a string of mini-christmases

Christmas has been a bit different for us this year, no family and no snow being the most notable. Jason has had to work a lot of nights in a row, so when he gets home in the mornings, we have a mini-Christmas, just the three of us.


First we watch one video clip or another of the Christmas story, ones we can all dig. Here are two of the three we've watched so far. The other was on facebook and not youtube, so I don't know how to share it. But it was of a friend of my cousin, a three year old girl reciting by memory the whole Christmas story passage in the book of Luke!





Then we eat breakfast and have a hot beverage, and we open one gift from each other or our far off friends and family. I like this method! It's a little something to look forward to each morning, and Zoralee has time and space to enjoy each book or toy. My husband surprised the snot out of me by getting me a real camera, which he couldn't hold off on and had to give me our first mini-Christmas day. He had been wanting to do it for many years, but was finally ready, in light of having a real job. It's so cool! I'm looking forward to posting photos from it as I figure it out. These are just with the old point and shoot camera (so yesterday, so outdated, so obsolete...heh heh).

bacon and rolls, the breakfast of mini-Christmas champions

Zoralee's homemade hair bows from Jannell and Cody

coloring book from Uncle Luke and Aunt Heather

And while I'm at it, here are pics of our tree, which we got and decorated while Mom and Dad were visiting a few weeks ago. We saw it at the grocery store for $20; I about fell over. I had no idea you could buy a tree at a grocery store for $20. It's all the way from Oregon and has given me many warm, fuzzy, northwest feelings. It's our first Christmas tree as a little family, because we've always been somewhere away from our own home for the holidays, so we haven't bothered with a tree.

We bought lights and a decoration for the top that reminds me of a group of celestial bodies. It's sort of a modern, scientific take on a star. I strung popcorn together, something I'd always wanted to try. We couldn't find the totally salt-free, butter-free variety of microwave popcorn, so I can't save these strands in a box for future years, but it was so fun I think it's going to be a tradition. Got mini cookie cutters and found a cinnamon dough recipe for the ornaments, which will save. The final touch was red ribbons tied here and there, for splashes of color.
 

the ornaments

Zoralee's ornament groupings