Wishes of Joy....

Every year we have fun making our family Christmas card.  Everyone in the family has to approve of the picture(s) and design and then we order it up and send out hundreds of them.  We try to pick pictures that symbolize our year.  This year the card focused on the cottage and NH.  The front picture is at our new favorite waterfall in NH, Pollards Mills waterfall.  The pictures on the back show the girls enjoying the dock and the light house on the lake as well as the dogs ready to come in after a swim in the lake.  The others include a picture of our family in front of a heart sculpture at Decordova where Rod and I got engaged 17 years ago.  A picture of us at the girls dance performance in the spring and in NYC this Thanksgiving when Kelsey had the honor of being in the Macy's day parade.  While all of the kids have grown leaps and bounds this year in height, sports, and school Kelsey's growth has been the most significant.  From the Spring where she was shorter than me till November when she is obviously taller than her mom.  So fun but crazy to see the changes!   Our favorite part of the tradition is receiving other's cards in the mail.  We love seeing the smiling faces of our friends and family and seeing how much the kids have grown each year!!  The cards are one of our favorite parts about the holiday season.  Who doesn't love going to the mailbox and finding something other than bills and junk mail?!

We also keep out old pictures of our kids with Santa...
it's fun to see the growth over the years.  Through smiles or tears.  

There are certain things our family looks forward to each holiday season that embody what the Christmas season means to us.  Fun events where we get together with family and friends and coworkers to celebrate the season!  We are busy in December with regular activities along with baking and decorating for the holiday.  We always make sure to fit these fun activities in!  The holidays just wouldn't be the same without them!  My friend hosts an annual wacky tacky party where we exchange funny silly tacky gifts.  Lots of laughs and fun.  Kelsey even hosted her own here this year with her friends.  New traditions beginning.  We go out for Chinese food with one of our favorite families every year in December.  The girls get out of dance and we all head over to hit the buffet.  Kels and one of her besties always exchange pi's for Christmas.  This year they asked if they should go the traditional route or mix things up.  Why ruin a good thing?  Pj's and chinese is a good tradition!

We also go out with our friends for a holiday brunch each year at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester. Best brunch ever!  Santa, Christmas trees, and a wonderful face painter.  Plus the company is wonderful too!  The kids act like they own the place and we literally stay the entire brunch from 10:30-2:00.  We hang out with kids and adults and get a chance to catch up and celebrate the holiday with some of our favorite people in the world.  Many of us have known each other since elementary school and they are all so important to us.  Our kids adore my friends' kids which I love!  This year my dad and Penny joined us for part of the brunch as they had taken our girls on an overnight to Sturbridge Village as their Christmas present.  Since they were meeting us at the hotel to pass off the kids we invited them to join us!  

The kids also love Rod's company party.  Of course it's fun that they are invited and the party is at his office so they get to get all dressed up but it is also casual and low key because it is not in a restaurant.  This year the theme was over the top and so much fun for everyone!  "Neorouge" was Neoscape's version of Moulan Rouge.  They even made a write up of fun Boston holiday parties.  http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/12/20/best-holiday-parties-boston-tech-companies/  It was all that and more!  We surprised the girls by getting picked up in a limo.  It ended up being a stretch limo in order to fit two families.  They were pumped and we rode in and out of Boston in style!  Such a fun way to start out a fun night complete with acrobats, contortionists, stilt walkers, a photo booth, and more!  

Wishing you all the joy of the holiday season whether it's at traditional Christmas Eve get togethers or non-traditional company parties!  Have a fun and festive holiday!