Rhino-Hamster

William and his chubby little friend have been getting along quite well.  Every now and then we let him take Rhino out of his cage and play with him on the table where he can't escape.  William got a kick out of the little guy trying to bury himself in pretzel treats.

This girl...

...thinks that lotion is shampoo.  She is always trying to squirt some into her hair so that I will let her get in the bath to wash it out.  Silly Cheebie!

Cookie Day

For many years I have spent a day with whichever family members are closest to me and we bake treats all day and then divide them up so that each family has a nice assortment to take home.  This year it was Yvonne, Sabrina, and myself.  All our older kids were in school and the pre-school set played happily in Sabrina's big basement while us girls chatted, laughed, gossiped, and had a generally wonderful time just being together as sisters.

Temple Square

Another grand tradition is the lights at Temple Square.  This winter hasn't been too cold so it was actually lots of fun to walk around and see all the different nativities.  When I was a little girl my family used to come to Temple Square and I remember it as being magical.  They still have the life-size nativity that tells the story of Jesus' birth through music and broadcast speakers, but now they have so much more and it was a lovely night.

The Nutcracker

My absolute favorite tradition is taking my children to see the Nutcracker ballet.  James stays home with those who are not old enough and the rest of us dress up and head to a matinee.  During the intermission we scour the tables of goodies and each child gets to pick a treat and a keepsake to take home.  It is a beautiful ballet and so much fun.  This was William's first year coming with us and though he was a bit tired the last ten minutes or so he actually did really well.  There is magic in dressing in your finest gowns/suit and going to the theater. 

After the performance we head onto the stage for the Sugar Plum party.  Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed there.  Here we get to meet the major cast members, have cookies and punch, and everyone gets a tiny nutcracker ornament to hang at home.  They also have ushers who divulge the secrets of stage tricks.  The kids love finding out how the nutcracker changes into a human and how Mother Baffoon rolls out on stage.  So much fun!

Primary Activity

For our Christmas party in Primary this year we made these cute little smowman picture frames.  They were easy (self stick) and turned out well.  When finished we sat around the piano singing carols until we heard the faint sound of jingle bells.

"For Christmas I want dinosaurs and a robot."

"I want Calico Critters."

"I would like Playmobil people.  But really a house for them."

While screaming in terror: "I want a pink pony!"

The Cobbler and the Elves

I love puppet shows and this one was a lot of fun.  We had a little story about Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and then a great rendition of the Cobbler and the Elves.  William was delighted that he was chosen to be an elf for a small interactive segment.  Afterward the audience all lined up for a chance to whisper their greatest wish to Santa Claus.

Rachel colored a ginger man while studiously avoiding Santa.

William didn't want to sit on Santa's lap, but he was willing to be close by in order to get hold of the fancy blue candycanes Santa was handing out!

Unavoidable

Once our tree was completely up of course Rachel couldn't stand just looking.  She was so funny!  She was very careful not to touch any ornaments that "belonged" to anyone and only went for the generic jingle bells.  But off those bells came and she would run around the house tinkling.  Reminiscent of a cat...

Hmmm....?

James rides the bus every morning to work and became friends with the driver since at 5:45 the ride is pretty empty.  Well, turns out that Jason is the director of some kind of belly dancing thing that brings dancers from all over the state to show their skills.  He asked James to come and watch their winter event and though we were skeptical we called a babysitter and went down to the masonic temple.  It was actually a fun night.  We didn't stay for the entire event because it was super long, but we had a good time and the music was surprisingly upbeat and enjoyable.

Breakfast with Santa

South Salt Lake recreation department is great.  They sponsor a ton of activities throughout the year and each of them is quite fun.  One of our favorites is breakfast with Santa.  For the small fee of $10 per family we get ham, eggs, hashbrowns, juice, milk, hot chocolate and a live band to entertain us while we eat. 

As a grand bonus we won the door prize this year!

After breakfast we head to the other gymnasium where there are crafts and Santa and Mrs. Claus.  Here we also get live entertainment from all the dance schools and choirs around the valley.

Gifts from Santa!

One must have a candycane from Mrs. Claus