Christmas morning I slept in. It's so funny how as you age your priorities change and it's more a treat to get some sleep than gifts! After getting ready I headed home to a gift exchange. For the past few years I've spent Christmas Even in my apt and I love waking up to a peaceful, quiet place. The older I ge the more I appreciate quiet and stillness!
I started out the day with a little bit of tea at dad's. I am so envious of the the pretty light he gets in his kitchen.
Christmas pajamas are a big tradition in my family, too. These years are so comfy I'd be tempted to wear them all the time. Five stars for charter club who can make some flannel pajamas!
A more unique tradition we do is instead of stockings we stuff boots. I don't remember why this started, but boots are easier to fill than stockings and we love our boots in this family. I guess you know you went a bit overboard when the boots are stuffed to the brim and you have to tear tissue paper to cover up excess stocking stuffers for outside of the boots... geeze...
I love wrapping presents, maybe more so than I like giving them out. This year I chose ruby red, textured white and pink yarn and vintage pink ribbon. I'm well aware I'm the only person who really cares about this kind of stuff and sometimes I wish target wrapping paper and a plastic bow from Walgreen's would be okay with me. I have no idea why I have to take it to the next level.
Our gift exchange was lovely. I think mine were all well received. I absolutely loved my new ipad mini and coffee table books. I was so excited for mom to unwrap a book about dishes that I found for her. That woman loves china! Of course the center of the day was celebrating the birth of my savior, Jesus Christ. This pretty nativity scene sums it all up pretty well, this used to sit in my grandma's living room.
The cookies from Mary's exchange were also a hit. My stepdad kept asking where these had come from and if I had baked them all. I think my favorite were the poppyseed tea cookies, I'm not big into sweets but those were delicious!
It was such a relaxing, peaceful day-- usually we go to a movie on Christmas day, but I was too exhausted Christmas Eve to purchase tickets for Les Mis. Instead we decided to go on the 27th, my birthday, and so the rest of the evening was spent at home.
The next morning mom, dad and I decided to head to Stillwater. Mom and I had been meaning to head there, but couldn't make it happen with our work schedules earlier in the month. Stillwater just never gets old for me. I found a few darling treasures, of course!
It was terribly cold all day, oh around 12 degrees for a high. I was pretty happy to duck into stores from the cold, but wasn't too freezing to pick up a malt from Leo's on the way home. In between our shopping we had a little lunch at The Green Room, which I photographed for the Magazine in 2011. I gulped down their warm tea and enjoyed their grilled salmon.
Such a perfect Christmas and I cannot complain! I must say I'm a bit envious over my friends who are in grad school that get those delectable month long breaks that I remember quite well from college. Four days is as good as twenty-one, right!?
