Our Christmas season started out a little different this year, since we didn’t arrive home from Micah’s birth until December 8th. We did begin our carol singing in Phnom Penh. During the month of December we sing Christmas carols and songs every night. Each night a different child (including Ezra) gets to light and blow out the Advent candles. Each person gets to pick a song for us all to sing – favorites this year were Go Tell it on the Mountain, We Three Kings, and Carol of the Bells.
On Friday, December 11th, we had our Christmas decorating party, complete with hotdogs and beans.
We had our traditional countdown calendar. One day featured playing with fake snow and a Christmas village. That was a big hit for all.
We did our traditional giant personalized gingerbread people cookies. Ezra mostly ate his decorations while putting them on. We all agreed that this year had the best looking people-cookies ever.
We decided to pass out Christmas fruit bags to our neighbors the day after Christmas, instead of Christmas Eve this year. This was a big help to me, since I didn’t have to try fitting in all the food preparations and visiting all our neighbors into the day before Christmas. Christmas Eve we had our traditional taco meal and had hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls for dessert while we sang carols, and then we watched the Muppets Christmas Carol (I mostly dozed during it – mom of newborn!).
Christmas Day we had a breakfast of pancakes with syrup and bacon. Then our guests arrived and we had cinnamon rolls and the kids did their Christmas pageant before our lunch meal.
It was a lovely Christmas season – so thankful for our six children. Micah’s first Christmas. Thankful for my man who journeys along with me. Sadly, we didn’t get our traditional “couple” Christmas picture before I took the tree down. Guess that’s what happens when you have six kids and one is a newborn. Next year. Thankful for a wonderful month celebrating Christ coming to save us from our sins.
Side note – our Church’s normal Christmas celebration services were cancelled due to Covid. They instead gathered in groups in a few homes to celebrate.