We had a Merry Christmas this year. With two mortgages and the economic climate being what it is, it was a smaller, less ahem, frivolous, Christmas than we may have had in the past. But it didn’t matter. It was Merry and fun nonetheless.

Some of my favorite gifts were these precious Snowman salt & pepper shakers. As a card-carrying salt-aholic I like that they are functional and adorable. I also loved my “Color in Spinning” bookand my Sit and Spin DVD from Insubordiknit. Can’t wait to get to spinning more!

I warned the kids there wouldn’t be as many presents this year, but grandparents have a way of spoiling kids regardless…

…Speaking of grandparents – this is my Dad, aka Paw Paw. Look how cute he is. He wears “Hawaiian” shirts 360 days of the year. He lives on the beach so it suits him. I love his holiday shirts like this Santa Claus one.

Paw Paw helps me cook most of the Christmas feast. I make the turkey, rolls, some desserts, but he does the lion’s share of the work. And it’s always delicious. Thanks Dad!

This season we got to hear Christmas Carols wafting through the house courtesy of our daughter who plays the piano. Above are the kids from her piano studio at their Christmas recital. Our pianist had taken the year off from piano last year so we are thrilled that she’s back to playing again. She is currently working on playing Phantom of the Opera. Be still my heart.

For the first time this year, I actually had a child who needed her two front teeth to come in. Oh yes, I’m a terrible dork, but I’ve always wanted to have a child with teeth missing at the holidays so we could sing, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” together. (The George Strait versionis my favorite.) You should have seen me yanking out that second front tooth of hers…just kidding. She wouldn’t let me near it. It fell out in her sleep.

Enough about our Christmas! Tell us, what was the highlight of your Christmas this year?