This month was a fast-paced whirl of activity, with one Christmas event or party after another, capped by THREE Christmases and now that it’s all done I’m just trying to catch my breath and recall what all we did. This Editor’s Pick edition is a little different than usual, because I haven’t done one in a while! I plan to get back in the groove of blog things in 2022. One thing I didn’t do was spend the month blogging and posting, because sometimes you just have to take a digital break and live a little more in the moment rather than trying to document everything.

Kicking Things Off with a Christmas Party

We got thing started in early December with a “Cocktails with Clause” Christmas party at our country club. It was the first time we’d attended an “adult” party there, as they are just getting back into the swing of things since covid hit. I decided to be extra festive and just go all out with a Christmas themed corset dress. My husband had just had surgery on his ankle, so he was on a knee scooter- no dancing for him! We had a really great time overall and I’m hoping they get into doing more themed events for adults.

Annual Tree Lighting

Next up we had the annual tree lighting at both the country club and the Beaches Town Center. The Beaches tree lighting is always a good event, with crafts for the kids and a parade as Santa arrives and then they light the tree.

Christmas Cookies and Karaoke

Next up were various Christmas parties with kids, including a karaoke party and a cookie swap party. When I told my husband I was too busy and just going to buy the cookies, he insisted on making them. So he scooted around the kitchen until he had three dozen cookies ready to go. Then he found a pack of googly eyes leftover from Halloween and decided to decorate his cookies. We dubbed them Christmas cookie monsters. At the cookie party there was a pretty neat bagel stand set-up that I just had to include a picture of!

A Trip to Universal Studios

We managed to squeeze in a trip to Universal Studios right before the ankle surgery. Literally, the day before! I did manage to do a blog post after the trip with Tips on Traveling to Universal Studios so check that out if you are planning a trip and are not already an expert. I hadn’t been in 20 years, so I had a lot to learn and am looking forward to going back again soon. There is a LOT to see and do, and we crammed a lot into two days, but still have plenty left to see.

School Volunteers

We both volunteered at our son’s school to help with Christmas activities. My husband helped with the tree decorating, as every kid in the school came by to put an ornament on the tree. And I volunteered to help with the class party. It was pretty neat to be in the school and helping out because we didn’t ever get to go in our son’s classroom last year because of covid restrictions.

Three Christmases

And the final event of course is Christmas itself, which for us took place on three separate days to keep all the families happy. I wanted a traditional Christmas at home, which my son could wake up to a tree filled with presents and unwrap them in the morning. Then we went to Sarasota, where Santa had already dropped off a load of presents at my mom’s house. And then finally we drove to the other coast of Florida for Christmas on the actual day with my husband’s family. It was a lot of traveling with a kid and dog and car full of presents, but we made it and now I’m very happy to be home!

Hope you all had a great holiday season! Last year my Christmas time was a little rough, and the first part of the year was a struggle, so I am looking forward to a fresh start with 2022.