I spent some time on the internet learning how to cut out the perfect paper snowflake, which the girls decorated (not that, even with tutorials, I managed to make nice snowflakes). I also had the brilliant idea of getting Evie some glitter...which resulted in my having to spend a lot of time cleaning up glitter.
And there were some healthy snacks in between all the cookies and treats:
On Christmas Eve, we started our day off with a walk to the big playground. Evie astounded us all with her scooter skills:
Longing for summer days at the paddling pool:
Enthusiastic Christmas Eve swinging:
And sliding:
After which, we were all cold, so we went home.
Back at home, we discovered Spotify and were able to dance away several hours to fun Christmas music:
And then it was time to get ready for Santa! The girls wrote a letter:
And left some Snickerdoodles and Milk for Santa:
And don't forget about the reindeer! Millie was in charge of quality control:
In the morning, we didn't hear the pitter patter of little feet until almost 7:30...a Christmas morning miracle! Evie quickly put on her boots and checked to see that the reindeer had eaten the carrots. They had! Then she confirmed that Santa had also scarfed down the cookies and milk.
The stockings were filled with fun goodies!
And we all got some pretty wonderful gifts from Santa and beyond!
Matching PJs are super cute!
Merry Christmas!
Dollies got mixed reviews...Millie wasn't so sure.
Evie was smitten.
A Disney Princesses sleeping bag continues to provide daily entertainment:
And Santa was really paying attention!
The princess dress inspired instant stripping down:
The queen of Christmas!
I'm happy to report that there were no meltdowns at any point on Christmas morning thanks to lots of rest between all the excitement:
....and a lot of coffee.
We have made some wonderful friends in London and Di and Andrew (who we met under unfortunate circumstances: Jim's chicken pox) were kind enough to invite us to their family Christmas lunch. On Christmas in England they pull Christmas crackers and doing it with a truly British family made it even more fun! Evie was a cracker enthusiast!
Millie was not as much of a fan, but once she got settled in with all the noise, she was happy again.
Andrew and his sister Henrietta shared their cracker jokes.
Di and Archie.
One thing that we haven't quite managed to embrace is Christmas plum pudding, although it is pretty spectacular as it comes to the table all aflame. But, as Americans, we just can't get used to the taste. Everyone else thought it was delicious, though.
The girls had a blast playing with Di and Andrews grand-nieces and Evie, in particular, was very distraught when we had to leave.
But we had to go home and get some rest before the Nutcracker the next day! The English National Ballet does a couple of family friendly performances, so I bought tickets back in July. Unfortunately, Millie doesn't have the attention span to sit through a ballet, so she stayed home, but Evie dressed up in her special dress and her fancy coat and we headed to the London Coliseum for the performance.
Window shopping on the way:
It was a great excuse for Jim to wear his new alligator belt.
Waiting patiently for the green man in Covent Garden. Evie is very dedicated to traffic safety and will tell you that you are naughty if you cross on red.
Waving to Daddy in front of the London Coliseum.
Inside, we made a toast before the ballet.
And read the story of Clara and the Nutcracker.
Evie made a friend and demonstrated her graceful ballet moves:
And then we met up with her real friend from school, Hannah, who shared some chocolate coins and then headed to her superior seats.
The theater was beautiful and ornate and it was fun to look down onto the orchestra with a very excited little girl.
...although she was a little distracted by her chocolate coin.
At first, because she had never been to a live ballet before, Evie was a little confused by the stage. She seemed not to realize that it wasn't TV, but we finally cleared that up. During the first act, she kept saying she wanted to go home, but once the fighting with the mice and the dance of the snowflakes started, she got very interested. Since it was a family friendly production, it was fine that she chit chatted through the entire thing. And it's always fun for me to see a new (to me) production of the Nutcracker because they are all a little different. In this one, children played Clara and her friends and brother in the first act, but once she fell asleep and started to dream, all of the main characters were played by adults. Also, the Nutcracker was one person when he had his Nutcracker head on and someone else when he didn't. The mouse king didn't die until well into the second act and in both the English National Ballet and the Royal Ballet, it's a dream, but then, at the end, Clara meets the young man who plays the Nutrcracker prince again (as her uncle's assistant).
After all that action, we were hungry!
Somehow, Evie kept spaghetti sauce off of her fancy dress.
And before we headed back home, we wandered through Chinatown, which was fun.
There was a tube strike, so we took the bus back home and discovered that we can go, on the bus, straight to a TK Maxx (same as TJ Maxx...don't ask me why they switched the letter. I wonder if there are also TL and TM Maxx somewhere in the world)! So, I'll be doing that sometime!
It was a great day out with Evie and a wonderful way to end a very fun Christmas.
