Christmas Past

Christmas time is here! It’s the most magical time of year that is spent with those we love. By now, you have most likely wrapped up your shopping. See what I did there? The next few days are sure to be filled with holiday baking, candlelight services, and sweet time with family and friends. Santa might even stop by and eat a cookie or two and leave the perfect gift, just for you.

I love all the holiday parties this time of year. There are ugly sweater contests, sugar cookie decorating, gingerbread houses being built, and white elephant gift exchanges. Christmas parties require preparation and although they are fun, they can sometimes be exhausting. There are many tips and pinterest clicks to help make things easy. But I wanted to share one festive idea that made things easy for me AND was something fun for my guests to enjoy! I had a few friends over for a “Girls Night” and I had a hot chocolate bar! It was super simple to put together and who doesn’t love hot chocolate? I made hot chocolate in the crock pot and you can find that recipe here. For toppings, I had marshmallows (all the sizes), some dipped in chocolate and on sticks for stirring. I also had candy canes, crushed peppermint, chocolate chips, and whipped cream. The options for toppings are endless, but I kept to the basics. This was such an easy and fun idea and I will definitely be doing it again in the future!

As always with this time of year, the holidays bring back memories from Christmases past. Memories from childhood, your first years of marriage, first years with kiddos, and holiday trips. Memories of your favorite gifts and maybe even memories of your worst gifts (ha!). With that in mind, I wanted to share with you one of my funniest Christmas memories since being married. It was our first Christmas together and we celebrated a few days early because we were going back to Texas. We made a night out of it (as you should, obviously) and we had such a fun evening. As we were opening gifts, I opened a beautiful shirt from Colten. It really was a great shirt, but…a few gifts later I opened the EXACT SAME shirt, only a different size. And the best part? After opening the second one, Colten still didn’t realize he had bought two of the exact same shirts! He said, “do you like it??” And I just burst into laughter and said, “Don’t you realize this is the exact same shirt as the previous gift?!” We laughed so hard our stomachs hurt and I for sure will not let him live that one down for years to come! I am still unsure how someone can go to the same store at two different times and purchase the same shirt in two different sizes without realizing it. Not to mention, he had to wrap them both! Regardless of how it happened, it has become one of my favorite memories of our first Christmas together. And if I am being honest, I can’t wait to see what he got me this year… it’s always more fun to open gifts when even the gift giver doesn’t remember what’s in the box!

I really hope that you have a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy the time with family. Worry less about perfection in the kitchen or under the tree, and spend more time making memories and celebrating Christ. If you spend this season without Christ at the center, then you truly have missed the point of Christmas. The presents are fun, the baking is SWEET, but Christ coming to Earth and being born in a lowly manger is WHY we celebrate at all. He gives purpose to all things, and not just at Christmas, but all year long. It wouldn’t be a proper “Christmas Past” post if I failed to mention that very first and certainly most special Christmas.

Enjoy the season, friends, and have yourself a merry little Christmas!

Always,

Aimee