Why, Yes! I Would Love Some Humble Pie for Christmas

I wrote a post not too long ago about my frustration with having to really cut back financially on Christmas this year. It was truly a selfish post, one marred by reality and underlined by my confusion over how my kids might react on Christmas morning. This post, dear reader, is in response to that post, to those who commented, and to those who silently shook their heads in pity as they moved their browser to another page.

I ate a HUGE humble pie on Christmas Day. No, not a piece --the whole pie, my friend.

Because of our inexpensive Christmas, I had to:
1. Figure out gifts early, which meant I had everything ready and wrapped by the 22nd.
2. Get things the kids would REALLY like.
3. Not purchase much candy and goodies.
4. Be careful/thoughtful about what we did for other people (neighbors, mostly)

This resulted in:

*A fantastic Christmas Eve dinner, Nativity, Advent, gift opening, and Christmas video watching with Brandon's father and step-mother.
*A very easy "Santa-set-up" after the kids went to bed.
*A very scheduled, and yet awesome, Christmas morning: Up at 6AM, stockings, presents, Rhodes cinnamon rolls for breakfast, getting ready for Church (bathed the night before!), and arriving at Sacrament Meeting by 8:30AM to set up chairs and practice (our meeting started at 9AM; I accompany the choir and needed to practice some of the pieces on the nice piano; each week the kids help set up the overflow chairs with their dad at 8:30AM).
*A nice, quiet day putting together Legos and puzzles, playing Zelda on the Wii, and then a really fun afternoon/evening with my parents and my sister and her family, including having a Mexican Feast for dinner! (unfortunately, there were no tamales as per Brandon's family's tradition.)

Three of my five children told me it was "THE BEST CHRISTMAS, EVER!!"

All of my kids were very happy.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that my husband actually got me something! I didn't think we were going to exchange gifts (so, of course, I got him at least 4 or 5 gifts. I can't help myself!), and when he gave me a bunch, I was shocked! But so happy because he really got me things he knew I would love.

I love that man.

Anyway, overall? Awesome Christmas. We spent the bulk of it focused on Jesus Christ, and having Sacrament Meeting on Christmas Day? Awesome! Now I can see why other denominations choose to have Midnight Mass or Services on Christmas morning. It just makes the day so much better.

I loved my humble pie. I'm glad I was wrong. I liked that Christmas was smaller. I think we'll keep doing it...

How was your Christmas? How goes your Christmas vacation? Did you like going to Church on Christmas Day?

A few photos:

L to R: #2 as the angel, #5 as Joseph (already stripped out of his costume), Gr and Gr as Wise Men, #1 as Mary, #4 and #3 as Shepherds, Brandon as a Wise Man (holding the cat). Honestly, if you can't tell, the whole thing was a hoot!

#3 and #2 while we listened to the MoTab sing "Silent Night" during Advent (wish we could see the star on the tree)

Christmas morning just before Church --#3 was just upset because I made him stand closer to his sister. You can see a bit of Christmas carnage behind him...