A CONOVER CHRISTMAS

I really, truly believe that this is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

For our family, it is where tradition and spontaneity collide.

Where the tastes, smells, sounds, and sights of the holiday season are gifts in and of themselves.

And it is also a time which sparks a tremendous sense of nostalgia within me because my children were conceived during the months of December and January, respectively. So, the idea that children always make this time of year even more special certainly rings true to me.

Here is a glimpse of what the holidays look like in our home, starting with a few photos from holiday's past...

THE SIGHTS

The Hub's and my first Christmas as parents.

...and this is me on Christmas Day two years later, now the mother of two. Baby Kennedy is clearly over it, and Scotty is inadvertently trying to gouge my eye out with a piece of chalk from his easel.

...and Scotty and me a few days later on New Year's Eve 2013.

We have the best neighbors in the world. A friend of ours down the street gave Scotty this -- reindeer food, which is a mixture of rolled oats and glitter, to sprinkle on our lawn on Christmas Eve in anticipation of Santa's arrival.

This train was on the fast track, alright...on the fast track straight to our stomachs. It didn't last 24 hours.

Christmas Eve 2014 at Grandma's.

Scotty on Christmas morning 2014 at home. Yes, he believed.

All of us on Christmas night at home after dinner.

The kids captivated by their train chugging around our Fraser fir, hand-picked by The Hubs. (2015)

The Hubs and Scotty after completed our first gingerbread house of the season.
(Despite Kennedy and me eating half the inventory.)

THE SOUNDS
Here is a glimpse of what is on heavy rotation every Christmas here in our household...


"Santa Claus is coming to town" by The Jackson Five
&
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by The Jackson Five

Any Christmas tune by The Temptations

"Ave Maria" by Celine Dion

Jim Brickman's "The Gift"

"Oh Come All Ye Faithful" by Kelly Price

"Carol of the Bells" by Mannheim Steamroller

"Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

"Christmas Canon" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Bruce Springsteen

THE SIGNATURE SNACK

When The Hubs and I married nearly nine years ago, I began the tradition of baking holidays cookies...and then we had kids, and, ironically, I stopped. But now that Scotty is four and Kennedy is two, they are becoming aware of the whole leave-cookies-out-for-Santa ritual, so back to baking I will go this year. But here's the snack that we REALLY brake for: My Signature Holiday Snack Mix.

AND A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA

Plan on sitting in this New Years Eve? Great! Join the club. We'll be doing the same. Click here for some tips on how to make the night tolerable for the whole family.

Thank you for reading this blog and sharing your time here!!

We wish you and your family a splendid holiday and a prosperous New Year. We'll be back with a brand-spanking new post on Monday, January 4, 2016.

In the meantime, join us on Facebook and Instagram. :-)