Christmas in Lugano

Being at home this winter break and not traveling really allowed us some mellow family time.  We we've been able to spend time altogether and really do things as a family, which has been a treat.  On Christmas eve we bought a mini tree to decorate and get into the spirit of the holiday a bit.  I think Liam was really happy about that since he'd asked about all the big Christmas trees outside.  (here they like to decorate the big live trees in certain locations, which is really kind of fun to see and so much better for the environment)!  I asked James for food requests and the Christmas eve menu was: Ham, gratin potatoes (no boxed mixes here, so made from scratch), spinach, and marshmallow cupcakes for dessert for James and me, and lichees and grapes for the littles.

Getting ready to decorate the tree - we each got a special ornament to hang on it too

Our little decorated tree

Eowyn and Liam loved seeing the tree all decorated, and while Liam was old enough this year to not break any ornaments or knock things over, Eowyn was all about trying to grab a small something and get it into her mouth.  We're just lucky she can't stand up yet, because then we'd be in big trouble!

Christmas morning we had belgian waffles with berries and fresh whipped cream.  Everyone approved of that!  Liam was so funny.  He didn't recognize that the wrapped boxes under the tree were presents, so he actually asked what they were there for!  Finally I told him they were presents and then he really got Gesited, as he likes to say!

Waffles for breakfast - look at the berries around Eowyn's mouth!

Ready to open presents

Trying to get to the ornaments - cheeky little girl!

Liam unwrapping his first gift - books

Eowyn gets a stacking toy

We kept things somewhat minimal, but still, I was amazed that even with 3 presents each, it seemed a bit overwhelming to them.  Liam wanted to do/play with each thing, but also wanted to see what else was coming.  It's a bit confusing to me how to negotiate this whole gift giving business.  I feel like a heavy dose of moderation is probably not a bad idea, and small and simple should count for a lot.  Let's see how we go forward.  Liam's gifts were: 2 books, a puzzle box with 4 little puzzles in it, and a play dough machine.  He has read one of the books about 10 times already (no jokes), made the puzzles at least 3 times, and spent about 2 hours yesterday playing with the play dough.  All successes in my books.  

Eowyn got a small elephant puzzle, a stacking toy with rings she likes to put in her mouth!, and a stuffed animal dog.  She's only vaguely interested in all of them, mostly in the same way she's vaguely interested in all toys at this point.  Hopefully in time she'll figure them out better, but she's young still.

So it was a cozy day at home, with yummy food, and lots of family time.  We had a good chance to chat to many other family members on skype in the afternoon and evening, which really made the day!