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Countdown to christmas

12/22/2017

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It's the Christmas weekend, Friday, December 22nd, (2017) MERRY CHRISTMAS! Part of me can't believe it's already here! In fact, it's crazy to think that we’re actually coming to the end of 2017, but that's another blog topic. Today, we're talking about Christmas, and the fact that it's only a couple days away! The question...ARE YOU READY!
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This might be one of the fastest Decembers in Higham history. Sure, the actual time of the month isn't speeding up. A day is still a day. Twenty-four hours is still twenty-four hours. And, there are still 31 days in the month. So it's not the month that's speeding up, it's LIFE. Life in the Higham House is moves at a pretty fast pace; almost too fast. As I look back at the last 21 days, I'm wondering where did it all go?

Let me change gears. This is not a woah-is-me post about the busyness of Christmas. No, this is a post about the days left to Christmas. Yeah, it's almost Christmas; only three days left till Christmas morning! (That's counting today.) Like I asked already, Are You Ready?

We love Christmas. We really do. We love the carols, the decorations, the gift giving; but I think we really love these final days leading up to the big day! For instance, today is Friday, Jay's office is closed, Amy has the day off, and it's the last day of school for the kids. That means today, we kick off our Christmas vacation. But it also means, we get to spend some time together as a family.


For our family, these days leading up to Christmas are days filled with tradition and fun. We look forward to these days every year, knowing that we get the chance to slow down and just enjoy the season and our kids. And the fact that we have these days begin over the weekend, it's like having an extra day or two to have some fun.

So, what will these days look like? Well, it's how we are going to countdown the final days till Christmas.

DATE day as we do some last minute christmas shopping

The countdown begins with Amy and Jay getting the day together. That's right, it's a date day. Jay get's the day as a holiday, and Amy has the day off, so they get to go and spend the day together while the kids are in school. There are two goals; the first is to finish the last minute Christmas shopping. Amy does a great job planning ahead, so our last minute shopping means picking up a few little things and doing the grocery shopping for the holiday week. The second goal is to have fun. The fact that we get to spend the day together is a special event. So along with the shopping, we'll have a little fun together.

The Tradition of Christmas Lights

We enjoy discovering Christmas light displays. Fortunately, we live near a couple large light displays. For years we made the trip into West Virginia, to visit a large, drive through Christmas light display. Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, WV hosts the Festival of Lights. This is a massive light display that takes about 20 to 30 minutes to drive through depending on traffic. After the light display, you can get out of your car and visit their Christmas shops and displays. There is a fee for each car. And while the lights themselves are pretty nice, you will have to contend with lines and crowds, especially the closer you get to Christmas.

Last year, we were told of another smaller but closer light display located in Clinton, PA. The Christmas Light Up Celebration, runs through the month of December with different activities all month long. We visited the Clinton light display last year and found it to be a wonderful assortment of themes, lights, and displays. The drive through takes about 10 to 15 minutes depending on traffic and crowds. Last years visit was with no lines or waiting. We drove up and drove in. There is a per car fee of $10. We will be visiting the Clinton Christmas Light Up Celebration this weekend.

The Christmas Eve Lunch

A number of years ago, we started the Christmas Eve tradition of having lunch together as a family at one of our favorite local restaurants. Since Jay works at a church, Christmas Eve is often a day preparing for the Christmas Eve service that take place every year. Depending on the church, and the number of and types of services, some Christmas Eves have been busy getting ready for the services. That leaves little time for us to spend together as a family. So to still have some time together, we started meeting in the early afternoon for lunch.

It was a great solution for our family. Jay could get some prep work done in the morning, we could enjoy lunch, then Jay could get ready for the evening services. When the kids were little, Jay would have to be at both of the evening services, which meant that the kids would have to stay up late, or they would be in bed before Jay came home. Lunch together gave us the perfect time to be together on Christmas Eve.

As the kids have grown, we continue to have lunch together simply because of the tradition, fun, and memories. This year, Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday, which means that jay will be at the church in the AM. Our first evening service is at 5:00 p.m. So being able to spend the lunch hours together will be great!

Men's Rudolph Tee (Heather Black)

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Men's Rudolph Tee (Dark Grey Heather)

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Merry Christmas Tee

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Christmas Eve Services

This is less of a tradition and more of a regular happening for our family. Christmas Eve services are as much a part of our family fabric as regular Sunday morning worship. It's one of those non-negotiables for us. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and welcome him as our Lord and Savior. The Christmas Eve services are important part of our celebration and worship!

Even when our kids were just toddles, the Christmas Eve services was part of our Christmas Eve activities. In our situation, we celebrate with carols and lessons, reading the Christmas story from Luke 2. We're reminded of God's great love for us. And we celebrate Christ's arrival as we light candles and sing silent night. It's a beautiful, holy moment that we look forward to every year.

This year, we will attend both of our church's services. We have a family-friendly service which Jay will lead and speak out, then we'll stay for the second service so we can worship as a family.

The Life in the higham house christmas vlogs

Over the last 3 years, we have been working on a family vlog; sharing our story of family and faith on YouTube. Last year was the first time we attempted to share our Christmas with our friends, family and subscribers. This year, as we work at becoming more consistent as daily family vloggers, we are planning for a full week of Christmas vlogs as we countdown to Christmas. That means, starting today (Friday - which will post on Saturday evening) we will be vlogging straight through till the end of 2017!

We hope to share all the weekend fun, the Christmas Eve traditions, Christmas Day, and the entire week of activities that we are planning for our Christmas Vacation! We are so excited to share our Christmas celebrations with all of you! Be sure to go to our YouTube channel and subscribe. Turn on your notifications so you get alerts of our postings.
So what do your final days of Christmas prep look like for you and your family? Share your itinerary in the comment selection below!

It's going to be a great weekend and a great Christmas! We want to say thank you for all of your support for the blog and our family vlog! Be sure to follow us on Facebook @thehighamfamily, on Twitter @thehighamfamily, and on Instagram @thehighamfamily. And of course, watch us on YouTube at, Life in the Higham House.

- the higham family

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  • FAMILY HOME
    • MEET THE FAMILY >
      • About Jay
      • About Amy
    • About this Blog
    • Contact us
    • Link Tree
  • THE BLOG
    • Kids Talk
    • FAMILY >
      • FOR YOUR MARRIAGE >
        • Books We Love
      • FOR PARENTS
      • FOR THE KIDS
      • Christmas >
        • The Christmas Door Challenge
        • 12 Days Till Christmas 2015
        • Advent Time >
          • LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2021
        • Vlogmas 2018
        • Vlogmas 2020
    • HOME >
      • HOME DECOR
      • DIY PROJECTS
      • GET ORGANIZED
    • KITCHEN
  • YOUTUBE
  • THE SHIRT SHOP
    • Life in the Higham House
    • In A Word
    • MORE THAN WORDS
    • SWEATHIRTS
    • Fall Tees
    • Halloween Tees
    • Thanksgiving Tees
    • Christmas
    • Easter Tees
    • Kids Tees
  • THE BOOK STORE
    • Christmas is the Best
    • Mommy, There's A Dragon in my Room!