Another Christmas has come and gone and I can hardly believe it. There is always so much buildup and anticipation leading up to Christmas and I’m always left wishing the day could last 10 times longer than it does every year.
We spent our Christmas with my family in Jacksonville and enjoyed plenty of delicious food, relaxation around the dinner table and lots of time on the beach, despite mostly overcast weather.
It felt like our Christmas celebration officially began on Christmas Eve when our family headed out for a special brunch at the Sawgrass Country Club.
I’ve never been to Sawgrass before (it’s home to the annual TPC golf tournament), so I was excited to visit the beautiful club, snap some pictures by the big Christmas tree outside on the lawn and dig into some delicious food.
The club wasn’t too busy considering it was Christmas Eve and soon enough we found ourselves eating our omelets, French toast, eggs Benedict and waffles and loving every bite. There were lots of clear plates at the end of our brunch.
After brunch, we headed home so Chase could nap and relaxed on the couch until he was up again. We spent the afternoon on the beach before changing for church in the early evening.
We attended my sister and her husband’s church and loved that they concluded the service with a dance party to celebrate Jesus’ birthday with the kids. Their church is quite small and does not have childcare, so Ryan and I did our best to keep Chase entertained and quiet during the service but Ryan eventually stepped out with him about half-way through so Chase wouldn’t disturb the people around us.
When the dance party began at the end of the service, I rushed into the lobby to bring them back in because I know how much Chase loves a good dance party! They had glow sticks and played upbeat Christmas carols and Chase loved every minute! (The adults in our family were also way too amused when we used the glow sticks to play a form of Pictionary/Name That Shape with them later in the evening. Apparently you’re never too old for glow sticks!)
Once the service was over, we drove back to my parents’ place for a fantastic Christmas Eve dinner of steak, cod, au gratin potatoes and corn followed by apple tartlets and peppermint Oreo ice cream for dessert. I went to bed feeling full and happy!
Christmas 2016
We woke up bright and early on Christmas morning! Ryan and I have a long-standing tradition to exchange our gifts with each other before everyone else is up for the day and were able to make it through our stockings and a couple of gifts before Chase joined us for the remainder of our exchange.
As usual, Sadie was right in the middle of the gift-giving action the whole time!
Once the rest of my family was up, we all gathered around the table for our traditional Christmas morning breakfast of cheese puff casserole and monkey bread and opened our stockings together!
I think we are still probably a solid year or so away from Chase really understanding the magic of Christmas but he definitely had fun opening his presents this year! We opted for a “slow unveil” over the course of the weekend so he wasn’t overwhelmed with a bunch of presents at once and that seemed to work well. He was especially excited to open up a giant car ramp toy from Aunt Leslie and Uncle Ross and immediately said “car!” when he saw the cars on the box.
(Special thanks to my mom for Chase’s oh-so-grown-up Christmas pajamas! I still cannot handle the cuteness!)
I had the best time exchanging gifts with my family and loved spending the entire day make-up free in my pajamas, with the exception of an hour or two stint on the beach when I swapped out my flannel pants for leggings. Perfect!
The beach was hoppin’ on Christmas Day and even though it was a bit drizzly outside, we loved watching Chase explore and helped him build sand castles with buckets and shovels.
We came back inside a little after 4 p.m. and spent the remainder of the night playing games, eating a wonderful tenderloin and lobster dinner and watching Christmas Vacation before bed.
It was such a great Christmas and I’m so grateful we were able to spend it with family. Ryan and I arrived back in North Carolina earlier this afternoon and will be spending the remainder of the day unpacking and getting ready for the rest of the week ahead.
I hope you had a fantastic weekend!!!
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It must have been fun to be aple to spent some time on the beach.
Merry Christmas!
Reading about your family holidays always makes my heart so happy. You’re blessed with such a wonderful family <3 Merry Christmas to you all!
Isn’t crazy how quickly Christmas day goes?! Loved reading your recap 🙂 Merry Christmas to your family, Julie!
That dance party for Jesus’ birthday sounds like the cutest thing ever. And Sadie is just darling. The monkey bread made my mouth water- YUM. That used to be our family tradition when we were kids, I don’t know why we don’t anymore?! Overall, it looks like you had a beautiful holiday. Blessings in this New Year to you and your lovely family. <3
You guys are so cute!! What a great idea of the slow reveal to not overwhelm him <3 Merry Christmas
I love your posts Julie. You’re so genuine and positive, and not in an obvious fake way, I can really feel your joy! So glad you had some time to relax (as much as you can with a toddler) and time with your family. <3
i also spent the christmas day on Pjs. the best! 🙂
happy holidays.
