House of Hurst: Christmas Celebrations: Part 1

This year, with Henley being one, Christmas time is a lot more fun! We are all getting into the celebrations and working on starting new family traditions. Now that there is so much to do, I realize how little time there is between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I thought that I would do one big blog dedicated to Christmas, but that would be way too long. So here is our Christmas Celebrations: Part 1!

After much deliberation, we decided to be optimistic and go ahead and get a Christmas tree this year. We weren't sure how Henley would do with it in the house, with him being so grabby and all. Well, so far so good. We opted for a little tree and stacked it atop an ottoman and a box that I wrapped in Christmas paper. My mom joined us for a little trim trimming party. I made some mulled wine, Cranberry Brie Pastry Bites and sweet potato gnocchi. It was my first attempt at gnocchi and it was delicious! Get the recipe here: Sweet Potato Gnocchi w/ Brown Butter Sage Sauce It was such a fun night.

Love my momma!

Gotta get the family picture.

Checking out the ornaments

Since my mom had some time off work, we decided to take Henley to Knott's Berry (Merry) Farm. I spent many days there as a kid, mostly conquering all the roller coasters of the park. I didn't realize how much there was to do for little guys. The park was only open 8 hours that day, so we actually didn't get to do everything we wanted. The park was dead, and we were able to walk on to every ride. During Christmas time, there is an awesome craft fair at the front of the park. On the weekends, I believe that the craft fair is free. They also have the best Santa's village that I have seen in the area.

Meeting Snoopy!

Hi Snoopy.

His face when he saw the train.

Peek-A-Boo

Mine Train

We took Henley to see Santa in Downtown Brea a few days ago. I have heard legends of babies being scared of Santa, but Henley is not an easily frightened kid. Apparently, I was wrong, The moment he saw Santa he started crying. We tried to calm him down, but he just could relax. I'm not gonna lie, it was a little funny. He just kept looking at Santa and then looking away. We took a family picture all together, instead of just leaving Henley with Santa alone. Poor baby. We actually just got a printed picture, so I will have to get that up here later.

Downtown Brea @ Christmas Time

And Lastly, since my mom is once again traveling for work during the holidays, we did our big gift exchange with them yesterday. Of course, Henley was super spoiled. He loved opening all of his presents in his big chair. He got a big barn, a bubble gun, some softy toys, books, clothes and a cool wooden pull-train. Alex got a cool flying thing. haha My parents were super sweet and complied an external drive with all the pictures and videos they ever took of me. I am super excited to look through those. My mom also gave me a journal that she wrote for me starting when I was very little. I need to get myself a big glass of wine and just read through it soon. Also, my grandma got me a.....DISNEYLAND pass. I am so excited! My family is just too much.