'twas the night before christmas...

christmas eve was nothing short of

m a g i c a l .

we had my mom's famous prime rib with

gorgonzola sauce, twice baked potatoes, rolls,

roasted asparagus, and the best raspberry salad.

dessert was even better, white chocolate raspberry

cheesecake that we all RAVED about! mmmm.

i hope one day i am half the cook my mom is.

^^ my contribution this year-- homemade chocolate

macarons. i may be a french girl at heart, but whew

those were a labor of love! i had to start them 2 days

before, and it was intricate but fun to see how they are

made! i loved having them on christmas eve but may

need to buy them next year to continue this tradition :)

before dinner we did a nativity scene, it was

so cute and special and set the tone for

the entire night. i love that we have the

perfect little mary, joseph, and baby jesus!

the girls were angels and the boys were the

3 wise men, and my parents were shephards.

very fitting! we filmed it so we can watch

every year when we do it on christmas eve.

^^ the cutest mary and the cutest sheep i've ever seen.

after dinner, the nativity, and some bell playing,

it was time for presents! i love exchanging

gifts with loved ones because of all the thought

that goes into the gifts. this year was no exception!

little tagg was the best gift deliverer

we sort of had a theme this year with gifts,

thanks to chase's job making it easy!

the boys in their new google gear!

my dad loves the grandkids too much to

stop playing and focus on a picture! haha

maddie mae was pretty happy about her 

new minnie mouse tent and ski suit!

and my dad made tagg a basketball hoop

with his own face on it...the cutest!

darling camera strap my sister in law

made for me-- she's too talented!

watching tagg open gifts-- maddie was too excited!

tuckered out after all the gifts. 

little elf boy trying on his dad's shoes.

we had a perfect christmas eve spent at home with family.

hope it was magical for everyone!

xo