Time sure flies, and I am currently working hard to finish editing all of my year-end 2016 photos. But before it gets any further into January, here is a recap of Christmas!

I spent the holiday in Connecticut with my family. On Christmas Eve we went for a late afternoon walk in the center of Wallingford — it was quiet and the pups came with us. So did my camera! The lighting was great at this time of day.

As we returned home, a cozy fog settled in. Just beautiful. I’m grateful it wasn’t colder!

We squeezed in three games… Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic. (Those are all our favorites. Highly recommend.)

My sister makes hand-cut wooden state ornaments, which she sells on Etsy — they make the perfect gift if you want to get a head start for Xmas 2017!

Erica circa Christmas 1989…:

Every year my mom makes a spread of delicious things for Xmas Eve dinner — lots to nibble on, plus stuffed clams and crab cakes from a local seafood shop.

Dinner in front of the fires… both digital and real:

Family shot with the pups:

Getting our Pandemic on… we saved the world!

Beth got us a new game called Sushi Go that we are OBSESSED with. This night was the first time we all played it.

Dessert… we made most of these, and a few were gifts:

That night I went to the 11pm Christmas Eve service at my childhood church. It was lovely.

The next morning I had trouble getting out of bed… and when I got downstairs everyone was watching the Xmas episode of It’s Always Sunny. Hysterical. We love that show so much.

Beth made cinnamon rolls, which our grandma always used to do on Xmas morning.

These holiday mugs make their annual appearance:

Gift time!

My sister frequently uses a doggy bjorn carrier for her little boy Oscar (he gets stressed out around other dogs and barks a lot so the carrier keeps him calm), but until now my parents’ dog Missy hasn’t had one. She was super relaxed about it!

A few more gifts…

Since I take joy in photographing everything, I did a little shoot of my gifts afterwards — I got L.L. Bean boots with socks, several great mugs, coffee (including a gift card to my favorite coffee shop Priscilla’s in Los Angeles!), and some fun travel-themed items. My sister gave me the map watch and Icon Speak shirt — great finds!

I’d never heard of Icon Speak but they make items with little pictures of travel-related things (bathroom, weather, utensils, fuel can) so that if you are in a foreign country and don’t speak the language, you can just point to the icons to help communicate.

Oh, and I got this gold ring from Etsy that I am in love with.

And so many books! (Some of these I purchased in the fall in anticipation of my 2017 reading needs.)

Here’s all the literary loot: Tinkers by Paul Harding, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Carry on Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott, Under the Influence by Joyce Maynard, Give and Take by Adam Grant, Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff, Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran, Bark by Lorrie Moore, and The Ramblers by Aiden Donnelly Rowley.

Meanwhile, Oscar enjoyed multiple slices of pizza:

My mom baked this apple french toast dish for brunch:

At this point I went to church to volunteer at the annual community dinner. It made my day. I was designated as a mingler, just chatting with people and starting conversations. Many people come alone so it’s a way to bring people together. I even ran into a few people who watched soap operas! This community dinner really captures the spirit of Christmas and made me feel so good.

I came home to major puzzle action in progress:

And then it was dinner time! My mom made stuffed salmon, my sister baked kale, and I whipped up Brussels sprouts with bacon. Plus we had some sweet potatoes. All delicious.

Opening a few final gifts under the tree…

Our uncle sends us beautiful ornaments each year — aren’t these glass octopuses (made locally in Denver) so great?

And thanks to all of the family and friends who sent me Christmas cards! I loved seeing your photos and reading your updates.

And here’s mine, to all of you!

Hope you all had a relaxing holiday. Cheers to 2017!