Christmas Eve- French Style

Baylen's family has been doing this tradition for as long as he can remember. I'm lucky enough that I married into it. It is a really neat tradition. Baylen's dad served his mission in France. It just happens that 3 of their sons have also served French speaking missions (Baylen, Briody, and Bergan). So, we celebrate Christmas Eve with a little French influence. We have a delicious dinner that Boyd and Terry always do an amazing job preparing. Terry makes a killer clam chowder. This is a big compliment because I don't normally like clam chowder. But, I look forward to this all year. We also have lots of French cheese and bread. Baylen really likes this part. I'm not really into yucky, moldy cheese but there are a few more mild varieties that I really like. Everyone keeps telling me the cheese is an aquired taste. Apparently I haven't aquired it yet.

After dinner we always do a nativity/sing-along program. Terry has made costumes for the kids. This year Mickell was the coveted charater "Mary." Tanner probably should have been Joseph but he really wanted to be a wise man.
So, little Landon took the part. There was a slight height difference between Mary and Joseph!
Hailey was a cute little shepherd.
Ashlyn didn't really want to participate. Maybe next year!
Here's a picture of the entire cast. I've decided it's close to impossible to get a good picture of all the kids.
After the program, we had our gift exchange. That was a highlight for me because Tina made me an amazing count down to Christmas wall hanging. I'm sure she spent days and days doing it. It is a gift that I will treasure forever. Grandma made the kids each a "hug." Ashlyn loves carrying hers around...
Each Christmas Eve, Boyd measures the kids and marks it on a wall in the kitchen. He puts their name and year by the marks. It is crazy to see how much the kids have grown in one year. Ashlyn won the award, out of all the cousins, for growing the most. She grew 7 inches in one year!!!

After a fun evening in South Jordan, we headed home to get ready for a visit from Santa Claus. Before going to bed, the kids put their stockings on the back of the couch. We also have the tradition of reading our Nativity book before tucking the kids into bed.