Christmas 2013 Highlights

I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after the Christmas holidays. A little late, I know, but nevertheless, it's good to be back in a routine again.
We had a wonderful Christmas vacation in Ontario! The two weeks went by so quickly!
Here's a recap of some of the highlights:

1. Christmas Day was spent at the in-laws where we had a delicious turkey/ham dinner and a fun evening of gift opening:

 

Each year we pick names for the gift exchange. This year I had my sister-in-law, Rachel. I gave her a smoothie cookbook, a pair of feather earrings, and a little gag gift - Poo Pourri -- If you haven't seen the commercial, you must! It's absolutely hilarious!

 

 

I added my own personal touch to her gift with some creative wrapping:

 

I created a gift bag topper and decorated it with designer paper, stamped images, and ribbon. Simply add a slit using the Word Window punch at the top of the bag topper and slide the gift bag handles through it - brilliant! (I followed this simple tutorial for the measurements).

 

I used coordinating designer paper and ribbon for the gift wrap of each gift inside the bag:

 

 

2. Another highlight was Christmas with my family on New Year's Eve. We had another delicious meal and a great evening of gift opening. One tradition we like to keep every year is writing poems to go along with our gifts. As hard as it may be sometimes to think of rhymes, it adds such a fun aspect to the gift exchange! Here are a few photos of our time spent together: 

 

 

 

 

3. For an evening out, my family went to the bowling alley. I love outings like this where we can get out of the house and spend some time together doing something fun!

 

 

4. On a different outing, we went to the Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls. This was especially fun for the kids, but I also loved it!

 

 



 

I held a snake for the first time!

 

5. I got to spend some good quality time with my sister, Esther, as well as my Mom. I really miss them, being so far from home!

 

It really was a great Christmas! I'm so thankful for all the time we got to spend with family and look forward to the next visit!