Christmasing {Christmas Eve}

I know I'm sounding like a broken record when I write it on almost every post, but it's true and I'm just gonna write it again: It's so fun to be back in Utah, closer to the fam, and able to join in on the get-togethers and traditions that we missed while we were out of the state.  One such tradition: The Blanchard Christmas Eve Extravaganza!  It's quite the day of eating, visiting, playing, eating, exchanging and opening gifts, opening stockings, laughing, skyping, dressing up for a nativity, and . . . eating (because we're Blanchards).  The Blanchard Fam knows how to have a party, that's for sure!

The day started off with everyone meeting at Sweet Tomatoes for lunch.  All-you-can-eat salad and soup bar (and of course serve-yourself-soft-serve for dessert) - yummorama!

Cute cuzzies.

Sleepy Sam - good thing he's got a Grandma who
likes to snuggle!

When we finished our meal, we headed back to Grandpa and Grandma's house where the kids and grandma and aunties helped to decorate a darling gingerbread house.

Such a masterpiece and excellent group effort.

Post-gingerbreading, we just lounged about.  High on the list of priorities: snuggling and reading.

Then we got to spend a delightful hour visiting with Ryan in Belgium via Skype, followed by more visiting with each other in person, and more visiting via Skype with Elisabeth in Virginia (poor Katie was sick in bed, so we didn't get to see her).  All the visiting and Skyping was only topped off my even more Sam snuggling.  (Not pictured: Gregg "helping" his sisters and Bret assemble the ginormous and very intricate marble monstrosity that Grandma and Grandpa bought for the family.)

I LOVE this pic of all the boy cousins!

Finally, it was time to eat (again)!  We enjoyed the traditional spread of deli sandwiches, chicken nuggets, shrimp, egg rolls, chips and dip, clam chowder and oyster stew.  Hom nom nom.  After dinner we opened presents - the cousins exchanged fun things with each other and everyone opened our Open Christmas Eve gifts from Paul/Kim/Grandpa/Grandma.

The Wihongi boys picked out this adorable panda hat for Sam.

Books for all the kiddos from Gpa and Gma.

And jammies to go with those books.  Cozy critters!

We dug into Grandma's pashmina collection to make costumes for the kiddies to wear for a mini-nativity, narrated by Grandpa.  Melia suggested that Callie and Cohen be Mary and Joseph "since they're almost the same age".  (Her logic would have made more sense if she and Dray were Mary and Joseph since they are actually a lot closer in age, but I think she just really wanted to be the angel. ;)

After a fun movie put together by Scott highlighting all the great times we shared during 2015, we all came upstairs to discover stockings stuffed by Grandma.  Lots of fun goodies and treats were stuffed into those socks.

We finished the night off with a delicious crepe bar for dessert and then we packed up the car and headed home to put the (over) tired kids to bed.  Fun day with fun people celebrating the best thing that ever happened to the world.