It's a Not-Sunday-Snapshots! Featuring photos taken with my new cell phone. My Christmas request from A. this year was a new cell phone to replace my several-years-old one with a cracked screen that wouldn't hold a charge anymore. I also asked him to do all the set-up for it.
He did, so now I have a much better camera to take my very not-professional photos.
Like these!
How it started . . .
And the aftermath.
Actually, that messy living room is not as bad as it could have been, since I was diligent about gathering trash in one bag and reusable bags in another as presents were opened. I really dislike the carpet of wrapping materials all over the floor. It makes it hard to walk around, and inevitably someone loses a gift under the mess.
Anyway.
Speaking of gifts! This is the knife one boy made for his brother.
I believe he modeled it on a style of knife used by the Bedouin. Welcome to Christmas with multiple boys.
Our family is definitely a bunch of readers, and we have added a new reader to the club.
She got a reading light for her bed so she can read for a few minutes at bedtime, just like her brothers, and she is thrilled about this. Bookworms 'r' Us.
It was always traditional in A.'s family to have whole nuts in Christmas stockings, which I do with our children, as well. After the stockings are investigated, I gather all the nuts into a communal bowl for eating.
This year, I used a new bowl my dad made to corral the nuts, and I made it the centerpiece of our Christmas dinner table.
With the same arrangement of weeds that was on the table at Thanksgiving, made Christmas-y by some random gold leaves that were, I think, in a bunch of flowers my sister brought me last year, and the cardinal wreath ornament chosen by one of my sons years ago at a farmstand store that sold Christmas things seasonally.
There was, of course, the much-anticipated Christmas feast. I'll save the photo from that for the Friday Food recap, but I will just mention here, as particularly appropriate for the day that used to be all about growing food on this site, that I used parsley from the garden in the meal. Parsley from outside. That's a seriously hardy herb.
We finished up the day watching A Christmas Story, and that was a wrap (ha) on Christmas Day 2023.
What a gorgeous centerpiece! I always think of cardinals as Christmas birds.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it cool how as the kids get older they think about giving each other presents and not just getting? My adult kids gave presents to the young ones, but my boys were also plotting and planning gifts for them. No knives involved though- they had bought a 3d printer and went creative on making a yarn bowl, video game holders, and other things.
I hope your readers enjoy their books!
Sounds like a wonderful day. That bowl your dad made is spectacular, as is the knife. My brother once showed up at a party and whipped out a big Bowie knife. "I made this and I thought you'd like to see it." He was right, I did.
ReplyDeleteWe always got oranges in our stockings. And Pez dispensers. I think because she could get a different one for each of us (qty. 5), it was easy and equitable.
Thanks for sharing your photos!
I am so happy that you all had a wonderful Christmas. My family also had the tradition of whole nuts--and passed the nut cracker around all day! And, what a blessing to have four young readers--they will do well in life. Mary in MN
ReplyDeleteGreat knife! My favorite way to relax before going to sleep, reading.
ReplyDeleteLinda