It is relaxed, so those who want to come in their jammies can and the rest can come in their Christmas best. I always go in my jammies of course, because that is jut the kind of person that I am. If I have the option to be comfortable, I will pretty much always choose comfort over beauty. It is really cute seeing the kids choir sing with half of the kids dressed to the nines and half of them in their pajamas. My kids, as you may have already guessed, always go in their new Christmas jammies that they get on Christmas Eve. The church is lit by candlelight and Christmas lights. It is decorated beautifully and we sing Christmas songs, various church members play the piano, sing solos or duets, etc. There is also always a bell choir. Then we have a short sermon, sing a couple more songs, and afterwards we visit and eat Swedish cookies. The years that Julotta has had to be cancelled due to weather conditions it never quite feels like Christmas.
After Julotta we come home and make breakfast, which usually consists of cinnamon rolls, sausage, and juice. Typically I always make the cinnamon rolls, but this year Albertsons made them. (I am really glad, too, since I ended up getting some sort of a tummy bug that has had me running to the bathroom all day.) As we eat breakfast we each open our stockings and snack on some candy and see what fun little things that Santa left in them.
This year we started a new tradition on how the presents get handed out. One person starts and picks a present by random and hands it to whoever's name is on the package. When that person finishes opening the present it is then their turn to go and pick a present. The one rule is that you can't choose a gift with your name on it. By doing it this way everyone gets a chance to play "Santa". It also keeps things nice and calm, even when there are 7 kids and 8 adults opening up the gifts.
The kids all did a great job being patient and taking turns. Everyone was grateful for what they got and had an enjoyable 2 hours of present opening and watching others opening their gifts. We also clean up the wrapping paper as we go and the kids would take the opened gifts to their rooms so that our fairly small living room area wouldn't get too overwhelming with stuff.
After presents, the kids ate insane amounts of candy, we all snacked on various goodies and such. Around 4 we ate pot roast, roasted veggies, and dinner rolls. Then I went and took a two hour nap, because I was just wiped out!
After my nap we "found" a present that "accidentally" got forgotten about. It was a family gift for all of the kids......An Xbox360/Kinect combo. Currently the kids are having fun trying to figure out how to use and stay far enough away from the sensor. I hope that all of you are having/had a wonderful Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!
Christmas with the Cousins 12/19/2010
Backrow: Dylan 10, Kamden 9
Middle Row: Brayden 7, Klara, 5, Kalen 8, Kody 7
Bottom Row: Klayton 8 months, Katie 11, Rylin 2, Karson 2
Madan Family Christmas 12/19/2010
Steve(Husband), Karmen (me), Mike (FIL), Devin (BIL), Erika (SIL)
Nenita (MIL)
White/Madan/Knierim Christmas
Christmas Eve Jammies and Slippers 12/24/2010
John (BIL), Kay (Sister), Karmen (me), Klayton 8 mo., Steve (Husband)
Klara 5, Katie 11, Kody 7, Karson 2, Kamden 9, Kalen 8
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