Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quroum of the Twelve said "Christmas is a time of reflection on what we can become because of God's sacred gift. As we discover the gift, we learn of the immeasurable love of God and our absolute need for a Savior. As we embrace the gift, we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and our desire to become more like Him. As we share the gift, we follow in the Master's footsteps, who invited all to hear His message."
We have tried to discover, embrace and share the gift this Christmas. Here are a few of the ways we did that...
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| Todd and Julie...this one's going on the wedding video! ;) They're not officially engaged yet, but it's coming! Yay! |
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| Cal kept pretending to be electrocuted by the lights, ha! |
Decorating - It's always so much fun to pull out Christmas decorations together, old and new. We're one of those day after Thanksgiving the Christmas comes out people. Emma, Cal and Lucy just light up and get so excited about the ones they remember. We didn't just decorate the tree, either. Cal had lights on him, Cov got decked out in ornaments, Emma kept putting bows in her hair, and Lucy got lost while snuggling with the Christmas stuffed animals we have (she didn't forget about Santa, "my boyfriend" as she calls him, either). You can find symbolism in all of the things of Christmas, they all point to Christ - the red that symblizes the blood He shed for us all.
Cal's Christmas Concert - Cal performed with all of the cute kindergartners in a Christmas concert. Seriously, there's nothing cuter than a bunch of five-year-olds in their Sunday best singing their little hearts out! Cal's favorite song was "I'm Getting Nothing for Christmas". He sang that over and over at home before...maybe because it strikes a chord with him! ;) Cal had a speaking part and helped to recite a poem. He totally hammed that up, and all of the actions, said "hi" inbetween songs to people he knew in the audience, and bowed after each song. I think it's interesting because there are no politically correct holiday concerts around here. It was a Christmas concert, not a winter or a holiday one. They even included a sing-a-long with "Angels We Have Heard On High" and "Away in a Manger". Isn't that what Christmas is all about anyway?
Emma's Christmas Concert - Emma was very strategic in picking out her outfit this time. He he! She likes to wear fun clothes, but doesn't really let me touch her hair now. They sang so wonderfully! Her favorite song they performed was "Oh Christmas Tree" and she also was selected to do a speaking part. She said half of her part as she was walking away from the microphone. That is so Emma, she's not one for being in the limelight. What we heard of it though, she did great! It was amazing the difference of skills between the screaming the kindergartners did and the nice, harmonized singing the third graders could do. It was a nice night!
Mommy's Christmas concerts - I was able to do a couple of Christmas concerts with Jubilante Ensembles of Carbon County. One at the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga and one in town. The handbell choir performed (I could listen to them all day), then the choir, the Community Players did a short skit about the Christmas truce during WWI, and then the band was last. We played the Nutcracker, which is so fun on the flute. We also did some bake sales and generated some good money to go towards the new piano the Music Academy is looking at purchasing. It was a great night! I love Christmas music and could play it and listen to it (and do play it and listen to it) all year! We also had a dinner after our last concert, and a couple other flautists and I played "Carol of the Bells" for everyone. I've had a great time getting to know the great people in our band and will be sad I won't be able to do it this upcoming year, since our church is right during rehearsal time. It has been such a great time, and these people are so great. I'm thankful that even though we live in a pretty small community, there are so many who support and encourage the arts. And that we can share uplifting music with all.
Ward Christmas Party - Our ward Christmas party turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself, haha. I helped plan the program and activities, and I was solely in charge of the decorations. I chose the theme "Oh Come Let Us Adore Him". We had chalkboard, gold, burlap, white and black for our colors, with a little greenery thrown in there. I didn't get any pictures of the tables, but we had white tables with mason jars with burlap poinsettias in them and small gold ornaments or a gold strand of beads, on burlap table runners with gold sparkly pine cones and gold ornaments. We had lights all over the gym, which made it pretty. Made some place mats for the kids (and teenagers and some adults) to color while waiting or eating. That was a hit! I made my own, but stole the idea from that good ol' Pinterest. We had a chalkboard thing on the wall that said "How Will You Come Adore Him this Christmas?" There was chalk for people to write or draw how they would show their devotion to the Savior this season. Also, Dave pointed out after that I spelled Christmas Chismas. Oops! I should've done an outline in pencil first. I don't think many noticed, or they were too nice to say anything! The tree was my favorite! One of my committee members came over and helped me make these chalkboard ornaments that had the names of the Savior on them. We used that, burlap, white and gold poinsettias, gold ornaments and gold sprays to decorate the tree. It was a nice night! We had a delicious dinner...turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, rolls, and tons of salads and sides and desserts. We had a nativity display room, and it was so neat to see other's nativities and the stories behind them. The program was the children singing a few beautiful songs, we sang "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful together", we had a little live nativity, and then Santa came. It was a very nice night.
