Several years ago, we discovered these wonderful gingerbread houses kit. It comes with four houses and it’s worth every penny for the kids to each have their own house to decorate. So, it’s obviously become a big tradition and the kids have reminded me every year. Here are our creations from this previous year!
Mine is the decorative one in the front. Mark did the one in background….that looks like it’s been in a blizzard.
One of the main things we learned for next year, is to assemble the houses the night BEFORE the decorating. There were lots of tears and frustration trying to put them together.
Zoe celebrated her birthday.
Cousin Jacie met Tobin.
All the cousins!
Present time!
Emmie was a trooper but one time was enough.
After a couple of rounds with the guard, several of our kids took off.
Then he asked for a family movie night to watch Polar Express. We had hot chocolate, sweet treats and broke out our Christmas pjs!
Christmas day and our annual picture by the tree.
Tobin was obviously impressed by the festivities.
Mark decided a few years ago to start a Fonatini collection. I look forward to what he adds to it every year.
Sleeping baby cuddles…yes! Even if I was getting choked!
Right after Christmas, our “god” daughter and her family sent us a yummy treat box! Everyone was excited at all the fun stuff!
Chess is always a must when they visit.
We celebrated Zoe’s birthday…
And Liam’s
Grandmere helped with our annual pretzel dipping.
Papa & Grandmere gifted us with a 
Tobin got some sweet cuddles too.
A local church puts on a lights display that is insanely busy and huge…This was our second trip. We didn’t get a chance to go last year but made sure we could get over there this year.
Our local town’s Christmas parade is very near our house. When we were parking and unloading, we noticed another large and familiar van…that of our neighbor’s. Camping out with another large family, we also met yet another large family. Naturally, we had to round up as many of our kids as we could to get a quick picture. Nope, this isn’t all of them. I think there were about 26 in all (but some kids were marching in the parade).
Our church’s Christmas party meant Tobin got lots of snuggles.
Mark and I were in charge of coming up with games and the cling wrap game was a must. Wrap up gifts in cling wrap until you make a big ball. The person sitting next to you rolls the dice. When they hit a double, you pass the cling wrap ball to that person etc.
Aside from goofy things like a pack of silly moustaches, we also hid a gift card to a nice restaurant. 
A fun time at the lights.
The kids finally realized that they could get up early this year and wake us up too. And so they did. When we get up, we read the Christmas story before heading downstairs to open gifts.
Already for Christmas! This year was the first year since the kids were really little that we actually wrapped presents before Christmas Eve. It was fun watching the kids try to figure out what they were getting. Then again, Frodo the Cat ruined the surprises by opening up a couple of gifts. 
She knows where her gifts are!
Traditional picture in front of the tree. Malachi has a matching shirt but it “was too big.” We pick our battles around here.
Burying the Malachi in presents.
He broke free.
A box. Woo-hoo
Fuzzy blankets
And something for Bitty Baby to ride in.
This wasn’t really a gift. Our mixer that we have had since we were married started to go bad. We had a friend who was able to fix it, but we started talking about the need for a larger mixer. The holiday deals meant we could get a larger mixer for less than one like what we already had. It’s proven to be a wise investment.
Mark decided a few years ago that he wanted to get me something every year that we could add to. He knows I love nativity/creche sets and so he researched. After some time, he settled upon the 
After all the gifts and a yummy brunch, Mark needed a nap.
Dipping pretzels. And opening gifts.
