Christmas 2010: A Snapshot

We were able to spend Christmas in California with Mike's family this year.  It was a busy, wonderful week of family traditions, fun, chatting, karaoke (!!), games, toys and feeling the true spirit of Christmas.  Before heading to California, we had a little Christmas family home evening with my family here, full of gift opening, yummy food, and the Nativity play.  We are blessed to have wonderful family, both close by and a little farther away.

Here are some of my favorite pics:

Nativity play.

 My handsome husband decorating the tree.

Mr. Three standing up amidst the excitement.

Opening gifts.

 Cousin time!

Some of our favorite family gifts were games.  Here's two we love:

Curious George Discovery Beach

So this one was for Mr. Two's birthday, but I have to include it.  Perfect preschool game, and fun enough for the rest of the family.  It's "I Spy" with a twist:  You have several treasures hidden inside the gameboard filled with blue bead "water."  You take turns spinning a spinner which tells you which of the five windows you can peek in.  If you find a treasure that matches the cards out for play, you get the card(s).  Watch out for the wave on the spinner, as you shake the board, redistributing the treasures.  The first person to collect six cards wins.  This game is great for increasing memory and deductive skills.

Blokus

This one is more for the older kids and parents, but the rules are simple enough for my boys to play too.  You have several game pieces that are one to six square combinations.  You must place pieces touching only corners of your own color (although you can place pieces alongside other players' colors).  The object is to play all of your pieces and prevent others from playing theirs.  The rules are simple, but the game can be quite a challenge!

Pictures of games from amazon.com