'Twas the Night Before Christmas

And all through the house

Every creature was stir-crazy

(Yes, even the mouse.)

[Just kidding there's no mouse in my house.  I just needed a rhyme.]

 

I don't know about you, but my main objective on Christmas Eve is to wear my children out so that they will actually go to sleep when bedtime comes.  So, after they helped me sort and fold the laundry, Jeff and I took them to St. Charles to see Santa off.

This is Civil War Santa.  Fun, right?  Miles told me a couple of weeks ago that he doesn't like Santa, anymore.  Just to make us upset, he's been singing, "Santa Claus isn't coming to town."  Then he met Civil War Santa who was kind enough to give Miles a trading card.  BAM!  Best buds!

 

Chloe was pretty excited when we ran into the Sugar Plum Fairy.  That's her over-the-moon face. 

Here they're chatting up Mother Goose.  There was an awkward moment when she said something about how fat she was and the kids just nodded in agreement.  They haven't learned, yet, that when women say they're fat, you're supposed to say, "What?!  You?!  Don't be ridiculous!"  or "There's just more of you to love!"

 

It was freezing outside.  Our children do this adorable thing where they insist that it's not that cold outside and they don't need to wear layers.  Then they cry and cry about how cold they are when we go out.  (So cute!)  We tried to warm them up with some hot cocoa while we waited for the parade. 

The parade consisted of all of the Christmas characters walking down the street yelling "Christmas is almost here!  Don't blow it!"

The kids waited patiently for Santa (the real Santa) to arrive.

The big guy didn't look our way, but it was nice to wave goodbye to The Claus' as they headed out.  They even let Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchet sit in the back of their sleigh, which I thought was mighty decent.

 

After the parade, we stepped into Grandma's Cookies for a sugar rush.  The kids caught a second wind and we went out to collect a few more cards.

This is the same dude with the goat from our last visit to St. Charles.  This time we got his card.  His name is Julenisse and according to his card, he and his pet goat, Yuley, visit the children in Scandinavian countries.  "Yuley knocks his horns against their front door three times, and when the children answer, he greets them with a gift and a small paper basket of candy to hang on their Christmas tree." 

We found Clara from the Nutcracker just as she was about to leave.  Those actors are really delightful.  This Christmas Eve parade marks the end of their season and afterwards they all get to go home and stop smiling.  ("I just like smiling.  Smiling's my favorite.")  As we were walking towards the parking lot to go home, we heard a strange conversation behind us and realized it was three of the actors also walking to their cars.  We were the only people around, but because they were in costume they had to stay in character.  Maybe you had to be there, but we thought it was hilarious.

We had the pleasure of spending Christmas Eve with some of our favorite St. Louis friends.  It's hard not to be near family at Christmastime, but I'm glad we can share the holidays with such wonderful people.  The kids put on a pretty sweet nativity.

I asked Harrison to take a picture of the adults and I got this awesomeness.

I can't decide what I love most about this picture.  I tried straightening it, but then the Coopers were cut out of the picture and Jeff looked like a giant.  Also, Nora's little bald head was no longer in the shot.  I think my favorite part of this picture is that Laura has her hand on my behind.

God Bless us, everyone!