Last week Chris took the bigs (Evie and Mack) to a Jingle Ball concert hosted by a local radio station. He loaded up the car with their friends, watched five pop acts sing their one hit wonders, and returned home close to midnight. On a school night! It was a special memory for them to share, so we were happy to give them this treat.

The middles (Vivian and Ben) and littles (Elinor and Juliet) still wanted to enjoy some holiday cheer at home, so we dipped pretzels in melted white chocolate before bedtime. It was such a simple activity for a chilly December night, but I will remember it forever.

The twins were so enthusiastic! And messy! SPRINKLES!!!

And Vivian and Ben were so careful, trying to make each dipped pretzel the “perfect” one.

In holidays past, I found myself feeling like we had to go somewhere to do something memorable (Polar Express train, I’m talkin’ about you!), but more often than not those”fun” outings really aren’t worth the schlepping and fussing and missed naptimes (especially with little little ones). It is the quiet cookie baking and festive tree decorating and Christmas book reading that we all look forward to the most year after year.

Of course, we sprinkle in a few special outings every season (like the Jingle Ball), but these days we put less pressure on ourselves to provide the most memorable Christmas ever. And it turns what can be a hectic and stressful time of the year into one that is actually quite lovely!