The Thomas Winter Tour: 2014

That’s what we were calling our holiday run-around. The Thomas Winter Tour. Coming to a family near you…

We had a whirlwind adventure this Christmas and New Year and visited each of our families (more than once!) Let’s just say, we are pros at living out of a suitcase. 🙂 Here’s the run-down on our holiday adventure.

Dec. 24th: Our very own Christmas morning! Mitch and I decided to celebrate our Christmas on Christmas Eve morning (we did this last year too and it worked out well) before the trip started. We slept in, opened stockings, and a few gifts from each other. More on who got what later this week…

We then cleaned up the wrapping paper, did a final vacuum of the house (we had people staying here while we were gone), packed the car with our stuff and TONS of gifts for the family, and hit the road. First stop: Mitch’s dad’s house in Delaware. We enjoyed the Christmas Eve Mass and came home for a dinner of linguini and clam sauce (a Christmas Eve tradition) and gift giving with his parents.

Dec. 25th: Christmas Day! In the morning, we headed over to Mitch’s mom’s house (just down the road) to exchange gifts with them and enjoy a few hours of games and eating before heading to my parents’ house (across the border in Pennsylvania).

Over to my mom and dad’s house for Christmas dinner with my whole family (the first time all of us have been together since our wedding!). We enjoyed dinner together and the fun finale to our Secret Santa extravaganza (see the trailer here). In short, it was a good time. 🙂

Dec. 26-27th: We stayed at my parents’ house for a few days and enjoyed going on a few hikes, playing cards, and just plain ‘ole relaxin’.

Dec. 28th: Mitch came back home, while I stayed at his mom’s house for the night. He had to work early in the morning the next day and would join us after he finished.

Dec. 29th: While Mitch was at work, I met my mom, grandparents, and great-Aunt Nancy at Longwood Gardens for the morning. They have it decorated beautifully (a post on that to come!) and we had a wonderful visit.

That afternoon, I met up with Mitch’s stepdad and sister, Kylie to go to the movies… we saw Into the Woods. Sidenote: I was not a fan. I’m aware that some liked it, but I thought it was supremely sub-par (and I’m not usually a critical movie-viewer). We had fun regardless!

Dec. 30th: “Present Day” for Mitch’s mom/step-dad/Kylie! We gifted them with a three-part gift (more on that to come), part of it being ice skating at the Blue Cross River Rink in Philly… so much fun! They really had it decorated beautifully for the season- I highly recommend a trip there if you live in the area. It was crowded because everyone was off school and work, but still a lot of fun!

Dec. 31st: New Year’s Eve and a trip to Jersey! We headed back to Mitch’s dad’s house for New Year’s Eve and once there, all piled in the car for a trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in New Jersey. It was a fun visit, filled with good food, great company, and an adorably bouncy puppy named Tiffany. 🙂

We came back to Delaware that night to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Mitch’s dad’s house. Appetizers, relaxing, and watching the ball drop in NYC on TV about sums it all up.

Jan. 1st: Happy New Year! The next day, we packed up the car one more time to head home, stopping at Mitch’s mom’s and my parents’ to say a final hello and Happy New Years. When we finally made it home, we unpacked the car, put on PJs, and collapsed on the couch… what a wonderful Christmas vacation we had! Tiring at times, but wonderful. 🙂

Here’s hoping you had a great time of celebration yourselves! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

PS. Later this week…. posts on What We Gave/What We Got, A Christmas Party: Youth Ministry Style, and a look into how we prepared for the house guests that kept our little home company for a few days while we were away. Stay tuned!