Believe it or not, we said NO to lots of Christmassy things this holiday season yet we still had a packed out December filled with Christmas festivities! Here were some highlights…
Polar Express
We took the kids to a fun “Polar Express” dinner which was really cute! Before the movie kicked off, there was cookie decorating, a hot chocolate bar and train rides (Thomas’s favorite part). Then we loaded up plates of delicious food from the incredible buffet and ate while watching The Polar Express! 
Christmas Pageant
This was our first year participating in the Christmas pageant at our church. I volunteered behind the scenes during the production, Thomas was a shepherd and Caroline was an angel. In my head I had envisioned this to be the most perfect Christmas activity for our family to really drive home the meaning of Christmas. In reality, I found it challenging to leave work early to pick up both kids from separate schools and get them to rehearsals, then we were running around last minute looking for white tights in Caroline’s size, and although we arrived super early for the pageant, Matt and his dad were only able to secure seats in the very last row of the packed out church and they watched the wrong cute little boy wearing glasses the entire time. Ha! Afterwards, Caroline refused to take a family picture because she was so upset over having to wear a men’s dress shirt backwards as part of her angel costume. So yeah, next year we’ll do it again but I’ll drop my expectation way low…and camp out in the church parking lot the night before to ensure we get seats that don’t require binoculars. But I am glad we did it. It was cute to hear the kids practicing their songs at home and it was wonderful having Grandad come for the show!
Santa Brunch
After the Christmas pageant we had brunch with Santa! Now this was truly perfect! LOOK at that Santa!!! How cute is he?! Thomas asked Santa for a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mega Sword and the Megazord (LOL — nope) and Caroline asked for a paint set she saw at Michael’s that she fell in love with (she’s been very consistent with this request all season long).
Note: we had just recovered from the men’s dress shirt meltdown and wasn’t about to put a bow in Caroline’s hair…
School Parties
Thomas had the cutest Christmas performance at school that was so unbelievably adorable and then a party back in his class afterwards — all in pajamas! A few days later (thankfully, these parties did not overlap this year), Caroline had a class party in pajamas too! She lost her third tooth during the party and was so excited for all her friends to witness it. Later at home, she surprised me and Matt with the gift she had been working on all week at school for us — the cutest glass ornament with painted reindeer using her thumbprint! In her excitement she offered to hang the ornament on our tree for us and seconds later we heard glass shattering…followed by explosive tears. RIP reindeer ornament — we will remember you in pictures.
A Night in Bethlehem
This may have been my favorite event of the season! Our church put on the sweetest nativity experience inspired by the story of Jesus’ birth that included live animals (Thomas was over the moon to pet every animal), build your own clay lamp, dress up clothes, games, fire pits and dinner. My friend Michelle met us with her two little kids and it was such a beautiful event! 
Christmas Tree Lighting
Matt took the kids to a super fun Christmas tree lighting at Philips Place while I hosted Supper Club. It was freezing but Matt said it was a really fun experience and everyone had a blast.
The Nutcracker Tradition
Previous Nutcracker Years: 2017 | 2018
Speedway Christmas
On Christmas Eve eve we piled into the car in our pajamas, scooped up some Chick-fil-A and visited the Speedway to see the Christmas lights. The light show was impressive and everyone loved it!
Christmas Celebrations (Round 1)
Matt’s parents and sister came to Charlotte to celebrate Christmas the Sunday before the holiday. We grabbed a delicious lunch at the kids’ favorite restaurant, Cowfish, before opening presents!
It was a wonderful holiday season!
