January 2, 2022

Christmas 2021

 Christmas Eve 



















Madison and Nicolas hosted all of us for a traditional Danish Christmas in their beautifully decorated home on Christmas Eve. Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve in Denmark, and Nicolas and Madison shared those lovely, festive traditions with us. The meal was delicious! We enjoyed several traditional Danish dishes with a few of our regular favorites as well. Nicolas and Madison served roast duck with gravy, red cabbage, Frikadeller, or Danish meatballs, ham, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, and potatoes. For dessert, we enjoyed Peyton's cookies and a special Danish dessert called Risalamande, a delicious rice pudding topped with cherry sauce and one almond hidden somewhere inside. Whoever finds the almond wins the almond prize! Madison and Nicolas did a fantastic job of preparing a delicious meal. 

In between dinner and dessert, we exchanged our Secret Santa gifts. We chose names way back in November and kept the secret until Christmas Eve. I am always amazed at how thoughtful each person is choosing a gift for their person. Nicolas had me this year, and I could not be more thankful for his gift. He put it all in a burlap Santa sack tied with jingle bells! Inside was a beautiful ceramic evergreen tree I can keep out all winter and a white gnome, or nisse as they are known in Denmark. He also included vintage Christmas albums and a festive pillow for my couch. 

We also joined hands and took turns choosing a Christmas song to sing as we danced around the Christmas tree. I love seeing the joy in the faces of my family as we share Nicolas' traditions. We also played a Danish exchange game called Pakkeleg. It was so fun!!!! We finished the evening with the reading of 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, a tradition we have had forever. I offered for Nicolas to read it as we were celebrating in his home, but I was overruled, and tradition won out. And I was happy to oblige. After a lovely, festive evening, we headed home to set out our stockings, cookies for Santa and head to bed. 

Christmas Day










Christmas Day was just as lovely. Steve and I awoke to the sound of...silence. Once upon a time, we had four little ones clambering for us to get up and go see if Santa came. We have two remaining, and they are older and like to sleep longer. Steve and I enjoyed a quiet morning, turning on the tree lights and Christmas music. Soon the kids were awake, and Madison and Nicolas arrived for brunch. Per tradition, we open stockings, enjoy brunch, and then check under the tree for presents. 

It was a cozy, relaxing morning as we enjoyed kringle, coffee cake, muffins, fruit, and tea, coffee, and juice. We took our time opening gifts, and before we knew it, Peyton and Chris arrived to start opening their presents. We had a pleasant visit with them while Rhett and Kyrstin headed to her house for Christmas dinner. Peyton and Chris also had dinner with his family after leaving our house, so the rest of us enjoyed leftovers from the night before and some fun new games to end the night. We called my mom, who was happy and content, and suddenly, as quickly as it came, Christmas Day was over, and new memories were stored in our hearts.

My friends, I hope you had a happy, healthy, cozy Christmas.
Thank you for visiting!

Billie Jo




23 comments:

  1. What a delightful Christmas Eve you had and I love that you celebrated the Danish heritage now in your family.
    It sounds like you had a great Christmas Day, too. Love that you have such a wonderful family, Billie Jo. xo Diana

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  2. Wow! You summarized our Christmas weekend perfectly ... I will never forget it! So so happy to celebrate with you. Thank you for always making this time of year the most magical. <3

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  3. Such beautiful pictures of your holiday celebrations and family. It always makes me a little sad to see the Christmas season end. Enjoy your Sunday and have a wonderful week.

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  4. What a wonderful holiday! Lovely pictures of your family and your celebration. May 2022 be a good one for you and your family. See you again soon.

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  5. Lovely photos and happy times. Happy New Year Billie Jo :-)

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  6. What a wonderful sounding Christmas you had my friend. Happy New Year and I hope you have a wonderful week!

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  7. What beautiful pictures! Looks like you all had a lovely time! I love the traditional Danish Christmas you guys have. Hope you have a wonderful new year!

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  8. Beautiful photos of your beautiful family! I just love seeing and reading about all your traditions. It always sounds so storybook perfect! Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  9. What an amazing time. Sounds perfect. So glad you and your family had a great Christmas.

    To answer your question from my page, yes the kids loved the new Spiderman movie. I can't wait to see it.

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  10. Looks like a good time with family! I haven't been with alot of family in years. I am so glad you can be together. Food looks delicious and lovely photos you shared! We had a quiet Christmas but it was fun anyway! We had a bit of wind today and was warmer than earlier today and yesterday. Columbia gorge area, east of Portland, is supposed to have 1/2 " of ice and snow further east you drive, if you dare to drive! I'll be working so nothing other than shopping for groceres after work. Happy New Year~~Becky

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  11. Billie Jo, love all the beautiful photos and the "story" of your Christmas. What joy you portray!!
    Wishing you a Holy and Happy 2022
    God Bless

    gramswisewords.blogspot.com

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  12. Looks like you had such a wonderful Christmas merging old and new traditions. I enjoyed reading about the Danish Christmas Eve as I was just reading a cozy book set in Norway with many of those same traditions. Happy New Year! Hope this first week of it is wonderful for you.

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  13. What a beautiful time with family. You are so blessed.

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  14. What a lovely time you've had this Christmas season! I love reading about the Danish traditions you were able to enjoy and your Christmas sounded wonderful, warm and cozy. The food and decorations looked so yummy and festive, well done! Happy New Year my friend!

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  15. How fun to have new traditions to incorporate into time with family! It looks like it was all so beautiful, fun, and the food looked delish! I pray you all have a very blessed, healthy and joyous 2022 ahead Billie Jo! 🌟

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  16. It all looks so lovely! What a perfect Christmas! Happy New Year to you and your beautiful family.

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  17. Beautiful...you always make me smile, Billie Jo.

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  18. What a wonderful time together, "Family LOVE" shows in all of the pictures. Fun times and good food. Enjoy your day dear friend, HUGS!

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  19. Look at all those happy smiling faces. Looks like you had a wonderful Christmas.

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  20. Such a beautiful family! I loved scrolling through your photos. Your table is just lovely and everything looks delicious. It's fun to see how others celebrate. Happiest of New Year's to you!

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  21. Everything looks so beautiful and festive. I enjoyed looking through these pictures and seeing your family's smiling faces. Thank you for sharing.

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  22. What an amazing two day celebration and I can not even believe how old your babies are. Everyone looks so grown up! What a beautiful family you have created.

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  23. Oh so perfect! Thanks for sharing all the photos of your lovely family. Your Christmas sounds like it was wonderful and I know you will cherish those memories.

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Thanks so much for saying hello!

Billie Jo