Christmas in St. George

Christmas was full of memories, surprises, and last but not least relaxation!

We spent the season with my sister Jeni's family and my mom in St. George. Our kids really got into the spirit of Christmas this year, getting each other and us gifts. They even searched for the perfect gift for Grandma and their cousins.

We spent the couple of days before Christmas watching movies, painting a Nativity set, and planning delicious meals (It's true, Christmas is the best time for our family favorite recipes). And the kids even got some swimming time in - it was pretty warm the week before Christmas!

Christmas Eve dinner is a traditional Clam Chowder in bread bowls. This year we made broccoli cheese soup as well for the non-clam eaters.

After dinner was all cleaned up, we opened our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas (who doesn't have this tradition?).

Next on the list of events was the Nativity!

We scrounged around the house looking for costume pieces and accessories.
The Cast:
Mary & Joseph - Emma & Tanner
Baby Jesus - Brightyn
Angel - Bridget
Shepherd - Tucker
Wise Man - Bayli
Donkey - Haili

After the scriptures were read, we sang Christmas songs and listened to the Messiah. Matt also organized a game that we had fun with.

Then off to bed for Santa to come! Sleeping 15 people in a 3 bedroom house is interesting, especially when Santa needs to sneak in, but we pulled it off.

Christmas morning came far too soon. I slept through the night without even peeking at Santa. Jeni was supposed to wake me up to get a glimpse of him, but she kept that all to herself.

We slept in till 7!

Sean was happy with some cash in his stocking

Alex was trying to wake up

We took our time opening gifts.

We really scaled back to only necessity items since our kids were in for a big surprise.

Emma was super excited for this game from Grandma!

After all the gifts were opened, it was time for the big surprise!

Wouldn't you know that my camera batteries died just at that moment. So you can check out our big surprise jeni's blog.

After the big surprise, we made and ate Danish Coffee cakes (from our Christensen family tradition). These delicious rolls were made every Christmas morning by my Grandma Rhea when I was growing up. Jeni and I have worked pretty hard to make them as fluffy and delicious as hers always were. I have to admit that we are getting pretty good at it:) They were scrumptious!

After brunch was cleaned up, we started our Christmas Day dinner that consists of Prime rib, baked potatoes, homemade rolls, and delicious vegetable dishes.

We ate and ate, then ate some more!

Perfect Christmas day...