I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Today’s post is going to highlight some of my favorite things that have happened this holiday season.

Home Decorations

Decorating the house with all of my Christmas decor while I listen to Christmas music is one of my favorite things in the world!

Christmas Pajamas

This year our Christmas pajamas were from Old Navy. They’re all a size bigger than what the kids wear now, so I’m hoping they can fit in them again next year.

Grinch Night

Our annual Grinch Night includes red and green cupcakes and Grinch punch. Something so simple means so much when you’re making memories with your kiddos!

North Pole Breakfast

I have been much more creative with this in the past, but I was happy with how this year’s came together. The gasps of excitement when the kids walk into the kitchen are the sweetest. Our Elf gets all the credit for the decorations and the fun (extra sugary) foods!

Klara’s Christmas Playdate

Our sweet friends were so kind to invite us over for a Christmas playdate! Klara and I took a Gingerbread house and some ornaments for her and her friend Charlotte to make and their family provided dinner and the CUTEST hot cocoa craft. The girls decorated their cups with Christmas stickers and then had hot cocoa by their beautiful Christmas tree. So simple yet so precious. Klara had so much fun!

Kylan’s Big Moment

I mentioned this in my last post, but Kylan had his picc line removed and it was the best Christmas gift we could have ever received.

Christmas Eve

This year we didn’t have our typical Christmas Eve. Normally we would spend the day making dishes and gather at my mom’s to eat and open gifts. Afterwards we would go home and open gifts at our house. This year we done things differently and opened gifts at home, went through a drive through for dinner, ate in the car, and went to my papaw’s house to visit him for awhile. We came home, sat out Santa’s treats, and read The Night Before Christmas. We even tracked Santa on NORAD while we snacked on some popcorn and listened to Christmas music.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was magical, as always. Waking up early to see what Santa left under the tree was always my favorite part of Christmas. Now I’m blessed enough to watch my own kids experience the magic of Christmas morning. Kylan loved his gaming chair, Koby was so happy with his Nintendo Switch case, and Klara’s favorite thing from Santa was her Barbie Deluxe Styling Head. And I took zero pictures. MOM FAIL.

Usually we go to Jordan’s parents house on Christmas Day, but I kept Klara home where she tested positive for the flu last weekend.

I convinced Jordan to still take the boys and to celebrate with his family while Klara and I stayed home and cuddled. She ended up napping while I watched some Hallmark movies.

Every year I ask for an Emily Ley Simplified Planner. I want to share what I’m currently adding in my 2020 planner. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this before, but maybe you have. For December 2020, I’m adding notes like how much we spent on the kids this Christmas, who we need to buy for, what we bought for our families this year (so we don’t give similar gifts next year), dishes we made this year that I would like to make again, traditions to continue, etc. I also like keeping track of who we mail Christmas cards to. While it’s fresh in my mind, I also like to make a miscellaneous budget. For instance, I know I like to buy our family matching pajamas so I’d budget that in as well as things for Grinch Night, our North Pole Breakfast, and our gift exchanges at work. There were some things I wish I had remembered for our North Pole breakfast this year that I’m jotting down now, that way I have a list of things that I know I’m going to want next year.

Next Christmas we’re aiming for NO drive through Chinese for our Christmas Eve dinner, LOTS more pictures, and NO FLU.

I hope you were surrounded by family and lots of love this holiday season. Merry Christmas!