Shawn was fortunate enough to have Christmas Eve day off from work. He actually got to work from home on the Thursday evening leading up to it, which was really nice. On Christmas Eve day we luckily had finished all our shopping, except for shopping for food and other necessities. We headed to SuperTarget to get some staples, and to try and figure out what to eat for Christmas dinner. We decided we would do something simple and chose chicken alfredo as the dish we would make. After we headed out of Target (which was quite busy) we headed home to hang out for a bit.
Our next stop was church. We went to a 7 p.m. Christmas Eve service that was nice but a little long, and also very packed. We left there around 8:30 and called in some Chinese food. When I was younger, my family would order Chinese food for Christmas Eve dinner. This was especially fun when we were visiting my grandparents in California for Christmas because there was an amazing Chinese restaurant there.
Shawn had found a Chinese place he liked in Raleigh, and they had a Durham location, so we put our order in and picked it up. We headed home to eat Chinese in our pjs. After the Chinese (which was good, but not quite my favorite) we built a gingerbread house while watching Elf. I guess we didn't really BUILD the gingerbread house, it was really a decorating kit we had purchased. While decorating, I realized I am not a fan of decorating gingerbread houses, so that is one new tradition we will probably scrap. I just don't see the point. You can't really eat it. And in our house, you can't really leave it out. Jack would try to lick all the icing off and eat the candies, so we created it and then hid it in the microwave--kind of pointless.
After the gingerbread house, it was time for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. As per Fitts family tradition, my dad read us the book. You may be wondering how this is possible since we were in North Carolina and my family was back in Washington.
My parents sent our gifts to us, and one gift's tag said to open Christmas Eve. It was one of those wonderful Hallmark books that lets someone record the story. I think I listened to the book three times all the way through and played the first and last pages an additional few times. In the beginning of the book, my dad recorded a message to get us ready for the reading, and at the end my family all wished us a Merry Christmas in unison (I only cried the first two times I heard that one). That book is one of my favorite Christmas presents ever.
Then it was off to bed to dream of sugar plum fairies and wait for Santa.
I woke early, like I always do on Christmas, but I had agreed with Shawn the night before that we wouldn't get up until 8:30. I waited...then it was time to head downstairs. Our stockings were out on the couch, and Bella was anxious to check hers out.
We went through and opened our stocking presents. Santa had a few helpers this year. My parents sent over stocking stuffers that were all wrapped, so I got up before Shawn and loaded them up, and we had fun opening some traditional stocking stuffers (candy, such as the Sour Patch Kids I get every year) and some unexpected ones (a great Under Armour headband for running).
After that we moved on to the presents, and just as every year, Santa, my parents, my brother, and Shawn all provided wonderful gifts. (Above is a picture of Shawn opening a gift from my parents that included items to help him detail his car).
Bella also enjoyed all of her gifts, and she only got a few things. Both Bella and Jack each got some treats and toys.
After all the gifts had been opened, I made a turkey bacon and cheese quiche while Shawn and I talked about what to do that day. I don't know what we decided on, but I think it must have been nothing, because that is what we did Christmas day, and it was wonderful.
We spent some time talking to family and enjoying our new gifts, or working on them (Shawn got me a Nook, one of those Barnes and Noble eReaders, so we spent some time trying to get the internet hooked up and books on there).We watched our new movies (Jeff got Shawn Inception on Blue Ray and me Eclipse). Then, in the evening, still in our pjs, we made Christmas dinner. We had chicken alfredo, garlic bread and salad. It was wonderful.
Overall, I really enjoyed Christmas in North Carolina, but I am excited to hopefully spend next Christmas with some more family as well.
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