Cousins' Christmas 2016

Part Two of our holiday travels consisted of "Cousins' Christmas" in Williamsburg.  For many years, we called this "Brothers' Christmas", as Bean and Poppy hosted their sons and families over Winter Break.  But somehow, the grandchildren changed the name of this celebration to "Cousins' Christmas", which is quite fitting for the 6 human and 3 doggie cousins that run the show these days.  Bean and Poppy displayed this sign on their table this year, which is absolutely perfect for our crew!

There are so many exciting parts of Cousins' Christmas, which are now traditions that the children anticipate with joy.  There are the Cousin Presents that they give each other, which often elicit adorable reactions:

Gabe's presents for his cousins.

L&L's gift for Gabe.  

"Back to Back" presents have been a tradition since Mark and his brothers were young, and are fun for cousins who open similar presents at the same time! 

Pokemon and Lego Back-to-Back presents.

Comparing their Pokemon cards.

Love these boys!

Alexis and Lauren's Back-to-Back, with Scout's help!

4th grade chefs with their monogrammed aprons!

A 3-person Back-to-Back present with dogs closely "supervising"!

 This year, Cousins' Christmas = Legos and Pokemon for the three youngest cousins:

Cousins' Christmas also means playing games together, reading books, and even chess with willing uncles!

Cousins' Christmas is a houseful of joyful chaos, with the Christmas tree up high on a table out of the reach of wagging tails and inquisitive paws...

(Of course, there are presents for the furry cousins, too!)

 Cousins' Christmas means time to bond and snuggle, too.  After years of Winnie being "loved" by her cousins, the tables have turned, and our children smothered their doggie (and human) cousins just a little bit...

Hailey was very patient and sweet with Leah.

Never enough hugs.

Giving Bean & Poppy their presents.

 Cousins' Christmas fell on New Year's Eve this year, and we went out for dinner to celebrate (Who says we aren't fun?  5:00 p.m. is the new midnight!).  I marveled at the institution of the completely independent "Kids Table" this year.  They ordered for themselves and wanted nothing to do with us boring grown ups at the Adult Table! 

The next morning, we had our annual birthday party for Baby Jesus, with church at home, complete with special readings and music.   

And there were even more cousins that afternoon at the Offutt Family Christmas party, with Great Grammy as the guest of honor:  

There were 28 people at this family party, and the children have so much fun together.  Some of these cousins only see each other at the beach and at Christmas time, and they pick up right where they left off, playing as if no time at all has passed. 

I had to take a picture of these boys playing with the pink princess castle!

"Big Tall Mark" is Everett's special buddy.

This kid sat down right away to read his book from Great Grammy.

When you're the oldest cousin (and a teenager!), you will always have little fans!

Another Kids' Table full of first and second cousins!  

These cousins may grow older and taller every year (Maya is now the tallest Winterhoff girl/woman!).  But no matter how big they get, we treasure these children and the gift of Cousins' Christmas together each December.  Thank you, Bean and Poppy! 

Christmas: Part 1

The first part of our Christmas celebrations took place in Pennsylvania this year.  The kids had school through the Wednesday of Christmas week, and were literally quivering with excitement as they counted down the days until Winter Break.  On Friday morning, we drove to PA to join Mimi, Grandpa, Gawa, Beanie, and Mia (Beanie's dog).  For the past several years, we've gone to Chocolate World on Christmas Eve morning.  It's decked out with holiday decorations, and hardly anyone is there, which makes it the perfect way to enjoy a sweet morning in Hershey.  

 

Milkshakes are a must every time we visit!  

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We continued our "sweet" theme as we decorated cookies for Santa in the afternoon, and Leah helped Mimi bake an apple pie: 

This Santa hat has literally been on the heads of my children since late November.  I can't stand the cuteness.  

We dressed up in our Christmas finery for the Christmas Eve church service, and Mommy was in denial that they really do look like such big kids...

After church, L&L set out a cookie plate for Santa and left him special messages:

The children sprinkled reindeer food in the yard, to help Santa's crew find their way to Mimi's house:

 

Love the magical reindeer glitter!

All is (almost) calm, all is bright!  

It looks like the reindeer food worked!  Here's our favorite little reindeer! 

We agreed on 7:00 a.m. as the time that we would go downstairs on Christmas morning.  However, we didn't count on the fact that Luke would be "too excited to sleep" and would wake up at 2:30 a.m., tossing and turning, staring at the clock.  Leah woke up, too, as she was in her sleeping bag on the floor beside her brother... and in an attempt to keep the kids quiet and in our room in the middle of the night, we all ended up being awake until 6:00 a.m., when we finally drifted off for a short "nap" before heading downstairs shortly after 7 a.m.    Luckily, the excitement of Santa's arrival and presents carried us through the day, and no one melted down.  I write this because I am sure that some day, I will have to wake up sleepy teenagers at a much later hour on Christmas morning, and I would like them to remember that at one time, they did actually try to be awake for as many hours of Christmas day as possible! 

Waiting at the top of the steps on Christmas morning.

Santa left special presents for each child:

Leah's fish tank, accessories, and "coupon" for a betta fish.

Luke's NERF tri-strike modulus and stealth ops kit.  

We opened stockings first, which were full of fun toys, games, and goodies:

Santa gave the kids real walkie talkies in their stockings,  which were a big hit!

 After years of cheap plastic slinkies, Santa decided that the kids should have old fashioned "real" ones.  L&L adored these, and I love this picture of my giant elf in his footie pjs, playing on the steps with his new slinky.

This Christmas was filled with Pokemon cards & binders, and Lego sets for both children.  Luke received a telescope, science kits, a magic show, and many books.  Leah was thrilled with her games, crafts, Finding Dory movie, and new pjs/clothes.  We spent the afternoon playing with new toys, and soaking in the enthusiasm of our children on Christmas Day.  

 

Our Pennsylvania Christmas was full of family and love, and a wonderful start to Winter Break!