We celebrate Christmas Eve by starting with our Christmas dinner. This way I don't have to be cooking on Christmas when the kids want help with games and toys, and there isn't a mess left for me to clean up either. After dinner is cleaned up, we open our last book (we try to make it the Nephite Christmas story) and then after reading the nativity, we open one present-a specific one. We love to play games together so I buy one game that we can play on Christmas eve and that's the gift that we unwrap.
Just before bed, the boys will put out a plate of veggies for Santa and do something for the reindeer. In years past we've sprinkled reindeer food on the grass (oats with glitter) to "light the way" for the reindeer, and we've tossed broccoli on the rooftops. This year I made a reindeer food plate and I think we'll put some veggies on it and set it by Santa's plate. I did design some up for my aunt and made them up for this year, but Santa's plate says "cookies" so I'm not sure what Jarrett will say to that. He knows that Santa loves veggies!
We really try to have all the gifts wrapped weeks in advance so we're not scrambling on Christmas Eve. I will have to put together a hot wheels bike, though, this year as I didn't have any place to stash it put together. In fact, the boys found it stashed in my closet so I had to fib and say the wrapped present was for someone else!
We try to give the boys three gifts from parents (like the Wise Men), and then one unwrapped gift from Santa. Our gifts I put under the tree as soon as I wrap them so our tree isn't bear and I don't have to worry about the kids finding them stashed. Jarrett asks every night if he can sort them into "who's is who", but I've told him "no" and he's been ok with that. It's nice to finally have old enough kids that I don't have to worry about them getting into the gifts beforehand.
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