December Christmas Crazy

Once again this year we attended the Chelsea performance of The Nutcracker with a group of moms and daughters.  We got dressed up and went to Common Grill for lunch before the ballet.  It was such a great time and the girls even got to dance on the side stage during intermission!

We also did the annual Polo Fields Santa Brunch.  This year the men were invited to a Lions game and so Bob and Brian met up with Brian's Uncle Jim and had a good time in Detroit.  Arlene and I took the kids to the brunch on our own and had a great time.  Braden got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him that he wanted a flat guitar (Paper Jamz guitar).  Addison did her usual watching Santa from a safe distance.  Her fear of people in costume has not gone away at all!

This year we had a unique opportunity to attend a Christmas storytime at Dexter library and pet a real reindeer.  It was a baby reindeer but still a reindeer!!

The kids also had Holiday parties at preschool.  The kids performed Christmas songs complete with hand motions and it was adorable.  It was a bit hectic for me running back and forth between their two preschool rooms and trying not to miss out on anything.  I suppose this will be true for as long as they are in school but maybe at the grade school level the parties will be on different days and I can attend both!!

We also made our annual trip to the Toledo Zoo to see the Holiday Lights Show.  Its one of my favorite holiday traditions we do as a family.  Afterward we got dinner at the kids favorite, Red Robin!

A week before Christmas the Klimek side celebrated at my parents house.  There were a lot of kids this year and Santa Claus (Uncle Tom) brought them all matching pajamas and a fun toy.  We attempted to get a photo of them all in their pajamas but a few of the youngest ones didn't make it in!  It was one of the best gatherings that we've had in a long time because there were so many second generations of cousins and it reminded me of basement Klimek holiday parties with all of my cousins!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were celebrated in our tradition with a Polish Christmas Eve dinner, kielbasa, green beans, cheesy potatoes, kapusta and cabbage rolls.  Christmas Day we had scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, fruit and a waffle bar with your choice of toppings!  Nanie, Grampa, Nana, Papa, Bridget, Elizabeth, Dan, Kathie and Darrell all came over for some part of our Christmas festivities.  The kids were very excited as usual about their gifts from Santa Claus and family!  Braden got his Paper Jamz guitar and Addie got Polly Pocket Splash!