Hollman Family Christmas

This year we were able to spend our first Christmas at home as a family, and while it was the first time in my life I was away from my parents house (leaving me a bit nostalgic and homesick), it was also the first time I could savor Christmas with my family in the comfort of my own home. Granted, I did miss the buffet of chocolate cookies and treats (complete with bricks of yummy white chocolate and fairy food/seafoam, whatever you call it) and the warm niche of family surrounding me with all of the happiness of the entire year culminating in one collective morning of love, but I learned so much about how important it is for me to spend Christmas with my immediate family, just me, Drew and this year Collin (next year Collin and his little brother).

Our holiday started with a Christmas Eve trip to mass, where we wondered how much we'd actually gain in terms of hearing a homily and feeling like Christmas was meaningful through Christianity, as we generally spend anywhere between 50 and 75% of masses baby wrangling. Christmas Eve was no exception, the church was PACKED. Sardines in a can. Think Hoards of 12 year olds at a Justin Beiber Concert. There were kids everywhere, and their accompanying adults weren't far behind. We chose to sit in the back of the church (to make for an easy escape if necessary) and sat down between Mrs. Minnesota Mom and the extended family of Sven and Ollie themselves. Right away, Collin turned on his charm and within ten minutes Drew was talking to Mrs. Minnesota Mom about the snow (don't-cha-know), my job, Collin's sleeping habits and what we had planned as our holiday hotdish. The whole mass he played games with her, including talking, out loud and ignoring our incessant shushing. Collin is also in a phase of generalization, where any woman with longer blond hair that's older than about 40 and wears glasses is Nana. As a result, give or take every 10 minutes, he's point at some unsuspecting woman and say "Nana" with a giant smile on his face. I'd have to squash his hopes and remind him that Nana wasn't at church, instead she was back in Michigan. Overall though, he did pretty well. I mean, he didn't cry. He wasn't heard above the 400 other toddlers also talking straight through the mass and he didn't make a scene when we ran out of yogurt puffs. We left church with a sense of accomplishment. Look at that! We made it through our first Christmas mass alone, without any help, and everyone is still smiling and relaxed.

As it turned out, home was exactly what we needed this year, with baby Hollman due at what feels like any minute, and so many things to do before he arrives, coupled with our effort to try to spend every free moment with Collin we can while he still an only child, we couldn't help but savor the comfort of our quaint and effortless Christmas morning. I absolutely loved every second of spending it as just the three of us, taking our time to open gifts and remembering each moment like the piece of a perfect family puzzle.
Our morning started by pulling Collin out of bed at a nice and late 8:30 (even though he was a bit more than restless that night and wound up in our bed, it was nice to sleep in!). In Michigan we never got to sleep in as my little sister always was so full of anticipation that she wouldn't let us go past 7 a.m. before tearing into gifts. Not to shirk her responsibilities while we were spending Christmas at home, she called, bright and early (7 am!) to let us know that she was still planning on getting us up and out of bed, with or without our physical presence. Oh Andrea. Maybe someday I'll miss that part of Christmas when she finally gives up the early riser gig. Anyhow, Collin and his bed-head, got up, at a yummy home-made pancake breakfast and wandered down stairs to start the Christmas present extravaganza.


Its hard to describe the excitement of a toddler on Christmas morning. But if a photo could capture it, this one is pretty close. I don't think its even in focus all that well, but you can totally see Collin's "Oh! Oh! Oh! This is for me!?!?!?!" face peeking over the present. I mean seriously, does it get any cuter?
He was so very happy to open presents, and ran out of steam long before all were opened. Mostly though, it was great to see him so happy and fulfilled. We could have given him just one present, just one Thomas the Train toy and he would have been on cloud nine. It made me realize how greedy we are as adults, we give each other so much STUFF, but really, all we need is a little more love, thats what Collin reveled in-- he absorbed so much of the happiness we provided and rode along on those feelings all day like a little magic carpet.


Toward the end of the morning (after about half of the presents were open) he donned his new backpack and was heading upstairs to play with his new trains when I took this photo. I can't believe how old he looks in it. Its like he's on his way to school or something. I about cried when I saw the image because it made wish he would slow down a bit so I could hang on to these moments a bit longer. That's when we decided it might be worth it to keep Christmas a little more sacred at our house and always spend it at home.

Now, for all the family members out there who are saying "WHAT?" I can't say that this thought is a decision we've made in absolute terms, so you might find us back in Michigan next winter for the holiday, but I can also say its not without a bit of a struggle that I would be willing to give this up again. So, yes, there is some guilt and challenges involved, and I'm sure we'll cross those bridges when we get there. Its true though that time flies, and holding on to the simple holiday traditions that we make it our tiny nuclear family might have just become very important to us. Important enough that if you want to see us, you might need to come to Minnesota.

As the day continued and we snuggled in for a nice relaxing afternoon, complete with Turkey dinner and fresh cranberry sauce, Drew took Collin outside with one of his Christmas presents, a new sled, and trotted around the yard (above the 3.5 feet of snow we have). Collin LOVED this. He couldn't get enough of the sled-ride and after 15 minutes Drew was exhausted from trudging through the resistant snow.
And even though Drew looked like he could barely take another step, he kept pulling Collin, kept on with the Christmas spirit-- love, happiness and family. And really, who wouldn't when you see a smile like this looking back at you?