Perfect Christmas Eve

(It was very important to have a great Christmas Eve this year because last year's Christmas Eve is still fresh in our minds. We were with our cousins in CA at the beach, looking at tide pools, cooking lunch over a fire pit. Then we went swimming in the pool - outside. It was such a great day, we have been reminiscing about it as of late.)

We spent the morning working together scrubbing the house from top to bottom. By the time we were finished, the house was perfect. Nothing sets my mind at ease like clean house.

Then we headed down to the Plaza for an early dinner. Before dinner we strolled around the shops.

Anthropologie. (Dreamy.) Which resulted in this package under the tree:

Pottery Barn (sale!). These stockings were marked down. $6.99. Really.

Also this darling table runner.
PF Changs for dinner.


(My oldest's fortune cookie read, "You will receive a surprising gift very soon.")
Magically, it began to snow. (We were promised 4-7inches by the weatherman.) The Plaza glowed. It felt like a movie.

From there we drove to Christmas in the Park. There were no lines and we breezed through the entire display, almost as if we had a private showing.

Once we were home, we read the Christmas story from Luke 2.
Then opened our traditional Christmas Eve presents (pjs, always pjs.)
Off to the hot tub. Where we sang carols really, really loudly. Good thing we have no neighbors in hearing range.
Next glittering red toenails for the girls.

Then family prayers and off to bed. (Notice I said off to bed but not off to sleep. We had some excited kids anxious for the next day.)