Christmas Eve in the Griffin home was always my favorite part of Christmas. My mom is from Finland and met my dad in the U.S. as a high school exchange student in Michigan. Each year, my family has celebrated a modified traditional Finnish Christmas Eve dinner. Traditionally, this meal is made up of around seven courses including soup, fish, cheeses, etc. My parents modified the meal to make it easier to prepare and serve to four little girls. When I was little, we always dressed up for this evening and the candles and white tree lights almost made it magical. It was also the time when we opened many of our gifts which only added to the wonder.
It has been fun to share this special-to-me family tradition with Brooks and, this year, little Elijah as well. I didn't take any photos at dinner, but below are a few from "present-time".
Playing with Grammy and Daddy
The wonder of the Christmas tree and the protective fence around it
Elijah's first gift
Opening it up with a little help
Ending the evening with some Charlie Brown
And warm flannel jammies
