Well, hello there! The holidays are always a bit crazy, but this year they came up too quickly for me. I had planned to be online for most of it and I was for some of it, but then the days got away from me and before I knew it, Christmas was here and then poof, it was over and done with. Isn’t that how it always is?
We did have some fun though.
Leading up to Christmas we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. I love Disneyland at Christmas but the Boy and Hub wanted to see all the new stuff at California Adventure so we did both in one day.
We got there before the park opened and stayed for over sixteen hours. Towards the end of the evening, I was hobbled in a big way (like that guy in Misery), but we saw almost everything we wanted to. There is nothing like Disneyland at Christmas! I love the lights, the holiday atmosphere and who am I kidding? Starbucks! California Adventure has a Starbucks now! After sixteen hours of dragging myself all over the park, it felt so good to get a REAL coffee drink instead of the watered-down “tea” they call coffee.
Of course, there were other treats to be had such as the caramel apple and turkey leg I sucked down but I digress.
It was an amazing day. Bliss! I am a bit OCD when it comes to making sure we do stuff but all in all, it was a great day. Tons of people but our fast passes (strategically obtained) came in handy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Boy move so fast but he used those cross-country skills to get us passes for Radiator Springs Racers and it paid off because they were sold out by 11am.
On the Saturday before Christmas, we met-up with our friends for a driving tour of the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. We do this every year and have been doing it for well over fourteen years, if you can believe it. Anyway, I didn’t capture any pics because it was raining, but it was still fun to drive around and check out all of the lights. I made my giant ginger cookies and two kinds of fudge and we sipped hot chocolate while driving around. It was great to see everyone again.
On the Sunday before Christmas, we went to my Mother-in-law’s house. We got there a little late because I had a laundry faux pas but let me tell you… it was nice to be late for a change. We are always the first ones there and the party was in full swing when we got there. Felt good to arrive to a crowd of happy, smiling people. The food was great and everything was very casual and relaxed. A perfect evening.
Christmas day, I made cinnamon rolls and a pile of bacon. We watched movies at home and then headed to a restaurant for Christmas dinner. I ALWAYS cook and usually enjoy it but I was just sick of making stuff so this year, I made reservations instead. We like this one restaurant that is right next to the airport and they offered a Christmas buffet this year so I thought, why not?
I think each kid ate their weight in food. The sun was setting in this pic but that’s the air field right there! We got to watch the planes take-off and land while we ate. It was perfect and a lot of fun. I especially liked the fact that there was nothing for me to clean-up afterward!
After dinner, we drove home and watched It’s a Wonderful Life. A perfect end to a perfect evening.
I think everyone on the planet was watching this movie though:
My son got to see it with friends but I seriously feel as if I need to get myself to a theater to see it.
Anyway, that’s it from me. I just started my last book of the year, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Murakami) and tomorrow, I plan to just lounge around and do nothing. I do have two reviews to write-up. We’ll see if that happens.
Book Chatter 
Sounds wonderful…and its nice to change things around every once in a while! Dinner out…arriving late…now I am curious about your laundry incident! Have a great day reading!
What I had planned to wear got messed up after I spilled something on it so I decided to wash it. Didn’t allow enough time…clothes were dampish. Kids and Hub gave me a hard time yada yada.
What a nice holiday time you and your family had! I’d love to see Disneyland decorated for Christmas. We’ve seen Disneyworld at Halloween and that was a treat.
Happy holidays (almost over now) to you and your family, Ti!
We visited Disney World over Halloween once. It was fun too. Different, but fun. Disney just makes it so magical. Their resorts are hard to resist. Happy Holidays!
Sounds like you crammed in plenty of quality family memories over the holidays to make the Christmas perfect. I’d be in a wheelchair walking 16 hours at the theme park.
I needed a wheelchair by the end of the night. In fact, I couldn’t walk for two days! I went off my lupus meds to see if they did anything and that was a bad decision on my part.
I decided we’d go out to eat for Thanksgiving and everyone complained so I cooked for Christmas this year. It was fun but, honestly, between breakfast and dinner, I felt like I spent most of my day in the kitchen. I’m glad y’all had a great Christmas!
