Even after living in warmer climates the last seven years, neither Phil or I have gotten used to the idea of palm trees at Christmas time. We still much prefer cooler temperatures, freshly fallen snow and sipping eggnog by the fire. So while we didn’t see any snow or get to spend the holiday with our lovely family in Minnesota, we made the most of our SoCal Christmas.

It turned out staying in Oceanside allowed us to partake in some fun Christmas traditions for the first time with Sophia & Will. On Christmas Eve we made reindeer cookies for Santa. Later in the evening we left some cookies with a tall glass of milk for the jolly man in the red suit. Seeing Sophia’s excitement the next morning when she found the crumb filled plate by the fireplace was so much fun! Since Sophia can recognize our names she happily took over the job of handing out presents. Even Lucy got a present; thanks Grandpa!