Putting this post together made me homesick for Iowa. I think I loved our house there the most at Christmastime; it was a great Christmas house, inside and out with the surrounding scenery. I don't think our new house in Massachusetts is quite as good of a Christmas house, but it will do.
Without further ado, I give you The Carlson Christmas of 2017, a.k.a. our last Christmas in Iowa.
Our tree always went in this corner of the living room. It was the perfect spot for it.
One of my favorite things was to sit on the couch and read or take naps or visit with friends right by the tree. It was such a fragrant, pretty, peaceful setting. There's something about having a real live tree in your house that makes everything in life feel better, somehow.
Can you spot Brian, our elf?
(Just in case you were having trouble 😁)
The view of the tree through the living room window was a nice one, even with the tree not being right in front of the window.
Boo Boo in his festive jingle jester necklace. He's thrilled, can't you tell?
My little lady Violet gets gussied up too.
More fun with Brian
It snowed on Christmas Eve 😍
I miss this view of the field and woods.
The boys get to open a present (or two, or sometimes three) on Christmas Eve.
Sam opened a Lego set and went right to work to put it together.
John got a Patriots shirt.
The boys decorated a gingerbread house together.
This looks kind of creepy, doesn't it? Like "Merry House" is written in blood, right? Just wait 'til you see the Grim Reaper further down!
We enjoyed our special annual Christmas Eve prime rib feast. (Iowa had THE BEST prime rib!)
Christmas Eve night, my favorite night of the year!
Sam's letter to Santa was cute
💓🎄💓
And in a sudden and jarring juxtaposition to the above lovely pictures, I give you Sam on Christmas morning in his new Grim Reaper costume. (He really wanted this costume for some reason!)
Christmas chaos...
...all cleaned up by me (while Peter cooked breakfast--teamwork!).
One of my favorite Christmas traditions it to read on the couch as much as I can once all the morning stuff is done. I rarely take a day to do nothing else but read for pleasure, and Christmas is a great day to do that!
My good friend the tree keeps me company while the boys play and I read (and nap) the day away.
I'm usually still reading in the evening after the boys go to bed. Sometimes I even end up sleeping there by the light of the tree.
It was a lovely Christmas. It was kind of sad for me to think of another family in that space this past Christmas. I wonder if it's as magical a Christmas house for them as it was for us. 💓