That was smart of you to slowly let Chase open presents throughout the day. We did the same thing, only because we could not get my 14 month old to stand still!
What a memorable Christmas! I love the picture of Chase and your mom – so special! That monkey bread, mmm I can almost taste it from here – I might need to add that to my traditions as well!
That pic is my new fav!!
I love your Christmas recaps – so much joy, and it helps me extend my own love of Christmas! Ever since the unveiling of facebook memories, reminding me of all these fun and interesting moments in my life across the years, I’ve been thinking that it must be lovely to have a blog where you can look back and reminisce about all the special times in your life – because you wrote it down! (As they say, “the weakest ink is stronger than the strongest memory”.) Must be a special feeling to be able to go back and remember each holiday. Love it! And love the pics – so much joy going on! Fun. And great food descriptions, sounds super yummy! Also – what a great idea to have Chase open gifts slowly over the weekend, I remember one of my nephews getting overwhelmed during his first few Christmases, so this is a great idea!
Glad you had a great holiday. Merry Christmas-week! 🙂
That is honestly one of my favorite parts about blogging! It really is like an online scrapbook! <3 I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Kim!
I did have a good Christmas! And the scrapbook-feel is the newest little tug on my shirt to start a blog (not sure it will happen, but I like that scrapbook feeling nonetheless). Very inspiring indeed! 🙂
Chase’s pjs are adorable! Sounds like a wonderful Christmas with lots of fun and love – perfect!
Who found the pickle first?! Haha.
My sister AGAIN. I need to step up my game next year!
We still need that recipe for cheese puff casserole 🙂 !!!!!
I know!!!! Major fail!!! I actually ALREADY penciled it into my blog calendar for NEXT holiday season so I don’t drop the ball for like the sixth year in a row!
Why don`t you just post it now so that we can make it for next holiday season or just on a random chilly weekend! Any time is a good time for a cheese puff casserole 🙂
Julie, can you link your sweater your wearing In the top picture? It’s SO cute!!
Thank you! It is actually my sister’s and she got it through Stitch Fix. I’m not sure the brand but I’ll ask her to double check!
Looks like such a wonderful Christmas!
This year was our first Christmas as a married couple, so we had a lot of fun having three Christmases. It’s definitely a blessing to have all of our families in the same areas (Palatine and Wilmette) so we’re able to see everyone over the holidays. It’s busy, but so much fun!
Thanks for sharing your holidays with us!
XO, Jessica
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Wonderful summary of your Christmas, Julie! I’m glad it went great! I’m just curious, where did you buy your lovely light blue PJ’s that you wore on Christmas seen here in these pictures? (Both the top and PJ pants). Thanks!
They were a gift from my mom (she always gives us new Christmas pjs on Christmas Eve) and she got them at J.Crew!
I can’t agree more about how disappointing it is that Christmas builds up for MONTHS and is over before you know it. All Christmas music, shows, and commercials should last through Dec 31.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Adorable photos 🙂
Glad you had a wonderful Christmas with your family!
On a different note, did you or any of your blogger friends ever announce the winner of the Holiday Giveaway that you all posted about on Instagram? I thought the drawing was last Friday, but I can’t find mention of it on any of your Instagram posts or blogs. Thanks!
I love the build up until Christmas and the festive fun however, the day after Christmas I usually take down all the decorations….like ripping a band aid off,.
Aww I love your Christmas recaps! Those PJs that Chase have on are so cute!
Happy you had a happy Christmas with your family! Love your and your sisters matching Pjs and Chase looks so cute in his 🙂
Wishing you a a very Happy New Year!
Ugh, I just love Christmas. Yours seemed wonderful full of family love and delicious food!
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You’re absolutely right that blogging is much like scrapbooking! I kept a blog for friends and family in late high school and college & I love looking back at those memories. You will have a blast with Chase next year at Christmas time–my niece was 3 this year & we had such an amazing time watching her get excited for Santa & excitedly opening gifts for the first time. It’s truly special!!!
Those pajamas are so cute! I just bought a flannel shirt for our little guy that will be about 7 months old Christmas 2017. Babies in “grown up” shirts are just precious.
Also – I recognize One Ocean hotel in the background at the beach (Hubs and I went there all the time when I would fly in from Texas when we were dating and he was living in Jacksonville) – I will point out it has an AMAZING spa. 🙂
Owen got the same car thing for Christmas! I found it’s really great for holding up the side of a fort 😀