What a great weekend! On Friday, my friend Amie and I volunteered at our city’s Santa House which collects and distributes toys to low-income families. I helped unload and stock shelves but by far my favorite was being a “personal shopper” and helping those in need select toys for their kids. I’ve donated plenty of toys to toy drives in the past but being behind-the-scenes and seeing the wonderful people who are struggling gave me a new resolve to do more in the coming years.
After school, Bode joined some of his classmates to perform several Christmas songs at a local retirement home How to score hot second grade chicks: land the coveted role of Rudolph.
Old ladies will also dig your nose and reindeer games.
Jamie’s sister Lisa generously invited the kids for a sleepover on Friday so Jamie and I could have date night at the Denver LDS Temple, which is a pretty darn awesome way to celebrate the season.
Saturday was a frenzy. Boot camp, picked up the kids, cleaned the house and had Hadley’s final volleyball game of the season. I have been the assistant coach for her cute team and they’ve improved leaps and bounds. Most gratifying is she has finally found her sport and constantly has a volleyball in hand around the house.
It’s only a matter of time until she breaks something.
After that, we raced over to see the highly-anticipated Hobbit and Bode is already counting down ’til when the third movie in the trilogy is released on his birthday this summer. Translation: they loved it.
Upon arriving home, baking insanity ensued. Whenever Christmas rolls around, I start baking. And then bake some more. I have so many great recipes that I want to make them all so that’s exactly what I did. But I’ve gotten smarter over the years and don’t kill myself by cramming it all in on one day and started baking weeks ago. That’s what freezers are for, right?
Saturday night was about compiling all our goodies. This year’s haul included caramel toffee squares, gingerbread men, white chocolate snowball cookies, cream cheese cutout cookies, whipped shortbread and almond rocha.
What I did kill myself with was packaging everything for our friends and neighbors then the massive clean-up. But didn’t they turn out lovely?
Bribery is how we make and keep our friends.
The cute kiddos made and decorated gingerbread men for their Primary class at church. 
If you need us, we’ll be the ones passed out in the corner in a sugar coma.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 