• My December Daily journal entry will be about Christmas eve traditions.
• This picture is my entry for the iHeartFaces Photo Challenge.  Today’s topic was “’twas the night”.  The night where Santa sets off in his sleigh with those eight tiny reindeer, but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all…
• For “Journal Your Christmas”, today’s journal prompt is all about Christmas eve.  Our Christmas eve is rich with tradition.  It all starts by going over to Mike’s mom and dad’s around 2pm.  There are lots of wonderful appetizers (which we always fill up on) to graze on.  We visit with family and then sit down to dinner at 4pm.  By the time dinner is over, it’s time to bundle into the cars and drive to church for our Christmas eve service at 5:30pm.  After the service, we take a few minutes to drive around a neighborhood where Mike’s family used to live to look at luminaries.  We all meet up around 7p back at their house to find that Santa visited while we were gone!  We settle into comfy clothes, warm ourselves with delightful drinks and eat cranberry cake (a holiday favorite).  The present opening begins with all the presents piled into the middle of the room and covered with a large sheet.  Tradition has it that the youngest always picks the first present.  And they cannot pick their own.  The person who receives the gift then has the job of picking the next gift, and so on.  Just before we start the gift portion, though, all the Christmas stockings are handed out and we take a few minutes opening the treats inside our stockings.  Over the years there have been little changes, but overall the traditions remain intact and expected.
• 25 Christmas movies.  We tried to double up today, but it was a no go.  It looks like it’s a three-pete tomorrow…

Until tomorrow, 

“You do know that you owe me big time for the reindeer picture?”