I am a creature of habit and I love that our Christmas mornings have fallen into a wonderful, predictable pattern. After present-opening and a not-so-healthy breakfast of candy canes at home, we head over to Nana and Pop's for a hearty breakfast of Carolyn's eggs (recipe from my parents!), Jess's famous biscuits, and sausage/country ham/bacon, plus some fruit (my attempt at making Christmas a little healthy). Then we all gather around the tree and the chaos of opening gifts for 10 people ensues.
But first, there is some fun with the Santa hats.
Will has his Grinch face on!
Pop proclaimed the theme this year to be olive oil, and we did indeed get some really nice olive oil. There were actually quite a number of food-related gifts this year, which is not surprising since we all love to eat and cook!
Pop gave his boys beakers to accurately measure the ingredients for the perfect martini. These beakers are also useful for completing science experiments (Will got three science kits this Christmas!).
Remember when I said it was a Tabasco Christmas for Gene? This huge bottle of vintage Tabasco was personalized with Gene's name on it.
Gene made custom labels with our family name at Water2Wine. What a fun gift for Pop and Mike!
I got some workout DVDs and a gift card to my pilates studio and Nancy got a yoga mat (or exercise carpet, as Mary calls it) so we can counter-balance all the foodie gifts.
How did Santa know we were almost out of band-aids?? The perfect gift for the many scrapes and scratches and invisible boo boos at our house!
Mary's new computer.
Baby Michael woke up from his nap to join the fun. I think his favorite thing was the crinkly wrapping paper.
A kite from Pop! We can't wait to try them out on the next windy day.
Henry modeled my new hat from Aunt Jess.
Mary helped Nana open the annual photo book from our family.
We had a wonderful Christmas with Nana and Pop and ended the day with a fabulous dinner for the entire family (including my parents). Christmas was a whirlwind, as always, but it was a wonderful whirlwind!
Will has his Grinch face on!
Pop proclaimed the theme this year to be olive oil, and we did indeed get some really nice olive oil. There were actually quite a number of food-related gifts this year, which is not surprising since we all love to eat and cook! 
Mary's new computer. 
Baby Michael woke up from his nap to join the fun. I think his favorite thing was the crinkly wrapping paper.
Henry modeled my new hat from Aunt Jess. 
Mary helped Nana open the annual photo book from our family. 
We had a wonderful Christmas with Nana and Pop and ended the day with a fabulous dinner for the entire family (including my parents). Christmas was a whirlwind, as always, but it was a wonderful whirlwind!
They rush downstairs to read their annual letter from Santa
and check out their stockings.
Someone was almost on the naughty list for telling the boys fibs and just got a little bottle of Tabasco in his stocking. 
Having little boys who still believe in the wonder and magic of Christmas is a beautiful thing.
Despite the rain, the boys sprinkled reindeer food in the backyard before we left for church. 
After church, we went over to Nana and Pop's house for a traditional codfish dinner, followed by bilharacos, which are those amazing Portuguese butternut squash doughnuts that we only get on Christmas Eve. 
They are finger-lickin' good!
After dinner, most of us headed outside for a chilly family picture. Can you tell my boys were tired and goofy by this time? It was way past their bedtime!
These boys are so ready for a piano of their own.
New shirt in Will's fave colors. 
And so is my annual photo book for the grandparents.
We took breaks in between opening gifts to play with some of the new toys. Candy Land was a huge hit with Will! 
Then it was time to light the Christmas candles and sit down for a Mexican feast. 
Everyone's favorite was the krumkake (a Norwegian waffle-cone-like cookie filled with whipped cream). So yummy!
We had a wonderful Christmas with Gramma and Grampa!