christmas recap

{photo credit: me}

what a wonderful holiday it was (and still is)! i have been having such a lovely time home with my family. i don't go back to work until january 2nd, so i have been having a long, extended holiday vacation. no complaints here.

{photo credit: me and motha}

on christmas eve, as part of a fairly new tradition put into place a few years back, my stepdad donned his santa costume, and off we went on a holiday drive. santa delivered chocolates to the hard workers at chick-fil-a (where my little brother was working. haaaaa), visited one of our shopping plazas in town to wave at every passerby and shout merry christmas, and even made a personal stop at the home of one of our family friends. i think i should be embarrassed by this whole shenanigan, but i think it's the greatest thing ever. the looks on peoples' faces as they see santa driving a trailblazer makes my heart crazy happy. my stepdad is such a good sport about it, and really gives it his all when he yells ho ho ho out the window.

{photo credit: me}

that evening, my family and i went to candlelight service at church and then home to eat traditional irish stew for dinner. i don't know why we eat irish stew. we've been doing it for as long as i can remember, and i just go with it because it's delicious. after dinner, my brother and i went on a late night hot cocoa run. the only place we could find that was still open late on christmas eve was our local mcdonald's. i kind of hated myself for going there, but it turns out they know how to do hot cocoa riiight.

{photo credit: me and motha}

on christmas morning, our living room always looks like santa's gift bag exploded upon arrival. our tree is buried under a mountain of things. it's quite a sight. we always open stockings first where we are usually guaranteed to find a toothbrush and an orange. this year i found a toothbrush, an orange, and a potato. a red skinned potato. nice.

{photo credit: me}

we took breaks in between presents to eat coffee cake, hashbrown casserole, and refill our coffee mugs, but then we were right back in the game. santa likes to get creative with his presents. for every good gift we receive (like a gift we actually asked for), he likes to throw in three or four wild cards. for example, i got a gift card to anthropologie (!!) and then proceeded to open a jar of pickles, a ceramic rubber ducky planter, and a bottle of lotion that smelled like a grandma.

{photo credit: me}

we went over to my dad's house later in the afternoon to open gifts and eat more junk food. it was glorious! my dad makes the best fruitcake and fudge of anyone i know. he showered us with gifts and then gave us eggnog and lots of food. in turn, he received a replica of the christmas story leg lamp.

christmas 2012 was a yet another wonderful holiday with loved ones. i'm trying not to be depressed that it's over. how many more days until we get to do it again?

how was your christmas?? tell me, tell me.