I love spending the holidays with our families, but there is something so sweet and sacred about those Christmas mornings at home with just the three of us. I look forward to those quiet moments each year! It's such a joy to see Christmas morning through the eyes of your child, no matter how old they get. Mason is twelve and the magic around here is still in full force. This mama is soaking it all in!
For as long as I can remember, we have always done Christmas on Christmas Eve with my parents. Even when we were younger, we got to open most of our gifts on Christmas Eve, and then of course Santa came on Christmas morning. This year was no different! After the candlelight Christmas Eve service, we went back to our house to get our things. Then we went to my parent's house to gather with my family.
Christmas Eve candlelight service is one of my favorites of the entire year. Our church prepares such a special service for Christmas Eve. It's truly a gift and a blessing to get to attend. This year, my parents joined us and it made my heart so happy. I wish we would have thought to get a picture together.
We left town on the 26th for a week of camping (in a cabin) so I have lots to catch up on here. Going back to the 23rd, we went to Nate's parent's house for a night of cookie decorating and preparing the saran wrap ball. We've started to make this a tradition and I love it! Everyone was able to attend and we had the best time!
For our work Christmas gathering this year, we chose to go to Board and Brush again. This was our fourth consecutive year having our party here. I personally love it because it's a fun time and you get to bring home a piece that you'll actually use! I love any chance to work on some crafts.
I've been meaning to take and share these photos for a while! I recently shared our home's exterior decorated for Christmas, so today I am sharing some of my favorite spots inside of our home. If I am being honest, my heart is getting sad knowing that this is all about to come down soon! I love this season so much! Does anyone else feel like their home looks so bare after the holidays? I sure will miss these twinkling lights.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to drive around and look at lights. After we visited Santa's Country Christmas, we dropped off my in-laws at home and then drove around some nearby neighborhoods' Christmas lights. Then we drove to see our downtown area all light up! I love where we live so much!
We tried out a new Christmas light drive-through this year. Nate's mom had seen it on Facebook and it looked so neat. And, it was! It was a "Country" Christmas type of place so there were animals galore, along with lights and buildings with Christmas exhibits. It was so pretty and I loved the variety it offered.
I mentioned in my post about Nate's work party that we had a pretty close-knit group of friends. It's been so beautiful to see these friendships form and deepen over the last year. We are really like one big family just doing life together. All of the guys work together and the wives have become the best of friends. And as a bonus, all of our kids get along so well and are friends. We had a "Friendsmas" and it was one of my favorite nights with some of my favorite people.
For the last several years, I have taken off on a Friday in December so that we could go to the Gaylord Ice exhibit and tool around Grapevine. I know I say this about all of our Christmas traditions, but this is one of my favorites. This year's ICE theme was the Polar Express. Nate and I agreed that it was one of the best ones yet!
Every year Nate's work friends gather for a Christmas celebration. There's really nothing Christmas-y about it except for the fact that it's always in the evening after their Christmas luncheon at work! However, it's such a good time just hanging out with all of his work friends. For the last two years, we've gone to Fat Daddy's. It's a great location for this crew!
I've shared on here before but every year all the ladies on my mom's side of the family gather for a baking party. While it is a baking party, it really is so much more. We bake treats, play games, eat some delicious food, drink some festive drinks, do a white elephant gift exchange, and so much more. My aunt chooses a theme each year and then that's what all the decorations/games/gifts are based off of.
The Polar Express looked a little different for us this year. Mason opted to not ride, which meant that Nate and I wouldn't be riding either. Ty & Michelle opted out as well. It made my heart sad even though I knew this time was coming. Mason's getting older and these days are fleeting. However, there was a last-minute change in plans and I was able to go on the Polar Express. PawPaw gave me his tickets because Nana wanted me to come and take pictures.
No trip to Palestine is complete without visiting the Grinch's Lair!! Ever since I captured this photo of Mason and the Grinch, they've had a pretty great bond! Over the years we have gotten to know the owners and love to see them each Christmas season! Mason even got to play a part in the Grinch's Lair one year!
We have been traveling to Palestine, TX since 2015 for a weekend full of Christmas fun! We camp (in the camper), shop the antique stores, have lunch at the same restaurant, visit the Grinch, and ride the Polar Express! Each year brings new memories and fun. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year.
Let me preface this by saying that Mason is still a believer. I'm holding on as long as I can and will do everything in my power to be a magic maker for him! With that being said, I've shared on the blog before about how we do the Elf on the Shelf around here. Our elves are used to encourage good behavior, help bring extra magic to the season, teach random acts of kindness, etc., all while pointing Mason back to Jesus and the reason for the season. Sure, our elves may get a little silly at times but they are not here to make messes and bring mischief. They are used as a tool to spread light and love throughout the Christmas season.
On Saturday, we decided to head to the shops downtown in Branson. I wanted to see a specific area I had seen in pictures. I later realized that we weren't even in the right spot. That's okay, we still enjoyed our time/day.
Next up on our Branson trip was Silver Dollar City!! We've read that no trip to Branson (during Christmas time) was complete without a stop to Silver Dollar City! And after seeing so many photos, I knew they had to be right. Over 6.5 million Christmas lights? Yes, please!! We loaded up in our vehicles and headed to SDC, which was just a few miles away. As we are approaching we see signs that say "all parking lots full - come back after 6:30 pm," Excuse me? What???? We had just purchased almost $300 in tickets for the park for that specific day...
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to visit Branson at Christmas time. I've always seen pictures of how beautiful everything looks around this time of year and it looked like a place I needed to experience. Christmas is so special to my heart and my favorite time of year. So, this year we made that happen!!
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Hi!! I am Crystal. Daughter of the One True King, wife to my high-school sweetheart Nathan and Mama to a 13 year old boy named Mason. We're the Halls and we love to travel around Texas {or anywhere, really}. I blog about our daily life, traveling, DIY'ing, and everything in between. Welcome and thank you for stopping by!
