Christmas Mouse

I've never been able to sleep well on Christmas Eve.  Even as a kid I would doze off and then wake up in the middle of the night to sneak downstairs to look at the tree like a quiet Christmas mouse.  The house is always so peaceful tonight.  Everyone is asleep in their rooms all cozy and tucked away.  It really has to be my favorite night of the year.

Christmas Eve is not a big to-do at our house.  We do lots of wrapping and hanging out (this year one wrapping job that my sister and I took on started with a box and ended with me holding the paper with my mouth so we could secure it properly).  Oh and knitting.  I did lots of knitting this year.  But I finished my grandfather's last minute hat with time to spare.  I was pretty psyched and everyone else was very relieved that the Christmas knitting craziness has passed for the year.

One tradition we never skip is driving around town after dinner to look at Christmas lights.  It's fun to see neighborhood dynamics evolve over the years.  We sing raucously to Christmas music and assign extra points to houses that employ colored lights.  White lights might look more classy but the colored lights are way more fun.  Eventually my dad will spot Santa in the sky, the signal to go  home and put all the kids to bed.

Now everyone is tucked away, waiting for Santa to come fill the stockings.  Normally we'd be up early anxious to have each other open the presents that we bought, but my grandfather is coming this year so we'll have to wait until close to ten.  I suppose the teenagers won't mind the extra hours of sleep.  And we might get some snow! We're just a tad excited.

Wherever you are and however you celebrate, I hope you've retired your knitting, tucked your children in to bed, and settled down for a content and peaceful night.  Merry Christmas!