As the title of this post suggests, our Christmas did not go the way we had envisioned or they way our Christmases traditionally go. After making our kids quarantine from everything "non-essential", (hanging out with friends), we let down our guard for one night and let both Brynn and Molly hang out with friends on the 18th (after the last day of school before the break). Brynn wasn't a huge concern but I really drug my feet on letting Molly hang out. She hadn't had any friend time outside of school since before Halloween when she self-quarantined prior to her Atlanta trip. She begged to go to a party her friend was having. (Can I just say that I was super bugged that her friend was even having a party one week before Christmas?) I told Molly I would really feel better if she waited until after Christmas because there wasn't so much at stake but she wore us down and we agreed to let her go. Go figure, four days later she started to get a sore throat. I don't think we would have been as quick to get her tested if it wasn't three days before Christmas, but we wanted to make sure we weren't taking anything to our families. So we tested her on the 23rd and got her results on Christmas Eve: positive. She was completely devastated. Honestly, in the beginning, I think her disappointment and guilt were worse than the physical symptoms she was feeling. She cried and cried thinking that she had ruined everyone's Christmas. I was disappointed but I was surprised I wasn't more upset than I was. I think that was a small tender mercy. The other kids, also, were nothing but supportive and we managed to get them all excited for a "Covid Christmas" that they would never forget. Whether or not we were successful was still to be determined, but I think we gave it a good try.
*turns out one of the kids at the party had a brother who had tested positive but, since he specifically didn't have any symptoms (yet), he went to the party anyway-so that was frustrating, but there wasn't much we could do about it
After dinner we did a Zoom call with the Goodrich's. It was just Gene, April, and Brett along with Eric and Heidi's family so it was a weird Christmas Eve for them as well. April had sent all the kids (and parents!) Amazon cards at the end of November with instructions for each of them to buy their Christmas present and have it shipped to her. Then she wrapped them all. The problem was that she didn't necessarily know whose present was whose. So, we did the Zoom. Someone would open a present at their house and then everyone else would guess who it belonged to. This is what our family ended up with: Justin: some tool; Megan-a steam canner and canning supplies; Molly-Hamilton record; Stockton-Tech Decks; Brynn-Legos; Ivy-a mermaid dress and mermaid pajamas with a matching dress and pajamas for her doll.
When we were done with that Zoom call, we got on another Zoom call. When I was talking with my mom earlier that day, she said that her and my dad didn't have any plans for Christmas Eve since it was an off year for all of my siblings...so I suggested that we Facetime and have my dad read the nativity story while we act it out at our house. She liked that idea! They did end up going to Bryce and Erin's so they did the nativity at their house while we did it at our house. We had missed doing this during the family party at our house and the one the kids tried to do after the Bethlehem dinner didn't really go great, so I was happy we still did this. It's not Christmas without doing the nativity, right?!
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| Mary and Joseph |
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| shepherd and angel |
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| with a super cute, fashionable wiseman |
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| the Moyes's at their house |
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| charades |
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| ice cream! |
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| sick Molly |
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| but excited because it's Christmas Eve! |
The kids are not allowed to wake us up before 7:00 on Christmas morning...which usually means they are calling right at 7. We let them have the phone downstairs on Christmas Eve because they are not allowed to go upstairs to see their presents without us. Justin has to turn all the Christmas lights on and they have to line up. They take turns being first and Ivy was first this year. Ready, set, go!
Everyone had two gifts from Santa and 3 stocking stuffers. Molly got a new bed (not set up because too much work) and a side table that matches. Her stocking had treats, a helmet, wool socks, and film for her Polaroid camera.
Stockton got an indoor basketball hoop and some Vans gear (a hat and T-shirt). His stocking had treats, a helmet, 12 rolls of duct tape, and skateboarding pads.
Brynn got a hammock swing for her room and a bubblegum machine. Her stocking had treats, a helmet, film for her Polaroid, and fashion plates (to go with the bigger set she got last year).
Ivy got magnetic blocks and a new bedspread and lamp. Her stocking had treats, a helmet, face paint, and bath bombs.
After a while, we went downstairs to have our Christmas breakfast. Creme brulee french toast with whipped cream and fruit, mini egg quiches (minus some of the veggies to make it more kid-friendly), bacon, chocolate milk, apple juice. It was a delicious feast!
We loved having Christmas in the loft again. That is where we kept all the wrapped presents and it was wonderful to have an un-cluttered living room, especially since our giant tree took up a lot of space. After breakfast, we went back upstairs to unwrap family gifts. They all had one gift from their siblings: Molly-wireless headphones; Stockton-Mario Kart for his Nintendo DS; Brynn-make-up kit; Ivy-coloring books and huge box of crayons.
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| These get used literally every day. I ended up buying myself a pair as well. |
Justin and I wanted to do a family/group gift like we did last year with the hoverboard but we weren't coming up with any ideas. Stockton had been talking about Kiwi Co boxes for the past several months so we looked into those for everyone. They are a more than we would normally spend but Justin found a pretty good coupon code and we liked the idea of a gift that lasts a little longer, rather than being forgotten about after a few weeks. So, everyone got a one year subscription Kiwi Co box from Justin and I. Molly and Stockton knew what they were and were excited right away. Brynn and Ivy were skeptical just because they didn't know what they were-but after doing a couple of boxes, they are totally hooked!
This year, with no encouragement from me, each of the kids got/made presents for each other. They were so excited to give them that morning! Ivy picked out all of her gifts on her own: a watch for Molly, nerf gun for Stockton, made a book of pictures for Brynn and me, and painted a frame for Justin.
Brynn made everyone a coupon book. She worked hard at thinking of things we would like and writing them down.
Stockton had made keychains for everyone at school. He put them in Christmas cards with a personalized note. He had made me a couple of little snowmen out of wood to put in my Christmas tree shelf. Justin helped him cutting the pieces.
Molly needed a little help from Justin-they worked on it together. She had drawn each of the kids and then Justin had them printed on canvases and they made frames together. They were a big hit! She had also surprised me with a family drawing which, of course, I love! It is something I will cherish forever!
Normally on a Goodrich Christmas Eve year, we go to Plain City on Christmas Day. Instead, we just stayed home! We spent the afternoon playing with all the new things and doing the Kiwi Co boxes. Gene, April, and Brett made a Christmas delivery-the gifts for us and all the leftover food from the dinner the night before. Molly gifted them the picture she drew for them and we gave Brett a box of Reese's.
Oh, what a Christmas to remember! Justin and Molly spent a considerable amount of time putting her bed together in her room and we relaxed the rest of the day. I had planned a simple meal but I started to feel sick late that afternoon/early evening so I wasn't really up for making anything. Good thing we had all that food from April, it worked great for a lazy dinner! I had a long soak in the tub to ease some achy-ness in my muscles and went to bed early after taking some Excedrin PM for a headache. Not really how I would have liked to end the day but I had prayed that Justin and I could stay healthy enough to get through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for the kids and that {mostly} happened. In looking back, it definitely was not the Christmas we would have liked to have, neither is it a Christmas we would like to repeat. That being said, I am grateful that we were able to be together, that no one got too sick, that we have always been able to provide magical Christmases for our kids.
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