Christmas Eve Pajamas

We have the family tradition of opening a present (pajamas) on Christmas Eve. We did it a little earlier in the day, but that way the kids got to enjoy wearing them for a bit before they had to hop in bed. It was so fun and the kids are darling (at least I think so!).

 This little girl kept ripping open this one present and no others! Luckily, I knew what it was. Spencer had already repaired it 4 times by this point!

Decorating sugar cookies

I have the yummiest recipe for sugar cookies and the kids love making them with me. We decided to make some to bring to our ward Christmas party. It was so fun!

Gingerbread houses

We had a lot of fun this year doing our tradition of Gingerbread houses. The kits came with fondant, which I haven't used before, but it made for some fun new decorations for the houses.

Decorating the Tree

We have such a fun time decorating the tree. I somehow didn't get a picture of Sienna, but she was there, helping. I love listening to Christmas music, being together as a family and start the celebration of our Savior's birth.

Gingerbread houses and Tree Decorating

We try to do some kind of Gingerbread decorating as a family every year. This year we did mini houses. The kids had a ball, as always. After that, we set up our Christmas tree. Aidan is so funny because he is obsessed with candy canes; he has been since he was tiny. We used to try to spread them out over the month, but here in Hawaii, with all the moisture, they get kind of soggy and yucky pretty quickly. I don't think Aidan minded us telling him to hurry up and eat all the candy canes! Madelyn was super excited to be able to put the star on the tree this year. I remember how excited I was as a little girl when it was my year to put the star up! I love Christmas-time and all of the fun traditions and memories that go along with them!

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Carving

We found out about a corn maze on the island, which we couldn't miss! It has always been a tradition for us in the past, so I am very grateful we didn't have to miss out while living in a tropical location. It was very warm and there were lots of bugs, but still, a corn maze! It took us about an hour to do, with Madelyn having a ball and leading the way most of the time.

We also carved pumpkins. One thing about living here is that they start to rot immediately, so even though we did it only 3 days early, I think next year we might just do it the day of Halloween. The kids really loved it and it's nice now that Sienna is older and able to do her own. I love the fall and all the fun activities and traditions we have!

Mad's, Aidan's, and Sienna's