Christmas in California

We decided to get out of the snow and enjoy some sunny weather for Christmas this year. I know there are a lot of people that love the snow and relish in the idea of a "White Christmas", but we are not one of them. I would be happy to never see the snow again.

This is the first time we've ever been away from home during Christmas and I wasn't sure if we would feel the same 'spirit' without a tree, stockings and Santa- but to our surprise, it was the best Christmas we've ever experienced. The hustle and bustle of school events, sitting on Santa's lap, multiple family parties, and last minute shopping, seem to really take away from the spirit of Christmas. More than anything, it really just stresses me out.

Without those things, we simply enjoyed the most important gift - time as a family. On Christmas Eve, the kids got their traditional Christmas jammies. Then I read a book about Jesus' birth to remind them why we celebrate Christmas and to help reiterate why they only get a few gifts from Santa each year (only one for Livi, but she can't count yet!).

Then it was off to Disneyland, California Adventures, Malibu, Long Beach and Hollywood. We also saw a couple of movies and just relaxed and played. There was absolutely no stress- except for when the crazy man in the Spiderman costume yelled at us on Hollywood Blvd...long story.

It was so great to spend this much uninterrupted family time together...traveling over the holiday may become a new tradition for us!