The shopping is done and the presents are wrapped and Frog Prince and I have settled down for a long winter's nap.
Okay, so maybe not a long winter's nap -- but, it's cold and snowy and the perfect time of year to share time together. Although we are not traveling this year, and it will be hard to be away from our family members, we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas for this first time in our new home.
Wednesday we kicked off our Christmas Traditions, by enjoying a special dinner together of Roasted Red Pepper Soup and Pizza-Stuffed Pretzels.
After dinner we celebrated the birth of Christ with friends at our church's Christmas service. Then, we drove around to look at Christmas lights in the area before coming home to curl up on the couch and watch the Santa Clause
; one of our favorite Christmas movies {coming in a close tie with Elf
, of course!}. Accompanying our movie was a delicious cup of snow tea and mint oreo cookie crunch! We finished off the evening by sitting in front of the Christmas tree just gazing at the lights. That's a tradition that I love.
; one of our favorite Christmas movies {coming in a close tie with Elf, of course!}. Accompanying our movie was a delicious cup of snow tea and mint oreo cookie crunch! We finished off the evening by sitting in front of the Christmas tree just gazing at the lights. That's a tradition that I love. 
Today, we'll be watching the Polar Express
complete with a finger-foods tray. We'll have summer sausage, homemade crackers with cheese, grapes, homemade Chex mix and Caramel Cranberry Chex Mix. Of course, there will be Christmas cookie goodies too.
complete with a finger-foods tray. We'll have summer sausage, homemade crackers with cheese, grapes, homemade Chex mix and Caramel Cranberry Chex Mix. Of course, there will be Christmas cookie goodies too. 
For Christmas Eve, we'll make easy Orange Cranberry Muffins for breakfast. Our family tradition of Christmas Eve is a big pot of Chicken Chili -- it simmers in the crockpot all day, making it easy to have dinner ready after the Christmas eve church service.
It's been a tradition in my family to have this chili and homemade french bread for as long as I can remember.
Just as St. Nicholas brings us a Christmas book every year, Santa brings our family a game every year and it's our tradition to play that game on Christmas day. Therefore, the last place I want to spend Christmas day is in the kitchen. So, I chose meals for Christmas day that are easy to prepare and allow us to have a relaxing day.
For Christmas breakfast, we'll have Christmas Eggs and Lemon Blueberry Scones. The Christmas Eggs are easily put together the night before {as is the cinnamon sugar coffee cake I debated adding to our Christmas morning menu}, and the scones go together really quickly too.
Christmas day, we're starting a new tradition -- rather than a turkey or ham, we're going with something unique and easily made in the crockpot. This way we can hang out as a family and eat a delicious and special meal during the day. We'll be making Boeuf Bourguignon and Artesian Bread. The bread dough is made ahead of time, and takes all of 5 minutes to shape and 30 minutes to bake.
Our final new tradition will be making cupcakes on Christmas night to celebrate Christ's birthday. I've always wanted to do this, and Frog Prince had the great idea of making cupcakes where each person can frost and decorate their own cupcake just as one would decorate a Christmas cookie. I'm very excited to start this tradition.
So, there you have an overview of our Christmas food traditions. What are yours?
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