We started the day with a trip to the holiday train display at the Cincinnati Museum Center. The kids' eyes were huge as they soaked in all there was to see. Their favorite part was riding on the kiddie train. At the end of the exhibit, we were all surprised to see Santa! Brooke was so enthused to talk to him one last time before Christmas; Joe - not so much. After some serious coercion (and a promise I wouldn't let go of him,) we managed to talk him into sitting down with Santa for a chat. During this quick conversation, Santa told the kids that they were, in fact, on his Nice List. I'll never forget how surprised and proud Brooke's face was upon hearing this. (I think she was nervous before this...haha.) It was a great way to start our day!
After naps, we headed to church. This was the one part of the day that was a challenge for me. Allow me to explain. Christmas Eve mass is something my kids have never experienced. I grew up attending Midnight Mass. This is a tradition I would LOVE to continue with my kids...when they're older. Before we were old enough (around 6yo), we went to bed as usual and my grandma or another family member stayed with us. The past few years, the husband has just stayed home with our sleeping babies and I've gone to mass with my parents and siblings. But this year I felt this overwhelming guilt that my kids hadn't been to a Christmas mass, one of the most important masses of the year. So we decided to go to 4:30 Mass at our church to experience it as a family.
Big mistake. Here's the thing: I have never been to a regular Christmas Eve mass. Since I was 6 years old, I've been to Midnight Mass at St. Rita's all but one year (the year my mom had to take me to the ER with an unexplainable heart rate of 230 bpm.) So I completely underestimated how early we needed to be there to actually sit down. 15 minutes was clearly not enough :( We ended up standing with the kids at the back of church, trying to explain to them why we didn't get to sit down. A very kind old lady in the back row made enough room for me to sit with a kid on my lap, which ended up being pretty difficult considering my lap is significantly smaller these days and we had very large coats on. Mass was long, the kids were antsy, and I was exhausted by the time it was over. When we got in the van to leave, it was very quickly decided that the husband needed a drink & I needed lots & lots of sugar the moment we got home. Considering the circumstances, the kids were quite good so we were all in pretty good spirits about the whole thing. Never again, I tell you. (They had zero interest in taking pictures when we got home, and I didn't blame them. One quick picture in their fancy clothes and then into Christmas jammies they went!)
After dinner, we decorated Santa's cookies with the same sense of wild abandon with which we made the cookies. Messes, finger-licking, and ohhhhh-so-many sprinkles. Just take a look at all the sprinkles on her cookie; crunchiest cookie of all time. Joe, on the other hand, placed each sprinkle individually and quite strategically. (Apologies for the terrible-quality photos. Have I ever mentioned how much I despise the lighting in my kitchen? Ugh.)
While I cleaned up alllll the sprinkles, the kids cozied up on the couch with Daddy to watch Frosty the Snowman. Then we had a very special snack of hot chocolate and cookies. (Hot chocolate is a HUGE crowd favorite for these little guys.) After a snack, the 4 of us snuggled up to read a few Christmas stories before bed. Last but not least, the kids excitedly picked out 2 of their favorite cookies to leave on the fireplace with some milk for Santa.
After tucking the kids into bed (and before the craziness of Santa-prep began), I took a very brief minute to really reflect on the day. It really was as magical as I had hoped it would be. And I'm hopeful that we can create these magical Christmas Eves every year.
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