Mad Gone Mom: Christmas Eve checklist

Santa's not the only one making a list and checking it twice.

Here is our Christmas Eve checklist:

Cuddly blankets from Grandma Evie to keep the kids warm as they watch The Little Drummer Boy with Daddy while Mommy finishes up the dinner preparations?

Check.

Italian feast?

Check. (This tradition started our very first Christmas together. Greg and I spent that Christmas in Delaware, just the two of us. He had just returned from an assignment in Alabama and would be leaving on a deployment to the Middle East in a matter of weeks. We wanted to spend Christmas alone, reconnecting, but we had to figure out how to celebrate it ourselves. The only thing I remember well was the fabulous Italian dinner Greg made on Christmas Eve. And a tradition was born!)

An audience for our reenactment of the Nativity?

Check.

Mary?

Check. (Mary had zero interest in being anybody but Mary. We are so blessed to have Mary in our family!)

Joseph and Mary and a donkey?

Check.

An innkeeper?

Check. (When Joseph asked if there was room, the innkeeper responded, "N-O spells NO!")

Mary in the stable caring for the Babe, surrounded by non-farm animals?

Check. (Joseph was given the boot. This Mary is an independent woman.)

A shepherd in the fields not watching his flock (which consisted of a puppy and a shark)?

Check.

The shepherd and his shark come to worship in the stable?

Check.

I encourage you to click here for a quick walk down Christmas Eve memory lane.

New pajamas?

Nope. (How could we top the adorableness of last year's Christmas jammies?) This year we did matching Bucky Badgers shirts instead. (They'll come in handy on New Year's day when we show TCU what a REAL football conference is.)

New books?

Including mine?

Check. (My mom started this once we had outgrown the new pajama thing. The idea is that you can go to bed and read your book if you can't fall asleep right away. Some little brothers of mine would get so excited about Christmas that they could barely sleep--this at least kept them in bed.)

Presents from siblings?

Check. (I love this. It is so important to me. I think siblings give such thoughtful, exciting presents. But they often can't compete on the grand scale of Santa's presents or grandparents' gifts. Opening them on Christmas Eve makes it more intimate and special. And it makes for a great opportunity to give/receive gratitude and appreciation. David and Mary were wonderfully, sincerely polite to one another!)

Playing with the above mentioned presents?

Check.

Chocolate balls and a panettone?

Not quite. The chocolate balls (my mom's simple, yummy recipe) were a go (and a big hit with Mary), but we made it to Trader Joe's too late for a panettone this year. (And after three other stores, we gave up. Next year I won't be such a procrastinator.) So we substituted mint chocolate cookies. Yum!

Door #24 on the advent calendar?

Check.

Placing Baby Jesus in the presepe?

Check.

Moving the animals to the stable so they can worship Baby Jesus?

Check.

Lighting the German candelabra and singing Christmas songs?

Check. (Favorites this year included "With Wandering Awe," "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plain," "Away in a Manger," and "Mary's Lullaby.")

Meltdown?

Check. (It's hard when you think this holiday is all about you--think "Mary Christmas"--and Mommy and Daddy don't let you be in charge of everything.)