Our Christmas Season

I wrote most of this blog over a month ago and am just now getting around to finishing it!  I clearly have not been on the blogging ball.

Christmas started early In the Helfer household.  We had a busy couple of weeks ahead so we got our Christmas tree the week before Thanksgiving.  Since Thanksgiving was early this year, I was just hoping we didn’t have a fire hazard come Christmas Day.

We went to Lowes this year and actually got a really good tree!  {Maybe because we got first pick.}  James was very excited!  Notice he’s not touching the ground here…

We picked out the perfect tree…

and were on our way.

We decorated our tree and house, a calmer experience than last year.

And the amazement began.

Every morning after we put the tree up, James would lay on the floor in front of the fireplace waiting for Santa.  So we made a Christmas chain to help us with the countdown.

Christmas jammies were almost expected to be clean every night…

The morning after Thanksgiving, our Elf on the Shelf arrived!  James named him “Elf” last year.  I thought that maybe since he is older, he might want to give him a more creative name, but he named him “James.”  We decided to stick with “Elf.” {Justin grew a beard, like most Vets do, that lasted until his 30th birthday.}

Elf first made his appearance in the nutcrackers, and has moved all over the house since.

We had our first candy canes of the season!

James got his Christmas basket!  {Most of the stuff was purchased after Christmas last year on clearance... just so I don’t look like a mega consumer.}

James LOVES getting his Christmas basket each year.  In fact, we lived and breathed everything Christmas for the month of December.  And I loved it.  I was concerned about a Helfer depression on December 26th. 

Luckily we had some best friends come to visit so, Christmas was sadly and thankfully just a memory.

We went to see Saluda Shoals lights one night, and James was mesmerized.  We actually drove around to see Christmas lights a couple nights a week, always ending with our own Grizwald house. 

We made a gingerbread house that was not a masterpiece, but nonetheless gave me one of those sentimental life doesn’t get much better than this feelings.

We saw the singing bears at Richland Mall, but did not take a picture because James repeatedly said “I don’t yike this.”  However, we saw soldiers play Christmas music while shopping on post one day.  it was pretty awesome, and James insisted we stay for quite some time.

We decorated Christmas cookies.

We celebrated Hanukkah with The Helfers!

We had hot chocolate dates.

We especially tried to keep focus on the true meaning of Christmas.  We took James to his first church service on Christmas Eve, rather than the nursery.  We also saw the live nativity of the Christmas story.

We had one excited boy Christmas Eve night.

We left cookies and milk for Santa.  I never got around to making cookies so, he got nilla wafers.  James licked one entirely before putting it on the plate.  sheesh.

One little reindeer stayed up waiting for Santa.

We had a great Christmas day with hardly any pictures… oops!  We had a quiet Christmas morning with just the three of us and Lynyrd of course.  Then, Sandy and Nanny came over for Christmas dinner.

We had a wonderful Christmas season, and we especially have so much to be thankful for.  Merry Christmas and God Bless, for He is the reason for the season!