I made Christmas breakfast. That was enough.
Happy Wonderful Days between Christmas and New Years!! (I absolutely LOVE this slow thoughtful time between the parties.)
We don’t have any big plans for New Year’s Eve but I am liking the quiet right now too. The Hub is working but the kids and I have been watching movies and napping. Haven’t done much reading.
Sounds like an incredible day! We have several friends who went to DisneyWorld for Christmas this year, and we, of course, watched the parades on Christmas morning (on t.v.). We eat out on Christmas Eve and then I cook Christmas Day. Then, everybody’s on their own again on Dec. 26th 🙂 We call those days “hodge podge” because there’s a ton of leftovers but not enough of anything for everybody…so everybody just eats whichever leftovers they liked best 🙂
Hodge Podge. Love that. I don’t mind leftovers if the first meal was absolutely delish but my family HATES leftovers and often won’t eat them.
Sounds like you all had a wonderful holiday, Ti. Wishing you a peaceful and joyous New Year!
Thanks! Happy New Year to you! Here’s to another year of great reading 😉
Disneyland, laundry faux pas and driving around looking at neighbourhood’s light. What a Christmas! Looks like a happy one. 🙂
16 hours?? I would’ve needed multiple trips to Starbucks!
I know, huh? Going between the two parks is not easy or quick so I saved it for the end. The Girl got a blister or we would have headed back to Disneyland to close it out!
Wow! I’m impressed by the 16-hour day, too. Sounds fun and exhausting, just like holiday celebrations should be!
I’ve done those 16 hour days at the parks before! It sounds like you had a wonderful holiday. I’ll have to do an update of mine at some point, but right now I’m too busy being vacation-ish.
It sounds like you just had the perfect Christmas … lots to do but it was all fun. (16 hours at Disneyland though … wow. That has got to be record!)
With all those hours, we still missed Peter Pan and It’s a Small World, which is great at Christmas. Oh well. By the end I was barely able to make it back to the car. It was a full day!
I have so many movies on my “must see” list this winter (Argo, Lincoln, Les Mis, and more) and I don’t seem to be getting to a theater
I don’t enjoy going to theaters anymore. Too many rude people. Even though I really want to see Les Mis, I will probably wait for it to hit DVD so I can enjoy it from the comfort of my couch 😉
That sounds just about perfect for me! I think next year, I’m going to take your suggestion of reservations. I love to cook but sometimes, especially for the big meals, it is great to have the mess in someone else’s kitchen!
I worried that the wait staff would be crabby having to work on Christmas but it was the opposite. Everyone was so lovely and pleasant. Made for a fine meal. DO make reservations next year. It was really nice. I will probably do it again next year.
I’d recommend seeing Les Mis in a movie theater anyway. We saw it on Christmas Day at a new one in Westlake Village–a little pricey, but it has oversized reclining seats that make it FEEL like watching from your couch, but with a larger screen and better sound. And then we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. (We’d be a cliche if we were Jewish 😊.)
I’m sure seeing on the big screen was awesome. I just can’t deal with the crowds and if I do, it has to be at an Arclight or like the theater you went to.
Great idea for your Christmas dinner! When I was planning for the day I told my family we were only doing easy stuff. The kids actually made brunch and I did just aneasy supper.So relaxing-essential by the time Christmas Day arrives, isn’t it?
sounds like you had a great time and I’m so jealous you saw les miz. That was on my list, but didn’t make it and there has not been any fudge yet!
I didn’t see Les Mis but the Boy did! I really want to see it.
My book club went to see Life of Pi. I am surprised to discovered that I liked it very much.
I’m eager to see Les Mis, too.
Sounds like an amazingly busy holiday – some day I will see Disney at Christmas!
Loved reading this because it sounds truly wonderful and I can only imagine how awesome Disney is this time of year!!!!
I’d love to see Disney at Christmas. And yes, run, don’t walk to see Les Miserables. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Wishing you a happy and blessed holiday season!