Christmas Eve, 2014

We celebrated Christmas Eve this year the same way we usually do. We had Garyldine, Jim, and Aunt Jody over to our house to eat pizza and exchange some funny gifts with one another. This is the night that Katie always gets to share her gifts that she chooses when we go shopping at the dollar store. It always excites her to hand out the presents that she chose for people. It's also funny to see what she sometimes views as the perfect present.

At the end of our celebrations, I convinced Katie to get into her Christmas pajamas - only to discover that her pajamas had arrived a little mixed up. The shirt was the right size, and the pants were two sizes too big. So much for Christmas pajamas. After several selections, it was not too surprising to see that Katie chose to wear Elsa for Christmas morning.

Even though it was late, Katie still insisted on her bedtime stories before bed. We quickly read stories and got into bed, where shockingly, she fell asleep pretty quickly!

My Christmas Eve started with a card from my cousin, Ian! 

He sent a picture just for me and gave me a Winnie the Pooh card! I loved it! 

While I waited for our party to start, my mom let me open Grammy Noreen's and Grandpa Joe's present one day early. I couldn't wait! 

I was so happy to get a Look and Find Frozen book! 

I started looking and finding right away! 

I also got a Dora coloring book, and... 

…an Elf on the Shelf coloring book that came with stickers! 

I had to take time to read the card! 

I always love cards! 

I couldn't believe what I found last! 

It was an Elsa Christmas tree ornament! I played with it for a long time before I even considered hanging it on the tree. 

At dinner, I had a few of my leftover potato chips, but mostly I ate peppers. I love peppers! 

My friend, Ella, gave me a flying fairy! It was magical! 

Jim was the perfect recipient for the beautiful snow globe that we had! 

I was excited as I waited for Aunt Jody to open the beaded necklace!

I knew that Garyldine would love the pirate sword that I found at the dollar store. It lit up and everything! 

My favorite gift I got her though was her $1 pack of eye make-up. When I was shopping, I saw the make-up and automatically said, "I know who needs that!" I took a long time to pick the perfect colors for her! 

Jim liked his special straw that we gave him.

After opening gifts, Jim read my new Frozen book. Somehow he turned the story into a story of struggling Mexicans working in the fields. I thought it was funny! 

At the end of the night, I made necklaces for everyone and then got prepared for Santa to come visit!