First Christmas

Oi! Is it December 26th already?!

This was technically my first Christmas in my Hintonburg home as last year I was living the pura vida in Costa Rica. As much fun as that trip was, I'm a bit of a traditionalist and there are certain things I like to do every holiday season to make it a real Christmas.

1. Go to an early Christmas eve mass at our local church.

My lil' church does a good job of combining a dash of spirituality with a sprinkle of Christmas magic. It's fun for Margot because much of the service is  a mini Christmas pageant with kids acting* out the parts (Margot has been everything from a sheep to a Shepard to the star of the show himself: baby Jesus!).

2. Watching Christmas TV shows.

Watching Frosty the Snowman on Christmas Eve

Technically this is more of a month-of-December-thing but when I was a kid I loved watching Christmas TV shows. Loved 'em. Every night at around 7 or 7:30 pm there was always something fun to watch, whether it was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the Little Drummer Boy or Mickey's Christmas Carol. The month of December was just amazing for TV if you were a kid. Even nowadays, with a bazillion TV shows available at the touch of a button, there is still something extra fun about watching Christmas specials.

3. Reading The night before Christmas.

Reading The night before Christmas on Christmas Eve is something I grew up with. It was a nice way to end Christmas Eve and left me anticipating the morning. I'm trying to continue the tradition with Margot.

4. Opening Gifts on Christmas morning.

Margot's enthusiastic laughter says it all!

5. Seeing family for a Christmas dinner.

It took a bit of Christmas magic to seat 10 people in our dining room

This one is a bit tricky as Glosette Girl and I take turns every year driving up to see my family near Toronto or staying in Ottawa. This year it was her family's turn and we hosted dinner at our house. After tucking into some turkey and cake we had lots of fun playing Werewolves and Villagers (such a Christmas-sounding game!). Super fun!

6. Finally, we always do something outdoorsy. Normally Glosette Girl, Margot and I try and go for a Christmas walk but this year it was just too damn cold. Even Canadians have their limits! So we decided on a short Boxing Day skate at the nearby experimental farm. We were the first customers at this skating rink for the season!

It was still incredibly cold but at least our hearts were pumping.

Ahh. So much stuff crammed into one season. I can't wait to do everything again next year. Merry Christmas from Tough Cookies - Hintonburg Style!

* It's completely relaxed and impromptu. Acting means showing up and not wandering off stage.