A quick pre-Christmas post post-Christmas

Here are the last things we did before the big day!

Actually, we did the advent calendars the entire month.

Gingerbread cookies with icing and sprinkles. We delivered these to the children's nursery and sunbeam teachers. They were warmly received. 

We went to SF's Festival of Lights. We let the kids stand up by the front seat of the car while we drive around listening to Christmas music and looking at all the lights. This year they eat the leftover gingerbread cookies in the car too. It's always fun. And it's cheap, which we parent's like.

I realized the kids didn't have any stockings, so I made some out of felt one day.

We went to the Museum of Art and enjoyed their Lamb of God exhibit. It is an exhibit of Christmas art done all by elementary school kids. These, however, are the cream of the crop. They are really neat to see. I especially liked that a child made an entire nativity set out of felt.

Derek and I went to the temple in American Fork on the 23rd and our babysitter did some fun Christmas crafts with the kids (and I saw Ellaree Howard at the temple, one of my grandmother's really really old friends. It was such a sweet reunion. It made me so happy to have that short moment with her)

And for dinner on Christmas Eve we had a traditional Norwegian meal that I used to have with my family when I was a kid. This was the first time I've ever made it myself, so it was kind of stressful, but I enjoyed is so much. We ate by candlelight and were serenaded by Sissel (a Norwegian singer) and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was magical. And delicious. (Cauliflower soup, Rodkol - red cabbage, and fish, plus some cookies that are technically NOT Norwegian, but they look the same and I didn't make any Krumkaker. These were a gift from a friend. They were delicious.)