Winter Light Parade - We went to the light parade here downtown. It lasted about 20 minutes is all, but it was fun to see. Many local businesses had trucks decked out in lights, or made floats for the occasion. Dave was in it, to promote the health fair. They passed out candy and save the date cards. The kids were so excited to see him! We brought some of the kids friends along who they were playing with Saturday afternoon. They all made out like bandits and each had big bags of candy.
Nutcracker - One of the local dance studios put on scenes from the Nutcracker. We knew several kiddos in it, so we went. They did a great job! It was very cute and all of our kids thought it was pretty fun to see some friends in it. I just love the Nutcracker! I've made Dave go a few times with me. He still thinks it would be better as a musical, haha! One night, earlier in the month right after we got our Christmas decorations out, the kids wanted to put on their own ballet. We do Christmas dance parties all of the time, and always do the Nutcracker. They got all dressed up, make-up done, and set up special lights for the occasion. They had the best time! Christmas is about the children.
Retirement Center Recital - Each year, we go to a retirement or rehabilitation center to do a Christmas recital. Cal played "The First Noel" and Emma played "Silent Night". I was a little worried, since they haven't been very diligent about practicing lately, but they nailed it. I also played the flute with a few friends from band, and a few of my other cute students and a neighbor and her son played some songs on the piano. We also sang a few songs together. I think it's so important to have our kids look beyond "me me me", especially during this time of year. After, we handed out bass clef oranges and treble clef candy canes. They were so appreciative and it was fun to talk to them after. They are so sweet.
Polar Express Party - I was able to go help out in Cal's class a few times the week before Christmas break to help with their Polar Express unit and activities. Cal thought the best part was going to the train station and actually watching the movie there in his jammies with hot chocolate and popcorn. It was fun and the kids are just too cute! I really love that book, and the movie is pretty good, too!
Making Neighbor Treats - This year, we made chocolate nativities and attached the He is the Gift (#sharethegift) little pass along cards to them to give to neighbors and friends. It was pretty time consuming to make as many as we did, but it was easy and worth it! We love this tradition of sharing with our neighbors and showing our appreciation and the kids and Dave enjoyed helping, too.
Ward Christmas program - The Sunday before Christmas program was beautiful. The choir sang some different and beautiful songs and sounded so amazing, I got chills several times! I was able to play some Christmas prelude and postlude on the organ and some congregational hymns, like always. I also played "Still, Still, Still" on the flute. An all-female family sang Jesu Bambino, and it was so angelic! We were truly blessed to take part in this uplifting program.
Christmas movies - We watched some of our all-time favorites, like Muppet Christmas Carol and Mr. Kreuger's Christmas, and we finally introduced the kids to Home Alone. They loved each minute of the slapstick humor! It was funny to hear and watch them enjoy it. Classic! With Mr. Kreuger's Christmas, I love the quote at the end "'I love you' is what Christmas is all about...Klarissa said it to Mr. Kreuger, Mr. Kreuger said it to Jesus; and Jesus in so many ways said it to each one of us."
Gingerbread Houses with the Elders - After having the Elders over for dinner and enjoying some cheesy Ritz chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, almond veggies, and salad, we made some sugar cookie temple houses. Emma had that idea last year to do the temple, so we did it this year. The Elders had a fun time doing it with us. Emma included a path to the temple, an angel Moroni, and sun and moon on the side, which I thought was cute.
Gift making - We always try to do some handmade gifts for Christmas. This year, for the kids we made peg dolls for the cousins (and gave them some other things as well), a Joseph, Mary and Jesus little wood nativity for the grandparents, and date jars or dinner conversation jars for our brothers and sisters. Stacy is so great at doing this, she impresses me. She made a blanket for Shirley and sewed fort/tent kits for the kids. I think putting some thought and blood, sweat and tears in it makes it so special. We also started making a tee pee for the boys' new camping bedroom and a canopy with a sea theme for the girls' mermaid room. I enjoy doing this, but don't know why I don't start in the summer. Lately I've been bad at procrastinating things like this. But it's so worth it! Dave and I also made 50 of these hand Santa-tizers for all of the employees he works directly with. I thought it was a cute idea. Again, thanks crazy lady on Pinterest who took the time to come up with it! ;)
Christmas is all about traditions, music, helping, lifting, baking, giving, loving. And that's what we're all about this time of year. It's all about Christ and doing what He would do. The Christmas Spirit is the Christ spirit, as President Monson said. Cal figured out this year that Christ's name is in Christmas and was pretty thrilled about that. It is something to be thrilled about. What a terrific time of year, really is the best time of the year!
