Merry Making: A Christmas Recap

Does anyone else get a little down when Christmas is over and it's time to put away all the decorations? After a full month of lights and treats and carols, it's always so sad to see it all go. I'm hanging on to the holidays as long as I possibly can (go away, New Years!), so I thought I would revisit our Christmas festivities from last week and enjoy them all over again.

Mom has this "Fruitcakes Welcome" sign in her kitchen,
which makes me feel like I'm in good company.

She also set up a cute little holiday coffee bar, because who doesn't want the gift of caffeine?

The breakfast table is all aglow with Clark Griswold's house from everyone's favorite yuletide film: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Of course, cousin Eddie's RV is parked out front.

If you're more into A Christmas Story, well, we had that, too. Can you spot the BB gun?

Ralphie's house, complete with the leg lamp, the not-so-jolly Santa from Higbee's department store, Flick and his tongue on that flagpole, and the infamous pink bunny suit.

I happen to know someone who is a big fan. Careful, Clint: you'll shoot your eye out!

Homemade eggnog in moose mugs is one of our most delicious Christmas eve traditions.

We're a pretty festive group, right down to the dogs.

Just a couple of Santa's little helpers. Speaking of which...

He CAME! Santa was running a little late this year and I almost got nervous,
but I knew I was on the nice list. (Whew.)

You know you've been good when your presents are too big to get your arms around them all.

All those boxes turned out to be this artwork, rug, waste basket, and silver metal wall medallions for my powder room. Santa nailed it, y'all.

Christmas dinner wouldn't be the same without HoneyBaked ham. Bonus points for the cranberry apple crumble, Irish potato casserole, and broccoli cheese wild rice bake. Save room, because there's coconut cake for dessert.

We spent Christmas afternoon watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, nibbling on cookies and sipping cider, and once it got dark, we headed out to look at Christmas lights. Don't you love it when you find those houses that really go over-the-top?

Basking in the glow of some truly fantastic lights.
There were so many we couldn't fit them all in one picture! 

We did our best not to miss any way to celebrate the Christmas season, from tacky sweaters to visits from Santa, snacks and sips, and decorations everywhere your little heart could possibly desire. Before we left my parents' house, we made sure to finish off the festivities with our traditional viewing of the classic movie Holiday Inn  (Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire will keep you in the holiday spirit, just in case you were wondering). Until next year, we have enough memories (and leftovers) to leave us holly and jolly for a while to come.

Happy holidays, from our jolly bunch!