Our Christmas Day started off with a negative COVID home test so Briggs could officially lose his mask and spend the day without distancing from the family. We swabbed a nose, read the Christmas story together, and then headed downstairs for presents.
Stockings are always a highlight. Toothbrushes, socks, ornaments, hair clips, sleep masks, calendars, cars, fidgets... The kids always love seeing what is in their stockings.
My kids love to make gifts for each other. This year Briggs made Adelie a whole set of Harry Potter perler bead characters. He made Staley an airplane out of a toilet paper roll and a sign taped to a Kleenex box that read, "I love Staley."
Adelie made Briggs a set of coupons for things like reading books together and playing several specific games together for 15 minutes, and she made Staley this denim purse with a pair of old jeans and a hot glue gun.
Staley wrote a personalized fairy tale for both Adelie and Briggs. Adelie's was based on 'The Little Mermaid' and Briggs' was based on 'Beauty and the Beast.'
We gave the kids two family gifts. This push pin travel map to document our adventures...
and a little fish tank with 4 baby guppies that the kids named Bubbles, Little Zipper, X-ray, and Terry.
Each of the kids also got a top Christmas item from their list. Briggs got this remote control Lego train.
Adelie got a pedicure tub with some other pedicure accessories.
Staley got an old-school Ipod Nano loaded with music, earphones, and an Ipod docking station/speaker so she can listen with her brother and sister.
The rest of the day was spent putting together and then playing with the Lego train...
giving pedicures...
and listening to music.
We got a quick socially distanced visit from Zach's sister and kids (complete with an original "12 Days of Quarantine" serenade) and then enjoyed a family walk and some outdoor play time at the park since the weather was beautiful.
Our day ended with a scrumptious Christmas dinner that our neighbor, Miss Vickie, prepared for us.
Our Christmas was a quiet day. I watched my kids experience so much joy in their acts of giving to us and each other. I was touched by their gratefulness in the presents that they opened. I relished the enjoyment they got out of their new Christmas treasures throughout the day. I was so thankful for the gift of a Christmas meal that I didn't have to cook. I appreciated the nice weather and the time spent together. It was a very merry Christmas indeed.
