Christmas Eve at Grandma's

I love this tradition, it is my favorite day of the whole year. I don't know if it is being surrounded by family, eating WAY to much wonderful food, the room piled to the ceiling with presents or it being the start of my favorite holiday - Christmas-, but Christmas Eve at my Grandma's is the BEST!!! For as long as I can remember, this is where you could find our family. We begin around 2-3 and some years last until midnight or so. I love that my children are now going home in their jammies, just like I used to. I remember trying to stay awake and look for Santa, but never quite making it home awake. I remember my Mom being pulled over once (with a station wagon full of kids) to check for DUI ... she was so tired. I did wake up when the police officer shined his flashlight in my face :) One year when I was 5 or so, I was so excited to give Grandma her present I thought I would give her some clues so she could guess. Here were my clues, lets see if you can guess... something that will keep your hands warm when you drive. See even then, I had mad clue giving skills ;) Grandma's house ALWAYS had more snow, and many a Christmas Eves were spent sledding and playing in the snow. It always seems to be snowing when we are packing up to leave...the magic of Grandma's house and Christmas Snow!!! I just love it!
Through the years many traditions have been acted out...the Manger Scene (I was always Mary...of course) , watching the home videos of the years past and the family talent show - this year we did a rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Every couple/group had a day and had to act out the part. We had Lords a Leaping, we had Dancing, Swans a laying, calling birds (literally on their phones) and the children (Parker/Jordan) did an amazing job with the ever popular F-I-V-E Golden Rings! So much fun...I wont tell what Ryan and I did, although if I ever see this on U-Tube... I know where you live. He He The men try to be anti-social watching football, but we usually get a few good group games going on. Then the highlight of the night opening presents, I don't know what is better the excitement of what you are giving or the surprise of what you received. I remember through the years Mom, Grandma, Daryl, Julie and everyone else try to keep things organized...one person opening a present at a time (notice I said TRIED, this never lasts very long) so after all the presents have been passed out, torn open , looked at and loved - we try to see what everyone else got. It's even better now with children, I love watching their excitement and joy at each gift. Some highlights of this year, were the "ARMY MAN" hats (as Parker calls them) that Eric gave the boys. They love them and are often found sporting them in their play. Grandma GG must have had a secret Santa helper, because she gave the boys awesome Transformer costumes that the absolutely treasure...Optimus and Bumblebee are now frequent at the Schudde home. Parker and Jordan put out Reindeer food at Grandma Kathy's and PaPa's house, so Santa would be sure to find them there! They were very serious about spreading it round. This year we missed the Packs, but we look forward to next year when we will all be home together again! We came together from all around the country. We had Chris and Steph from Virginia, Eric from Arizona and the Zundels from California. We love you all and wish you a happy Christmas Eve! Check out the Smilebox for all the fun and craziness.
Enjoy!

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