Confession: I went a wee bit overboard with Christmas Eve. It’s just that the night before Christmas is traditionally my family’s big celebration and I was bummed to not be surrounded by family. And so I invited ward members and neighbors who didn’t have nearby relatives. And kept inviting. My final count was between 25-30 people.
Oh, and I kinda forgot to tell my husband about it. On our way to Loveland Ski Area on Christmas Eve morning:
“We have to hurry back so I can get everything ready.”
“Get what ready?”
“Christmas Eve. We have [listed off families] coming tonight.”
“WHAT?”
“I told you about it, didn’t I?”
“I think I’d remember something like that.”
I’d like to call it Jamie’s Christmas Eve Surprise Party.
But it all turned out splendidly and was a reminder that we have so many beloved friends who are like family. We had so much delicious food we were literally busting at the seams and ran out of table and counter space.
And we played my favorite games that included the Christmas bells and the Left-Right Game (which always brings down the house). 
And for the first time ever, we reenacted the Nativity. In Young Women’s the previous Sunday, our wonderful president pulled together a very spiritual program with carols and scriptures. I grabbed a copy of the script and vowed we’d do the same on Christmas Eve, with assuredly the same result.
Yeah, right. With young kids, that ain’t possible. A couple of the young ones had meltdowns and our darling who was to hold the star got freaked out and refused to do it. (“Star light, star fright?”)
Hadley was thrilled when her peers selected her to be Mary but I couldn’t convince anyone to be her Joseph. I finally had to bribe Bryan, one of the boys with whom I carpool, to do it.
Though chaotic, the entire night was a shining reminder that the Christmas season is about celebrating Jesus’ birth surrounded by those we love.
And my greatest takeaway: The Lord’s wise methodology of having an angel appear to Joseph in a dream to tell him to take Mary as his wife was far more effective than bribery.
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. 