Adam and I agreed that it was so nice to be able to start some traditions of our own and to enjoy the holiday at our own pace without having to travel.
Christmas Eve we went out for an early breakfast and then saw half of Moana (once the 10AM popcorn was devoured they had no interest in staying any longer), stopped by a nearby Christmas Village to see Santa's reindeer before their long flight, and started our first original tradition of killer grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.
Then all that was left was for Jude to write a note to Santa reminding him to leave a Lego City cargo train, place it next to some freshly baked cookies, throw on our Christmas jammies that Santa's reindeer had left on the doorstep, and go to bed--so us parents could stay up until 2am watching Christmas Vacation, It's a Wonderful Life, and assembling Scout's new play kitchen.
That all being said, we still definitely missed sharing the day with our families--especially when we were the only two people available to absorb the insane level of Christmas energy. Holy cow: THE ENERGY. By lunchtime Adam and I were exhausted and ready for the kids to go to bed.
But with Christmas being on a Sunday, although we had to practically tear Jude away from his new train kicking and screaming, we really appreciated having Christmas on a Sunday and changing out of our jammies into our Christmas Sunday best to sing hymns and really enjoy the sweet reverence of the season. And Piper even got to wear the same dress Scout and I wore for our first Christmases! She was pretty happy about it :).
We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and wish you a wonderful and blessed New Year!
