The Day Before Christmas Eve...

Magic
It was as magical as it sounds; almost like a Christmas movie.
My oldest son - who I always lack - came to our little town, with his girlfriend.
Hubs picked them up at the train station, the dog was tucked away in the laundry room and I was all lit up inside and filled with butterflies.
And when they entered? Nothing but hugs!

Decorating the tree was top priority.

The tree

Now there's a story that wants to be told! 

My husband has an aptitude for postponing things, 'til another day. No exception was to be made concerning the tree. Driving around "the evening before the evening before", the trees were all sold out at all the usual places.

He told himself - and us - he'd make a new try the following day.

Said and done, off he went.

Only to call me in a little while,  saying there's something seriously wrong with the car. He had to come back home immediately and he would probably have to walk around looking to buy a tree...

[Yes, here you can hear me sigh of irritation!]

After agonizing over an then upcoming expensive reparation, hubs picked a small stone away from the breaks and voila´: the car was back in business! 

When he finally arrived to a place where there were trees left, they were no lookers.... So he ended up with a plastic tree.

Well, at that point The Boy and I settled for any tree!!!!

Getting that very tree just right, was on the agenda.

This guy knows what he's doing!

In the end they called for reinforcement...

Not too shabby, eh?!!

The gifts in place.

Magic consisting of...

Yeah, what is it consisting of? 

I know what it's not consisting of: 

gently falling snow, lots of gifts, neatly cleaned home, a Christmas tree in place in good time, dust free shelves or cleaned windows. 

Now, some of those are a "check!" for me and I still know:

It's the sight of loved faces.

It's the butterflies in my stomach, that comes from theirs.

It's the scents of Christmas food.

It's the sound of Christmas music.

It's the kind of joy and love that keeps your heart so warm, no other heating is needed.

******

 And, so, after a night's sleep it was here: the morning of Christmas Eve!

And with it: Christmas Eve breakfast.

And then there was the cooking process... Making different folks really excited!

I got a Christmas Eve-morning gift too! My favorite candy from my big son :-)

I like to dance and thankfully my dog loves dancing. 

So, we got to spin on the floor for a bit...!

In the twirling of the dance!

The very happy couple <3

Let me tell ya: Christmas Eve must be the looooongest day of the year. Or so my son thinks...

Too much waiting, going on, for his taste.

It's not often we spend six hours together cooking. It's great fun!

Playing games on end.

I wanted everyone to feel welcome.

And this is Christmas Eve-day in a nutshell. Trying to have as much fun as you can, while WAITING!!

One of the highlights of Christmas Eve, in my country, is a Disney medley at 3 PM. 

Probably sounds weird but it's mandatory!

This pic snapped itself. It also captures the in-the-middle-of Christmas-Eve-day!

This mama started getting ready around 5 PM...

Wanna know a secret? 

One of the very best things of this Christmas was seeing my oldest son in the light of being a "boyfriend" to his sweet girlfriend. He was so caring, so loving, so polite and thoughtful. I found myself thinking again (as I did recently spending time with him too) that that's how a man is supposed to act and be.

And it hits me again: I raised this fantastic young man!

I taught him to be respectful and to consider other people's feelings. I taught him to be just how I think a human being ought to be and now - that's exactly what he is!

I'm so very proud it might ouze out of my brain, just thinking about it.

That's my boy, you know!

So, reporting the first part of Christmas: check!

I hope all of you out there have a fab and fantastic Christmas!