Christmas Eve

Christmas eve is a wonderful time. I think I like Christmas eve better than Christmas morning. The kids anticipation and excitement is still there. They are on best behavior of course because they want Santa to come. There is food and family and church. It's all good.
We have the kids this year for Christmas. When you deal with divorce you unfortunately deal with sharing your children. We get to pick up the kids at 3pm today and then go to the 4:30 family church service at church. We will then go to my Dad's house for his traditional Christmas Eve open house for family and friends. We will come home and probably watch Elf (love that movie), Hubby will read the kids the Night Before Christmas. They will get their plate of cookies and reindeer food ready and then we will have to calm them down enough for them to go to sleep. Boy 7 has already informed me that he is going to be staying up all night. My older boys will then help bring down the gifts.
In the morning the kids will open their stockings in their rooms (Hubby's tradition..see my organizing post for our tradtions..hee hee) and then we will come down and have breakfast. After breakfast we will tell them what their secret names are (see post on labeling Christmas gifts to understand that) and a couple of the kids will be elfs and pass out the gifts. Then we will go one by one and open our gifts. I love it. After all the time, effort and money you spend on them, you want to appreciate the faces and excitement when they open them.
I am planning on taking tomorrow off from posting as I am sure most of you will take tomorrow off from reading.
Have a very Merry CHRISTmas!!!