Getting in the Christmas Spirit

Here we are at the week before Christmas! I don't know if it's because we don't have any snow yet or the temps haven't been that cold, but it has really put me in the Christmas spirit :)  We've had fun doing some pre-Christmas activities the last few days.

First of all, one cannot properly celebrate Christmas without a new pair of Christmas pajamas. We gave the girls each a new pair and they loved them. I think Megan wore hers for three days straight until they were so covered with cookie dough that I had to peel them off her and throw them in the laundry.

The girls were in the church Christmas play. They were angels (great casting, right?) so they just had to be on the stage and look cute in their costumes. Easy Peasy.  After church they were very excited that their Sabbath School teachers got them Christmas presents to open this week.  They really love their Sabbath School classes and teachers and it was a fun surprise to get the presents.

The next day the girls also got dressed up in their Christmas dresses again to see Santa. We usually go much earlier in the season but this year time got away from us and we realized that we were just days before Christmas. I seriously considered skipping this year because I just hate crowds and lines and finding parking spots at busy shopping malls. Thankfully Somerset Collection starts their Santa visits an hour before the mall opens, so we got up early on Sunday and were in line at 8am. (Nathan and his mom were taking a baking class so it was just me and the girls.)  It was still a wait, but not as bad as I feared. The girls loved seeing Santa and were so excited to get some coins to spend at stores in the mall. (We ended up getting cookies at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company and packets of hot chocolate at Hallmark.)  

Since we hadn't eaten breakfast yet we stopped at Burger King for some egg and cheese sandwiches, hashbrowns, and french toast sticks.  It was a fun mommy-daughter morning!

                    
                      ...and yes, Chloe is drinking the leftover syrup in this picture. Later I found Megan eating the rest of the ketchup so I guess my kids love their condiments.

When we got home we took a few more pictures and finished the Christmas project we'd started the night before. (Those are our mall cookies in the photo of our project.)

Best time of the year!