places, made rheindeer food as well, decorated special santa cookies and just generally spent time with family. After the family left, and the kids were in bed, I snapped all of these pics:
http://whereloveandfamilymeet.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/and-not-a-creature-was-stirring-not-even-a-mouse/
lol Wish it were Christmas all over again!
You may want to obscure the addresses on that one picture. I see yours is just a PO box, but the other woman’s address is basically visible. Happy New Year!
Aw the Mickey & Minnie nativity is so cute! Looks like you had a great night together 🙂
Too cute! Looks like a lot of fun
PS: i got the same lens for my birthday and LOVE. IT.
I LOVE Will’s little Santa outfit…where did you find that?! And of course he slept in extra late on Christmas morning for you…right?! 😉
Looks like you guys had an awesome Christmas Eve! & sweet present!
So fun! For Christmas Eve, we went to mass and then ate dinner at my in-laws (we had the 7 fishes). It was very low key and wonderful 🙂
We do the same thing!! Growing up I hated it especially when the other kids would tell me what they did!! But now I love it!!! It’s a special night and will someday do the same with my kids!!
Katie i literally laughed out loud when I saw the picture of tweetie bird swaddled in a blanket!! You’re so creative!!! I got a camera lense too………and my husband got socks,white undershirts,and underwear!! Can you say boring!! He appreciates it later during the year when his sock drawer is jammed full…..but def not the same level of a camera lense!!
LOVE the stuffed animal rendition of the nativity scene – too cute! Sounds like your family had a perfect Christmas Eve 🙂
So fun!! I have the Nikon version of that lense and love it!! And I’m thinking y’all should get the little people nativity for Will 🙂
Dude, those cobs look AMAZING (I totally googled them)! So much fun!
My now two year old son got this for Christmas 2010 and he played with it the entire Christmas season 2011. He LOVES it! It isn’t nearly as creative as these stuffed animal actors, but it works beautifully.
Oh, and Katie, you are amazing at creating memories! I vowed to do that but life keeps getting in the way. I just need to make time. Period. Thanks for the reminder!
Will looks so cute in his little Santa suit! It looks like you had a great Christmas Eve!
The Santa pic by the hearth is so funny to me. He apparently was binge drinking. LOL!
First I had to do a double take – your hair was long before santa hat, with the hat on it looked like you had a bob (which would be adorable on you)… glad I figured that out! Your Christmas Eve looks fantastic! I know you guys had a blast, regardless if it sounded like dying animals. It’s the memories you are making for Will that count!
We also sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn… and the porch, the sidewalk & everywhere else that glitter would never leave (we’re still sparkling away at our house!). We have a tradition to open jammies on Christmas Eve, everyone gets them. Theres nothing like waking up Christmas morning in your brand new jammies! <3
BEST CHRISTMAS POST ON THE WEB!
Did you guys remember to pick up the reindeer food before Will woke up? See, that’s where I always fail (the follow through)…
That sounds like an awesome Christmas tradition! I’d love to do something like that with my kids one day!
I spend every Christmas eve making food for my family Christmas Day.
The evening of Christmas eve, we have homemade Minestrone Soup (from my amazing crockpot) for dinner. It’s tradition. Then I sit on my butt with a cup of tea and watch Miracle on 34th Street with my family. I love it.
I literally guffawed at Tweety’s eyes peeking out. In all seriousness, I bet that’s what expression Jesus would have made too. “Why is this dang bed so itchy??”
We made a family of snowman ornaments representing ourselves. My snowman double was complete with gray hair, eye- crinkles, and décolletage to nurse my baby.
http://cuethebanjo.com/2011/12/29/christmas-at-the-lake/
Looks like you had a memorable Christmas Eve. And that’s what it’s all about when you have little ones – making memories. Good for you.
-Diana
we totally throw reindeer food on the lawn here too. mainers are rednecks as well. i threw some glitter in (you know, so it will catch santa’s eye when it sparkles in the moonlight). my husband loves finding the glitter in the spring after all the snow melts. love reading your blog…thanks for giving me a distraction during the day from my mundane financial planning duties!
What a sweet way to spend Christmas Eve! I couldn’t stop laughing at the pic of the crazy lunatic of Christmas. So funny!
Hey, Katie! Yesterday I commented about the Matchbox truck from Uncle Torrey. Today, I found it at the Target to Clearance for 70% off! I got it for $17 and it will be a perfect birthday present form my Gunner! Also, I think Will would love a Little People Nativity! We have one for each of our boys and it is one of my favorite things to pull out each year! Great post!
p.s. Can I add one more sentence with an “!”? Just did!!
OMG! Those Muppet Baby stuffed animals!!! You just brought back crazy awesome memories of the 80’s when I begged my parents for those at McDonalds. I’m so impressed you still have them AND they look brand new!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWFETlit0c4&feature=player_embedded ah memories 🙂
we do reindeer food too! except ours is oatmeal mixed with glitter. you put it on your sidewalk to guide the reindeers to your house (and it’s easy to sweep up at night!)
I got the same lens for Christmas! Husbands are great, aren’t they?
We have them too! And all the onrnaments! Back when the McDonald toys were awesome!
I almost died laughing when I saw Tweety Bird swaddled up like Jesus.
Great memories!
Aw, sweet. I think that is one of the best nativities I’ve ever seen 🙂 My in-laws reindeer food is oatmeal with red and green sprinkles and glitter!
I bought the Fisher-Price Little People Nativity Set when my son was a toddler. He played with it the entire month of December for years. They still sell them for only $25.
Love everything about this!
WOW! You out did yourself. I was just over Christmas and you made me excited about it all over again. What a loving and special thing your did for your family. I need to stop next year, and focus like you did. Why do so many of your posts get me all teary eyed?!?
I keep wanting to say something…I LOVE your hair long! Have you decide against cutting it?:)
Nope – it’s getting the chop just as soon as I make the appointment. Which to be completely honest, I wish I could just do online because calling up a hair salon scares me…not because cutting my hair is scary but talking to fancy haired women makes me all nervous and stuff. They are totally gonna ask me how often I get it cut and how often I wash it and what I wash it with and it’s all gonna be so embarrassing.
I think I’m just gonna have Jer make the appointment instead 🙂
xo – kb
I had Miss Piggy, Kermie, and Fozzie. My mom must still have them somewhere, they came out at Christmas time through high school!
Man. This looks like it was so fun. I want to party like that with my kiddos. Can I be your friend? Seriously, you are so funny and cute and just down right stinkin’ awesome. I am so glad I found your blog this year. You seriously make my day, like every day.