christmas in northern california

today is my first day back at work after a glorious holiday break. the holidays are by now most 100% over, and i'm a little sad. most people have probably blogged all about all the holidays and are ready to move on. since i spent last week looking back, i have a bit of catch up to do. before we get to that, the bachelor starts tonight. yay! just like past seasons, i will be blogging the bach on tuesdays. i would love to have you join me. link up your posts and email/comment if you're interested in co-hosting.

ever since my sister started having kids, i go wherever she is for christmas. i love the holiday no matter what, but it's much more magical with kids. i flew to northern california on my birthday and spent a week there. we kind of stick to the same traditions year after year which i love. on christmas eve, we usually have a pretty casual dinner-sandwiches, chips and dip, vegetables. 

after dinner we drive around and look at christmas lights. 

growing up we always read the christmas story from the bible, but we never acted it out.  the past couple of years, the kids act it out as their dad reads. it is one of my favorite things. my little nephew karson didn't want to be joseph because he wanted to ride on the donkey (my brother in law).

we each open one presents-pajamas. my mom keeps trying to stop the tradition since we are all grown, but i won't allow it. i like tradition!

we make sure to leave out milk and cookies for santa

the kids were so excited this year. i was afraid we might be up at 5:00, but they actually did pretty well. they are the only grandkids on our side so they are definitely spoiled.

 we always start with stockings first.

  it was so fun watching their excitement with all the gifts.

we talked to ashley and our parents on facetime while opening gifts and extended the gift opening for a couple of hours.

christmas breakfast includes scrambled eggs, sausage, flaky biscuits, and oranges. we talked to the family again and played with the kids and their toys. because we don't have any other family around, the day is very relaxing. later in the evening we have ham, baked potatoes, and rolls for dinner. i loved spending christmas in california. the kids were so excited and fun to be around. how did you spend your christmas? PS-i know some people are still blogging their word for 2015. make sure to check out the link up.