Getting in the Christmas spirit!

 

We put the tree up earlier than usual this year.  I think it did us all good to enjoy the season a little bit longer.  We had a good blend of staying in and watching Christmas movies and also going out and doing some fun Christmas events around the Metro-Detroit area.  

The boys started December with Funko Pop Advent calendars.  

The boys and I volunteered for Goodfellows Paper Drive so Sean could get an hour for NJHS, but it was also fun to be out in the community and help raise money.

We celebrated Sydney and Pops' birthdays by doing a gingerbread house building contest.  This is the second year in a row we've done this for a birthday party and it's a lot of fun.  

We went to Christmas in Plymouth. It's always a fun event and this year it was both Thursday and Friday with the Mistletoe Market.  We went on a Friday after dinner at home and went to Bearded Lamb afterwards for a beer, pop for the kids, some Mystic Kettle Corn and live music.  Luna came with us to Christmas in Plymouth and was obsessed with the horses.  

I made a reservation at Ale Mary's in Royal Oak to see their Christmas set-up and it did not disappoint.  The food was delicious, the decorations were amazing, and I had an amazing rum drink in a cute Hawaiian Santa cup.  We went to Astoria next door for some desserts to take home.  It was a fun outing!

We did our annual Christmas lights show at the church by us.  It's free and you can pop in at anytime in the evening for their 20 minute long show that runs on a loop.  The kids wore their new Christmas pajamas, we made hot chocolate, and brought the reindeer chow.

We got all the teacher gifts ready and took Luna to see Santa at Petsmart.  She hates it, but loves the shopping afterwards.  

I got to get out of work a little early to be able to attend Evan's Christmas party at school.  There were 3 stations with a craft, a game, and cookie decorating.  Evan and I made the sugar cookies from scratch the night before.  

We baked so much this December!  We made several types of cookies, "crack", and toffee.  

Gingerbread cookies are always our tradition.  They're so much work, but they are so good and a recipe that's been in my family a long time.

My parents treated us with tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra on the 23rd.  It was an awesome show!  And it definitely helped kick off Christmas break.

And just like that...it was Christmas Eve!