La Vida Fantástica: Low Key Christmas

Well, it was a low key Christmas at the Thomsen household this year. This holiday season, Matt and I have really missed our family back home in the states! This year was also our first Christmas without cold and snow! It made us realize just how much our Christmas spirits depend upon the wintry goodness that others flock to Florida to get away from! Nevertheless, despite 50 degrees and wind, we made the best of it!

For us, Christmas time isn't really about the gifts. It's about spending time with the ones you love. And so we did!

Hey Tristin, it's your birthday... you gonna party like it's your birthday. Yeahhhhh, not exactly an out of control bash, but these days, I prefer my puppy/couch time.

Christmas Eve, I locked myself away in the guestroom to wrap a few last gifts for the boys. Matt found them waiting outside the door in the hall. There's no fooling them! I think they could smell the rubber toys and bacon treats from a mile away. :)

We decided to open gifts Xmas eve since Christmas would be such a busy day visiting friends. The boys did not debate this decision. As you can see (both with presents in mouth) they were pretty excited to get the party started.

Christmas day was a wonderful day that started at our friends Andy & Alicia's house for brunch and kiddo/toy playtime. Christmas morning isn't really Christmas morning without kiddos running around playing with new toys! (FYI: the term "kiddo" is not age specific. So, if you're 42 and were really excited to open your new bow, lawn mower, snowshoes...etc., you're probably still a kiddo on Christmas morning.) After the delicious brunch with our friends we walked the pups, hurriedly made some food and then hustled over another friends place for a fun white elephant (aka junk) exchange and a scrumptious potluck Christmas dinner. The night concluded with some girl talk into the evening while the men worked hard to get a new batch of beer brewing. It was a busy and amazing day, and by the end of it all, we were all exhausted.

Just yesterday we decided it was time to take our dead tree down. I remember being so excited and surprised to see that we could have a real tree way down here in southern Spain! Wow! A real tree! How is that even possible? Well, I now know that it's not possible. They just want you to think it's possible. Oh, and it might be possible for a week, but anything longer than that and your left with this lovely trail through your living room. :)