Celebrating Christmas in Branson, part 1

Early last Sunday morning, Q and I headed out of town for a long day's drive to Branson, Missouri. A family friend gave my in-laws their timeshare for the year, so we were invited, along with Q's brother and son to enjoy the week there. We stayed in a spacious condo that was actually divided into three parts. We had three kitchens, three stackable washer and dryer units, and several bathrooms and televisions to choose from! It was very comfortable and such a treat for our family to spend time together there.

When we first arrived, I decided to decorate the tree in the living room with candy canes. My in-laws had already placed lots of presents under it, so we had to make it look like a real Christmas tree.

We designated day 2 as our Christmas Eve. The Johnson family opens presents on Christmas Eve, while my family opens the majority of them on Christmas morning. Q and I now open presents from others on Christmas Eve and the ones to each other on Christmas morning. It took us a while to figure that one out the first year we were married, because both of us wanted to keep our own family traditions.

Our nephew, Canon, could not wait to open up his Christmas stocking, full of small gifts and treats.

We spent the rest of our morning going around town shopping and looking at different things. Branson is a family-friendly town with lots to do!

Uncle Q and Canon spent quality time together, too. Here they are playing the hand-slapping game which brought lots of laughs--and red hands!

By late afternoon, we were back at the condo setting the table for dinner. We ate Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and rolls.

After dinner, the men took turns reading the Christmas story before opening presents. Canon began passing gifts out to everyone, then....

You'll have to come back for part 2 to see the present I made for Canon and the delicious dessert we enjoyed afterward.