Friday Family Fill-In: Christmas Cheer

This is my very favorite time of the year, and I must say, basking in the glow of the Christmas season is simply MAGICAL with children. Absolutely magical.

We have been having all kinds of holiday fun in our neck o' the woods this month, and for this Friday Family Fill-In, I thought I'd share a little bit of how we've been swimming in Christmas cheer. Warning: picture overload.

For instance, we kicked off the Christmas season by viewing a special video message from Santa:

Banks is in awe. And this is what Raleigh's face looked like pretty much the whole video: shocked!

Raleigh was a little less shocked and a little more terrified upon meeting Santa in person, while Banks was too excited for words: 
 

 Waiting for Santa. Can you tell she's a little uncertain...

...while he couldn't be more excited?!

 And....classic.

This year, we went to Penland Tree Farm, where we selected and cut down a beautiful tree, had fireside s'mores, visited with farm animals, and perused the gift shop:

Although I have fun plans for a few more Christmas crafts this weekend, you can see just a few of the crafts we've created this month, including

Decorating a felt ornament tree

Santa crafting

 And Gingerbread Man crafting

Speaking of gingerbread, my sweet kiddos rocked their Ginger-people shirts for Banks' school Christmas party (shirts made by Goat and Lulu):

We also got to attend Banks' school Christmas program. Before the program, my hub and I encouraged Banks to sing as loud as he possibly could. Afterwards, he proudly told us that he had. Tears, oh the tears. 

Pre-Christmas program 

 And what's Christmas without fun, seasonal treats:

Scrumptious reindeer cupcakes 

Reindeer pancakes for breakfast

Homemade peppermint bark (with the peppermint oh so delicately hammered into smithereens by Banks)

I also had a special "Momma Date" with my little buddy earlier this week, which is something I like to do with him every month or so, to ensure we get some special one-on-one time. For this date, we went on our neighborhood's "Christmas Crawl" (i.e., taking a trolley ride around the neighborhood to see the lights and decorations):

But for us, the most important part of the holiday season is spending time with family; so, we drove to Aiken a few weeks ago to celebrate with the best Nana and Pop in the world and some sweet cousins.

We were also lucky enough to have a weekend visit from Bammy and Digby, who babysat the kids one night so that my hub and I could attend our first neighborhood Christmas party bash:

 The photo's a little hazy but so was that night. ;)

I have a few more special activities up my sleeve for this, the weekend before Christmas, and am so, so excited to be starting some fun new traditions with my little family. I would also be remiss not to mention Goldy, our elf, who has become a full-on member of our family this month. Please check back on Monday, for a full list, complete with pictures, of each of Goldy's shenanigans. 

For now, though, I simply want to wish you and yours the Merriest of Christmases. From our family to yours, with love from our new home in Fort Mill: