Did you know the “Twelve Days of Christmas” start on Christmas Day? December 25th is just the first day! This year I’m embracing the idea of celebrating for the full twelve days, and I would encourage you to do the same- especially those of you who have not received my cards yet (there are eleven more days, people!)
Out Christmas (or, the first day) was really nice. We opened presents…
I got all the books I asked for, plus this sweatshirt:
Then the relaxation began! I lounged on the couch with my “fa la la” quilt, my elbow resting on my stack of new books, Muffin purring on my lap, and as I drifted off to a lovely couch nap I thought “It doesn’t get any better than this!”
There was reading, eating…
and football watching. Dinner was lasagna…
and there was a cookie platter for dessert.
It was a lovely day! And, the best thing I ever did was take Boxing Day off of work. The second day of Christmas will start with a run, and then include more reading and relaxation. And we’re making a pie! The festivities continue! I usually get depressed when Christmas is over, and I’m hoping this year will be different. So far, so good.
Did you have a nice Christmas?
Do you want the holiday to continue, or are you ready for it to be over?
21 Responses
Oh, Dorothy Simpson! I just thought about that series, though I couldn’t remember the authors last name. I read those all during college and grad dchool. Time for some nostalgic rereading!
I had a nice day- in thr kitchen for the most part. I received a wonderful cat themed VB bag from my daughter- it’ll be my library bag. My kids got boring gifts- socks , shoelaces, and moisturizer among them.
I did get a short walk- it’s cloudy and damp in the low 40s here. Not a white Christmas, but cozy enough.
Enjoy your run and reading marathon tomorrow!
Thank you!!! A reading marathon is happening! I haven’t read anything by Dorothy Simpson, but I’m looking forward to it.
Glad you had a nice Christmas!
Your Christmas sounds wonderful! And I am glad you are off today so you can relax and lean into time with family!
We head to my parents today so Christmas continues for us. I was ready for the mess of the scattered presents to be over yesterday but I got things cleaned up a bit and put some things in our closet to bring to goodwill to make room for the new games we received. So that helped.
We do have a bit of “festive clutter” around- we got a lot of it cleaned up yesterday though. I agree, it’s fun on Christmas Day for a while and then it becomes depressing.
Enjoy your extended Christmas!
What a lovely Christmas, Jenny! And, yay for pie today! We had such a lovely day yesterday that we were all just saying that we’re happy for the vibe to continue through the weekend (vs past years where we wake up on Boxing Day feeling like we barely survived a battle, haha!). Enjoy your relaxing day!!
In past years I’ve woken up on Boxing Day feeling like I survived a battle, AND had to go to work!!! Much better to lounge on the couch with my books. Glad you had a great Christmas!
Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas is a great way to fight off the blues! Your Christmas day sounds similar to mine except since we had our dinner in Christmas Eve we just had leftovers for dinner — such a relaxing day!
THAT would have made Christmas even better- having leftovers. It wouldn’t work for us for various reasons- Christmas Eve is one dinner and Christmas Day is an entirely different dinner. We’re having leftovers tonight though!
I love the idea of 12 days of Christmas! Usually, I run late getting the tree up and am running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but this year, I was better. And Christmas was nice and calm and very enjoyable. I always keep my tree up through at least New Year’s! I’ll probably take it down the 4th since I start back to work that week and would like a “fresh start”. 🙂 Our holiday continues whether we like it or not. We are driving to my in-laws today and will make a Christmas lunch stop near my sister’s on the way. So, we’ll have a Christmas lunch out with my sister (she already sent us a gift card because we never know if our schedules will line up, but we’re taking her a cutting board and stopping by a local fruit/nut place for a gift package) and then going on to my in-laws where we will have third Christmas. 🙂 But, I like the 12 days of Christmas idea for cards and little extra gifts!
Oh, I like the idea of a third Christmas!!! I would leave the tree up longer, but it’s a real tree, we got it right before Thanksgiving and it’s starting to look pretty straggly. It might have to come down before New Years, but we’ll leave the rest of the decorations up longer.
I’m glad you had such a nice Christmas!
Sounds like a very nice Christmas Day and I love the idea of celebrating the 12 days of Christmas — and taking off work on Boxing Day! I still have over a week off from work so I’m happy about that.
I planned this week as my “peak week” for my 60K which is now 3 weeks away (eek!) and I’ve already run 30 miles this week but hoping to get in 20 more by Sunday. Other than the runs I’m just watching Christmas movies!
Running and watching Christmas movies sounds like the ideal combination! I love being lazy, but even more so if I’ve done some good running already that day.
Glad you have a nice long vacation! Working at a school has some real advantages.
The best of part of Christmas is having the day off.
I was able to change my long run day as it is supposed to snow tonight.
We had a nice dinner at my SIL’s .
Love that shirt. Perfect.
Yes, I appreciate having the day off as well! There are people who work on Christmas Day, and we’re lucky we don’t have to. I’m glad you had a nice day!
Yay for some time to just… relax. There is SO much work that goes into Christmas and it is a delight to have time to just enjoy it.
Like you, I typically struggle with a feeling of let-down after the holidays. All the presents are unwrapped, for me the winter looms ahead. But I’m trying to let myself feel all the emotions as they come and plan some fun things in late December/early January to help me get over that hump. But I am certainly not someone who feels ready for Christmas to be over!
Today we’re hosting friends for Christmas Dinner (I always do it on Boxing Day), and tomorrow we are going to a potluck that will have us out of the house for most of the day. I’ll admit I’d rather just stay home in my PJs tomorrow but I know I’ll have fun and more importantly I know the kids need to get out of the house!
Love the shirt. And hooray for getting books you had requested.
Planning something special (like a dinner) on Boxing Day is brilliant- it gives you something to still look forward to. I guess that’s the key in general, to have things to look forward to in January. Either way, the sparkle is gone at some point and we just have to get over that… sigh.
We had a very nice Christmas with the kids and my parents (my sister and her family were not here and we missed them). It was not terribly relaxing but today the relaxing starts. Christmas is always a mixed bag of anxiety and sadness and happiness, but overall it was wonderful. I always have fun looking for unusual funny gifts for the kids and they are always so grateful and lovely. It’s hard seeing my parents getting older, but we’ve hit on a good system for hanging out with them in a way that’s enjoyable for everyone.
I read The Flanders Panel years ago and don’t remember much. I liked The Keeper of Lost Causes, and also really loved the Netflix series. I read a couple more of the series books and I seem to recall they were a bit uneven but mostly good.
Love your reading/eating/football watching montage. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Thank you Allison! I’m about 100 pages into Keeper of Lost Causes and really enjoying it.
I agree- Christmas can be a mixed bag. Glad your day was wonderful!
Taking the day off today sounds like the way to go, Jenny!
Sounds like a very cozy Christmas and you sound very satisfied and happy, so yay to another 11 days of celebrating XOXO
P.S. Nu really enjoyed the comic book workbook (don’t know how you described it exactly), and I got some points from that so THANK YOU!
Your Christmas sounds lovely, Jenny. Great gifts (love the sweater!), great food and great company!
I’m so glad you had a relaxing Christmas, Jenny. You definitely earned it since your December was so crazy!
I had a wonderful Christmas – not too busy or chaotic, which is just how I like it!