Christmas Eve

I've always found Christmas Eve to be a magical and special time. Growing up, the Arthur household always had a few little traditions. We've continued those traditions in the Malhotra household, and even added a couple of our own.

Before the chaos of Christmas Day hits, we love to take Christmas Eve to remember what Christmas is truly about...the birth of Jesus Christ. Sure, the presents are nice, but the true glory of the day is remembering the birth of a beautiful little boy many, many years ago. After all, there is no Christmas without Christ! :-)

So, up first on Christmas Eve was a trip to our church, Smyrna 1st United Methodist.

They held a special "Family Service" this year. It was awesome because it was MEANT for kids! No worrying about your child being the loudest! :-)

Jackson especially enjoyed the little battery-powered tea-light candles we all received upon arrival. He quickly "borrowed" Mommy and Daddy's so that he had all three. He enthusiastically raised them high during the songs!

It's usually our tradition to stop at a fast-food restaurant on the way home from church (my sister's FAVORITE tradition - Ha!), but this year, we were super excited to be invited to the Ward's home for a party...Jackson sure does love Mr. Rob, Ms. Gaylene, Abbie and Sophie! He quickly got into the spirit by trying on their Santa hat...

As we all know, Jackson's latest obsession (and yes, I'd call it an obsession!) is the violin. Well, as luck would have it, the girls had a little ukelele that perfectly doubled for a violin...Just add a random stick for a "bow" and Jackson's good to go!

Mr. Rob joined in with the other ukelele (however, using it as intended rather than as a violin). :-)

Before long, Jackson discovered Sophie's new toy...a karaoke machine! And oh my, he was hooked!!

He had lots of fun serenading the party guests!

After a couple hours of fun, food and socializing, it was time to head home. We had a few more traditions to squeeze in before bedtime.

 We always open ornaments and pajamas on Christmas Eve, so we can enjoy them on Christmas morning. This year, Jackson had SO many pajamas already, we decided to get him some slippers instead. He calls them his "inside shoes." :-)

Who is on those slippers, you ask? It's Lightning McQueen from "Cars"! One of his favorite Disney/Pixar characters...

And this year, everybody got Disney-themed ornaments. Daddy got big, silver Mickey ears...

And Jackson got a Mickey ornament. (That's it in the background after he hung it on the tree.)

Then we all snuggled on the couch for our annual reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." This version is extra-special because it's actually one of those Hallmark books with a pre-recorded voice reading to you. And whose voice is in our book? Grandma's! She gave it to Jackson his very 1st Christmas. Very special! (Grandma is actually behind the camera for this photo.)

We still had ONE more task before heading off to bed...leaving cookies and milk for Santa, of course!! Diva thought they were for her, but Jackson was quick to correct her!

Now off to bed! Santa can't come until we're "snug as a bug in a rug" (as Mommy likes to say!). :-)