Christmas Round 2

Every Christmas Eve, Michael and I get together with my Dad's side of the family. We do dinner, presents and then we all go to the late Christmas Eve service at Grandma's church.


Grandma is always ready with a big plate of cookies!

And the tree is always looking over a large pile of presents.

Grandma received cooking classes and her very own chef's hat!

The best gift was for Aunt Beth. Aunt Annette created a book that at the end said for her to receive her present she had to find clues that were hidden around the basement and in Grandma's apartment. To help, she was able to pick two reindeer helpers, "Stupid" and "Goof Off."

Of course she picked Zach as "Good Off"

And Chris as "Stupid."

 If her helpers, weren't helping, she had a nerf gun she could use to shoot then and pick a new helper.

Chris didn't make it too long, and Gordon was picked as the next helper. 

The clues were hidden all over the place. 

And once a clue was found, there was a special treat for the helpers!

Zach didn't make it very long either. I was the next one up! Gordon was taking the job very seriously (not!). 

Living up to my new name!

Her present was in a very large box with a ton of tissue paper! She pulled out Sorry cards until she got to her gift card at the very bottom of the box.

And of course, you can't having a evening, without Jello shots made by Grandma!

We finished off the evening in church where Michael and I were married. We always sing our way into Christmas morning in a candle lit church singing Silent Night as a congregation. It's always one of my favorite memories of Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Michael and I are off to Pennsylvania for a week of spending time with family and friends. We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a happy new year!

Last Minute Wrapping Suggestions

If you're like most of my family (don't take offense Mom, just stating a fact ;) you probably haven't even started to think about wrapping Christmas gifts yet.

I found some great inspirational photos to help make your packages stand out under the Christmas tree!

This package uses tape and paper straws to dress up plain brown kraft paper.

 www.bhg.com

Use newspaper to create a flower and act as wrapping paper.

 www.bhg.com

Do you have any old sheet music laying around? Use it, some bells and satin ribbon and you'll have a festive gift in no time!

 www.bhg.com

How about an old or even new shirt to wrap a gift box?

 http://www.bhg.com/

Every year I choose a color scheme and wrap all of our presents using just a few colors. This year I used mostly gold. It keeps in very simple, when buying wrapping paper, ribbon and any other embellishments I use to decorate the package.

Here are our presents wrapped and ready to be given to family and friends.

The only exception is for Mike's little cousins. I will buy fun wrapping paper for them. This year I made a tower of gifts, held together by ribbon.

They are so cute...I wish someone would give me a tower of presents. :)


Happy Wrapping!

Christmas in NYC

I have always loved going to New York City in December. I know everyone says New York at Christmas is magical, but the holidays just aren't the same for me without a trip there. It doesn't matter how bad my mood is when I get there (usually because we leave before the sun rises), but by the time I leave, I'm ready to decorate the entire house, bake tons of cookies and wrap a million gifts.

Last Sunday (yes I know this post is way over due...sorry about that), I went on a bus trip with my Mom's Relay for Life team, The Dragonflies. I invited Christina along for the adventure. I'm not sure she knew what she was getting herself into when she agreed to go. She was waiting for me to get to the bus with our bagels for breakfast and Mike's Aunt Barbara asked if she was a loner. (Sorry Christina!!)

We got to NYC around 9:30 and made our way over to Saint Patrick's Cathedral for their full choir mass. Of course we stopped along the way to take some fun pictures.

(I'll take one of everything here for Christmas Michael :)

The mass experience was beyond words. The service was incredible and being surrounded by all the great architure was breathtaking.



After mass, we went and found Christina's patron saint, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. We both lit a candle, and took a moment to say a prayer.

Lunch was next on the agenda. We thought about eating at The Sea Grill, but the prices were a little more than we bargained for. But we stumbled upon this great little eatery, 'wichcraft.

It was a great lunch and would defineitly recommend it if you're ever in Rockefeller Center. Just go down to the concourse. You won't be able to miss it.

After lunch we walked to Macys, stopping to look at some of the window displays on the way,

and the Empire State Building 



We finished the day by walking up 5th Avenue.



Cartier

Fendi

Harry Winston

We made a stop at Tiffany & Co, 

Where I got a little blue bag and box for myself!



Of course no trip to NYC would be complete without seeing,

The Apple Store,

The Plaza,

Central Park,

a bunch of Santas on Bikes!

And Time Square at night.

It was a great day of family, friends and shopping. Can't wait until next year!