We had so much fun on Christmas Eve this year. I think part of the fun for me was the Caleb was old enough to enjoy a lot of things he hadn't really gotten the hang of last year.
We started our celebrations by attending the tree lighting at the house of some ward members.
They had hot chocolate and donuts for everyone
And people who are crazy and wear shorts in December
Yes, that's right - this is no "turn on the Christmas lights" tree lighting...
It is just what it looks like - take a real tree and light it on fire on Christmas Eve and invited all your kids, grandkids, and the whole ward...It is one of the most unique Christmas traditions I've ever seen. But it is so much fun. I was very sad to hear this was the last year they are planning to do this.
After the tree lighting we went home and had dinner and then got the boys ready in their Christmas jammies to go for a long drive to see Christmas lights.
Caleb wasn't much interested in the lights last year, but he loved seeing them this year. He would holler out "Cwrismas lights!" and sometimes he'd have to mention every color he saw too. We were so thrilled that he fell asleep while we were driving around...it was his second day in a row without a nap and we didn't want to have to fight him at bedtime.
In our ward area there are a lot of people who set out luminaries for Christmas Eve. It is such a neat tradition and it looks SO neat to see them all while you're driving down the street.
When we first got home from the tree lighting Caleb looked at our tree with huge eyes and said, "Cwrismas tree - no fire! No more fire!!!" He talked about it for days. I hadn't even thought that a 2 year old might be traumatized by the sight of a Christmas tree on fire...note to self - next time don't call it a Christmas tree.
I love Christmas Eve!
