Christmas Recap!

Yes, I know that it's February. But it's still white outside (as evidenced by nearly every entry in 2010) and I'm still playing Christmas carols inside, so it's only appropriate that I share my Christmas highlights with you now. We celebrated our first Christmas in our new house this year with just a small group of family and friends, but it was nice and casual and low-key, like all great holidays should be (except for Valentine's day and Anniversaries, of course- those should have all the bells and whistles...hint, hint, hint!).

In addition to a great Christmas, we were blessed with receiving many fabulous gifts! Here's a recap of my top 5 favorite gifts:

1) AAA Membership from my dad - we've already used it three times this past month! Twice for my car and once for the discount on a car rental. As a side note, this is the best "practical" gift I think we've every gotten and although it's not very glamorous, it's fabulous to know that we have it for the next year, especially with all my trips back and forth to Denver. I think the story about me running out of gas on the interstate in the middle of nowhere Nebraska this last year helped dad to put this at the top of the list!

2) A dual controlled heating blanket from Donna and Bernardo - how did we EVER live without this? Ahhh.... just thinking about it almost makes up for the piles of snow outside of my window. Do you know how much a difference a toasty bed makes to get into every night?

3) Our annual Swarovski Christmas Ornament from Marty and Patti - this was a tradition they started our first year of marriage and it's a wonderful tradition and so much fun to open and put on our tree each year! We now have 5 beautiful crystal ornaments and they catch the twinkle lights just right on the tree!

4) A Story People sculpture from my mom - Lawrence and I have always loved Story People and I got my mom hooked on them, too. The artist is originally from Iowa and is super quirky with fun, childish drawings and random, wise sayings. The even better part? The sculpture fits perfectly in our little hallway niche that I was stressed about finding something for. And I can see it from my desk right now. It's like it was made for our little house.

5) A carton of mandarin oranges from my Aunt Janet- this was actually our first Christmas gift and it arrived in early December and what a lovely little gift of California sunshine it was. Doesn't this just look like a tasty box of happy?

Okay, I know I just said five but I'd be remiss if I also didn't mention the fabulous Smash T-shirt I got from Lawrence, the amazing printer from my dad and Sarina (it prints wirelessly AND double-sided... be still my heart!), and the generous check from my mom to go towards our basement remodel. More than any gift, we are fortunate to have so many family and friends who love us and who we are able to love and share the holidays with, both near and far. Just one more reason why I love Christmas!

PS- there are 316 days until Christmas 2010... Just in case you were wondering! Let the paper chains begin!