Christmas Eve

Santa heard the pleas of my children and sent a white Christmas.  By mid afternoon on Christmas Eve there was even enough snow to build a snowman. 

He may have been little, but he had personality.

After a dinner of failed fondue, we put on our snow boots and headed out for a winter walk.  My hope was to wear the little buggers out so they would actually sleep.  We walked and skidded around for over a mile.  We looked at Christmas lights and life-size nativities.  We saw gifts, and glowing reindeer, and a Christmas countdown.  It was pretty fun but the most amazing part was the view of the cemetery.  We went from Christmas to Halloween in a heartbeat.  There was a low bank of fog settled over the ground with the tombstones poking through.  The trees were all covered with white and glowing eerily under the full moon.  I regret not having my camera with me.  We all were worrying about zombies and ghosts.  Then we turned the corner, left the cemetery behind, and got back to the Christmas lights.

Once home we got everyone in 'jamas, put cookies out for Santa, hung our stockings, and gathered around a nice crackling computer screen for a photo.

We won't tell Santa he got left over cookies from Ethan's earlier birthday celebration.

The walk seemed to work.  All the kids were asleep before ten (a miracle of Christmas Eve).  It would have been even better if I hadn't accidentally woken Ethan up, and then he couldn't go back to sleep until after midnight.  Le sigh.