and then we all sat down to watch The Snowman together,
before putting out some cookies, and heading off to bed.
Christmas morning started around 7:30...a Christmas miracle in and of itself! There may be something to having a week off beforehand, to get used to sleeping in.
First thing in the morning, the girls discovered presents under THEIR tree, just outside the doors to their room.
And then we all headed downstairs.
The girls, as you can see in the video, got a big, new playhouse from Santa and their Elf on the Shelf, Snowflake.
It was interesting, Sabine realized pretty quickly that Snowflake was gone, and accepted it without much fanfare. Aspen has been asking about Snowflake all week, and can now tell you that she is "home, with Santa!" but I think she still misses her. She found a picture of Snowflake on Sabine's camera, and always asks to see it.
Sabine got the very Rapunzel costume she had asked Santa for, along with the candy witch costume she wanted for Coral. (Along with a Rapunzel costume for Coral, and a Rapunzel wig for herself, which had not been in the catalog, but Santa somehow knew would be a big win.)
Aspen got some new kitchen accessories, a teapot and a blender for making smoothies.
The girls have already spent tons of time in the new cottage, pretending tea/smoothie/laundry store. They serve a variety of clientele.
The girls were spoiled rotten, with lots of lovely gifts from lots of lovely people, including Santa. One of the big wins, for Aspen, was a new baby doll from mommy's French friend, Maud. Aspen has named the baby girl Ernie, and Ernie has gone several places with us, and even took a nap with Aspen on Christmas day.
Here are some other highlights:
After the gift-opening part of the morning was done, Aunt Dani, Nana, and the cousins showed up and joined us for a fun brunch together.
