christmas eve: dinner + nativity

We had the traditional Olsen Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve (although we forgot to wear our Christmas bibs). Stuffed hard rolls (they taste better than they sound), jello (originally an elaborate three-layer deal but nobody ate it but me so we simplified to jello jigglers in Christmas shapes), chips and dip, veggies and dip, wassail, and eggnog. I love this dinner because it just tastes like Christmas (plus it's easy to make and can all be prepared ahead of time). Aside from the veggies and chips, it's food we only have at Christmas so it feels special. And reminds me of my childhood Christmases.

 

After dinner we acted out the Nativity. We have a great script that my mom created years ago, complete with a choral reading. There was some debate in the beginning about who would be Mary but in the end Elsa was Mary, Oliver was a wandering Joseph, and Amelia was the angel, a sheep, a wise man, and an inn keeper. Elsa delivered one memorable line during the nativity: "I can't fit baby Jesus in my mouth. How am I supposed to swallow him?" Um, that would be swaddle, Elsa.

 Next up was chocolate fondue! (Another tradition from my family.) 

 

The kids got to open new pajamas and then we read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Oliver went to bed and the girls got cookies ready for Santa and wrote him a note. They spent a LOT of time making thank you notes for Santa...I don't think they wanted to go to bed. After all the kids were finally in bed, Ben and I watched It's a Wonderful Life and amazingly, I didn't fall asleep.