The Christmas Season

12/27/2021

This year has truly flown by, and Christmas was around the corner before I even knew it. My family and I made some holiday treats, played a few games, watched movies, and opened presents on Christmas morning, enjoying all of it! But the fun started before Christmas Eve, since we did a few other winter activities before that!

Before Christmas

It all started when we decorated the house for the holidays, with our tree, a garland, stocking, and a few other details...of course, we listened to Christmas carols as we worked.

Oh, and we had some chocolate chip cookies, candy canes, Dandies marshmallows, and oat-based eggnog too!

We also made a trip to Chicago where we stayed at the Palmer House which was decorated very nicely for Christmas!

Mami made sure to take some pictures of my sister and myself as we usually do every year. These were similar to one that we took several years ago...

My little sister is on the left and I'm on the right

Our original plan for Chicago was to go ice skating, but our plans for that were canceled because of the rain. However, we still managed to do some ice skating locally, and my aunt and cousin came along too.

It was my second time ever ice skating, so of course I couldn't keep my balance! I wouldn't let go of the railing and eventually I managed to use one of the scooters to help me out.

Christmas

Finally came Christmas! On Christmas Eve, there were tasty treats, but not many pictures were taken that day. I made some rice crispy treats that were a hit (first dessert finished), and my Mami made cookies (chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies) as well as peppermint bark. For dinner she made a delicious chick'n parmesan using Gardein Ultimate chick'n filets and Violife parmesan. It was amazing!

The movies that we watched included the Night Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original), and Christmas Chronicles. Then on Christmas Day, my sister and I woke up early to see if Santa had come...

...I'm glad to say, that we were both on the nice list :)

...and there was candy in our stocking, no coal.

My sister Ariana and I both got what we had wanted, like a whittling kit for myself and clay, a pottery wheel, and tools for Ariana. We also got easels, brushes, paints, binoculars, and a bunch of other things too!

I'm on a rowing team so Ariana wants to pick up a sport too. She decided on figure skating, so my parents got her a pair of ice skates!

She also got a stuffed animal chicken that she named Pepper (she loves chickens)...

...and I gave her a shirt that I designed. I based it on "Sheldon the Tiny Dinosaur Who Thinks He's a Turtle", which is basically a comic series that my sister found on Pinterest and loves! She really liked the shirt and has already worn it!

One of the gifts that Ariana gave was this shirt to my dad, which I really thought was funny!

And I gave my Mami a cardigan that I knitted for her! I'd been working on it since May and finished either late November or early December.

Ariana gave me a skateboard which I really wanted! I've never skated before, but I want to, and I love the skateboard that she got me!

My Mami and Daddy got me a new bow and arrow. I won't be able to use it just yet, because I don't have anywhere to use or store it, but I'm excited to use it for the first time!