Did you all have a lovely Christmas Day? Do you open presents on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve?
Mike's family was a Christmas Eve kind of family. My family was a Christmas morning kind of family. We've done it both ways over the years but since Mike became a pastor and was always busy with Christmas Eve Services we pretty much stuck with Christmas morning for a more relaxed time to open them. This year, with Christmas being on a Sunday morning, we probably should have rethought that but we didn't.
Yesterday morning we got up early. I made some Christmas cinnamon rolls that seem to have become part of our tradition. I just use regular bread dough. I made it in my bread machine Saturday night but you could even use frozen bread dough from the store. I roll it out, spread butter on it and sprinkle a lot of brown sugar and cinnamon on it. I roll it up, slice it and place the rolls into a buttered pan. That is when the best part comes into play. In a small pan I boil a stick of butter, a cup of brown sugar and a cup of vanilla ice cream... yes, I said ice cream. Boil it awhile and then pour it over the top of the rolls. Cover the rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap or whatever and put it in the fridge. In the morning, bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or so, until the center ones look done. I flip it out onto a cookie sheet and let the goo pour down all over it again. It is sooooooo good! I have made up a vegan version of them now. Instead of butter I use Smart Balance Light. I substituted coconut ice cream but soy is fine. Either way, it is yummy!
We went over to Maria and Eric's house to open presents. That was a first for us. I love having traditions but I also think it is important to do things differently from time to time. My theory is that if our children see that the world doesn't end if Christmas has to be done a bit differently, it will make their first Christmas away from us easier. I have lots of theories on lots of things and will be happy to share more if you wish.
After opening stockings, gifts and eating our cinnamon roll breakfast Sam went home as he was starting to feel ill. We've had a nasty cold circulating through the family. The rest of us went to church and by the time that was over, Cordelia was running a fever.
Mike and I headed a few hours out of town. It has been years and years since I had spent Christmas Day with my Mom and that was my wish for yesterday. My sister, Tina, and her kids, Stephanie and Steven, were there as well. They had to hold dinner for us quite awhile as we stopped along the way to help a family who's vehicle had broken down out in the middle of poor-to-no-cell-service Wyoming. They had 4 little kids under the age of 5! I don't think they were having their favorite Christmas Day but they were holding up impressively well. Luckily the day was pretty warm and eventually a tow truck was finally summoned.
Anyway, we had a very busy but lovely Christmas Day. Here's the photographic proof...
Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.
Mike's family was a Christmas Eve kind of family. My family was a Christmas morning kind of family. We've done it both ways over the years but since Mike became a pastor and was always busy with Christmas Eve Services we pretty much stuck with Christmas morning for a more relaxed time to open them. This year, with Christmas being on a Sunday morning, we probably should have rethought that but we didn't.
Yesterday morning we got up early. I made some Christmas cinnamon rolls that seem to have become part of our tradition. I just use regular bread dough. I made it in my bread machine Saturday night but you could even use frozen bread dough from the store. I roll it out, spread butter on it and sprinkle a lot of brown sugar and cinnamon on it. I roll it up, slice it and place the rolls into a buttered pan. That is when the best part comes into play. In a small pan I boil a stick of butter, a cup of brown sugar and a cup of vanilla ice cream... yes, I said ice cream. Boil it awhile and then pour it over the top of the rolls. Cover the rolls with aluminum foil, plastic wrap or whatever and put it in the fridge. In the morning, bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or so, until the center ones look done. I flip it out onto a cookie sheet and let the goo pour down all over it again. It is sooooooo good! I have made up a vegan version of them now. Instead of butter I use Smart Balance Light. I substituted coconut ice cream but soy is fine. Either way, it is yummy!
We went over to Maria and Eric's house to open presents. That was a first for us. I love having traditions but I also think it is important to do things differently from time to time. My theory is that if our children see that the world doesn't end if Christmas has to be done a bit differently, it will make their first Christmas away from us easier. I have lots of theories on lots of things and will be happy to share more if you wish.
After opening stockings, gifts and eating our cinnamon roll breakfast Sam went home as he was starting to feel ill. We've had a nasty cold circulating through the family. The rest of us went to church and by the time that was over, Cordelia was running a fever.
Mike and I headed a few hours out of town. It has been years and years since I had spent Christmas Day with my Mom and that was my wish for yesterday. My sister, Tina, and her kids, Stephanie and Steven, were there as well. They had to hold dinner for us quite awhile as we stopped along the way to help a family who's vehicle had broken down out in the middle of poor-to-no-cell-service Wyoming. They had 4 little kids under the age of 5! I don't think they were having their favorite Christmas Day but they were holding up impressively well. Luckily the day was pretty warm and eventually a tow truck was finally summoned.
Anyway, we had a very busy but lovely Christmas Day. Here's the photographic proof...
Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.
3 comments:
Hi to the fam!
Merry Christmas! We open family presents on Xmas Eve. Then Santa and stockings on Christmas day. We also had a great day ;)
When we have family with us, we open one present on Christmas Eve after church. Then the rest in the morning. When it is just the two of us, we forgo presents and just make stockings for each other. We fill them with little things; candy, fruit, gift cards and open them on Christmas morning. We like this less frenzied version of Christmas morning, although our pups always manage to create some chaos :)
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