Christmas 2011...in April 2012.

As previously posted, I am really delayed in memory blogging yada yada yada. 

Ahem...I bring you Christmas 2011!!!!! ..................... in April. WOOHOO

This year (2011) we decided that it was time for Santa to come to our house instead of anywhere else. It may be small but this is our home and we are tired of traveling during the holidays. 

In our house, you have to play a game of tetris furniture to fit a Christmas Tree in but we did it. In the past we had used a fake Christmas Tree but for the past two years we have bought a real tree at George's School. Part of the proceeds go to the school so it was a win-win. Plus it's ten times easier to put up. Walking home 5 blocks with that thing precariously balanced in the red flyer wagon? Not so easy. Mark says it builds character and I will just take his word for that.

We have no fireplace or even a mantle, for that matter. I found this stocking tree online somewhere and thought it was perfect for our situation. It actually says "Starkey Family" at the top. Love it.

If you don't know the below Christmas movie than WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? In case you have had your head stuck in the sand for the past, oh, twenty years, that is "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" and it is LITERALLY on repeat at our house. It's really the only Christmas movie I watch over and over again. It makes me laugh every.single.time. Plus I have fond memories of snuggling a newborn Henry to this movie.

We left a few things for Santa this year. Along with the traditional cookies and milk (in a Howard's cup, which was not my choice but fitting) the boys wanted to leave chicken nuggets. I am sure Santa appreciated the protein.

We spent Halloween in Disneyworld and brought back a few ornaments. I usually get personalized ornaments for each of the family members showing what they did that year but these were too good not to pass up. Jack the Pumpkin King and Mickey and Minnie? So awesome.

Of course there is the pickle ornament. When Mark and I went on our honeymoon we spent A LOT of time in Epcot's Germany and this was one of the things we discovered. We bought one and then promptly lost it figuring we wouldn't need it for a while. Little did we know we were so fertile. I remembered to get another one while as Disney this year and hid it on the tree. George found it right away. We will need to make it more challenging next year.

I got this motorized mini-cooper on sale at Target on black Friday thinking it would be a snap to put together. It.was.not. WE WERE EXHAUSTED.

Believe it or not, the Cozy Coupe was incredibly harder to put together than the cooper and had my engineer father very very angry.

The Santa Trap!! I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was an amazing idea. It always takes the adults more time to get ready for present opening than the kids, so this kept them at bay for a while. Until they realized that they could just rip it open. Still a good idea. At least we got the coffee made while they were figuring that out.

Henry found his home in the Cozy Coupe and really lost interest in anything else. We had to convince him to open his other presents. Which he did, in the Cozy Coupe.

Mommy & Daddy. So tired. So TIRED.

After the present opening, we got ready and drove 1.5 hours to Warrington, VA to see the extended family.

This is Henry at the end of the day. I felt the same way, too.