Our Cozy Family Christmas

Happy New Year! This was the first year that Garrett has had the holidays off and it’s been lovely to have him home for so much time. We’ve been visiting our families, but we’ve also spent some good time at home just hanging out together over the last two weeks. Lucy turned seven months old and has been such a joy to be with, making it a truly wonderful time. Her first Christmas was as heartwarming and magical as I’d hoped it would be.

We’ve had a real winter wonderland here the last couple of weeks, with snowstorms every few days. On this particular day, we were headed to a Christmas dinner at my aunt’s house up north and hit a white wall of snow…and then suddenly it was gone. When we showed up, the whole house smelled like the perfectly roasted turkey that awaited us.

This was the first time that Lucy got to meet all her second cousins, including the newest addition. It won’t be too long before those three little girls will keep the boys on their toes!

Lucy got right into the unwrapping of gifts. The more crinkly the paper, the better.

That weekend we also celebrated my sister’s birthday. My mom made this ridiculously yummy Peppermint Chocolate Cheesecake, that was a huge hit.

It was nice to have a little quiet dinner with the family amidst the busy holiday season.

A few short days later and it was already Christmas dinner at my in-laws’ house. They always put on a great meal and it was lovely to see the whole family.

Lucy got all dolled up in this cute buffalo check Christmas dress. Is there anything sweeter than a little babe all dressed up for the holidays? I had lots of fun picking out her outfits for each occasion.

Lucy is always smitten with her great Nana and especially loves the little Polish nursery rhymes she sings her. Garrett’s great uncle passed away the week before Christmas, making it a very hard time of year for his Nana and her sister, the last two of their siblings. They were just young girls when they were taken from their home and sent to a work camp in Siberia in WWII, where their parents died. Their brother fought in the war and was the one who found them years later in a British refugee camp in India. He brought them home with him to England, and then they eventually all came to Canada, where they made homes and started families. I only met him once but I’ve heard lovely stories of him over the years and I’ve tucked away some mementoes of him for Lucy when she is older. He lived a very good, long life and what more can we hope for.

It meant that we all squeezed each other a little harder and looked to the new generation to continue on the family stories.

Unwrapping gifts and spending more time focused on the bows and tissue than what’s inside, ha! She was so spoiled with new toys, books and clothes (which I greatly appreciate because she is growing out of everything so fast!)

On Christmas Eve, we headed over to my parents’ house for dinner with the family. My mom had the whole house decorated, including her Christmas village with some new streetlights.

On my first Christmas, I wore this red velvet dress with its delicate white lace collar, and my mother had lovingly kept it for the next generation. It was a gift from my grandparents from Holt Renfrew and I guess it’s practically vintage now, ha! I loved being able to share this family heirloom with her.

The stars of the show this year were Lucy and my cousins’ puppy, Wilbur. These two were all over each other.

It’ll be fun to see them grow up together over the years.

It was a really lovely evening full of great food and good laughs.

Just like her father, my cousin managed to pick the funniest “outfit” from our White Elephant game. We have a $5 limit, but it’s always interesting to see what everyone brings.

Puppy licks and baby toes 🙂

Such a sweet little face for an adorable troublemaker.

On Christmas morning, we opened up our stockings and gifts at home. Whiskey was happy to help Garrett look through his goodies.

Lucy was a big help opening ALL the gifts. I do worry though that we’ve created a bit of a monster.

We let her open the big gift from us last…I think we were probably more excited about it than she was.

We got her a little walker that turns into a shopping cart when she’s older. As soon as we held her up beside it, she knew to grab the handles and stand up. (I’m just off camera to the side, but she’s getting stronger and stronger on it every day. Hard to believe she’ll be walking on her own soon!)

Once we got word that everyone was up at my parents’ house, we headed over there for Christmas brunch. The night before, my mom had surprised the whole family with matching pyjamas.

Rosy cheeks and two bottom teeth!

We had a lovely morning, opening gifts to one another, eating our fair share of strata and peppermint bark.

Lucy wouldnt’ give into a nap all morning when there was so much fun going on…

…and then crashed hard right as we were about to leave. She cuddled in my great aunt’s arms while I loaded up the car. Those little booties were her Christmas stockings last year when I was pregnant.

We headed over to Garrett’s parents to spend some of Christmas Day with them as well. It was nice to spend some quiet time with them on the holiday and let Lucy soak up more time with her grandparents.

For the rest of the week, we kept it low key – just lots of time at home together…

…especially with the dogs.

We had both sets of grandparents over for dinner one night as well. It’s become a bit of a tradition the last few years, having them all over at some point during the holidays so that they can get together too.

This Christmas, celebrating Lucy’s first, was easily one of the very best I’ve ever had. Here she is in the same Christmas pyjamas that I wore when I was a little baby (although they’re a wee bit tighter on my tall girl). I’m so glad my mom saved some of these treasured pieces to pass on and I hope to do that for Lucy someday too.

The holidays were lovely, but I’m looking forward to cleaning the house up and getting back into the swing of things. I’ll be back to regular blogging this week, with new projects, recipes and a fun giveaway this month! I hope you all had a lovely holiday and that you’re ready for what 2017 brings you!