California Christmas

When we moved to California, I never thought about what the holidays would be like. I considered what our new home would look like, what our church would be like, how the people would receive us, but never what the holidays would be like. Christmas couldn't possibly feel like Christmas without snow and blustery temperatures. Right?

Christmas weekend officially began yesterday and while the temps have steadily been in the high 50s and 60s for the past 2 weeks or so, Friday brought warmer weather. Since there would be no cozy sweaters and wooly socks this Christmas, we made the most of our situation and headed to the beach. When in Rome...

The weather was perfect. Clear skies, warm but breezy, beautiful. We packed a picnic and stayed all morning. It still didn't feel like Christmas though...

So we headed to Manhattan Beach to check out some lights. The pier is lit with twinkling lights and the whole downtown area is very festive. We needed festive.

We ate peppermint ice cream, we walked the pier, we got pretty darn close to feeling Christmas. It still wasn't enough though.

So we went to church. We found a great new church that we love and were excited to attend Christmas Eve service. 

That almost did the trick. We needed a little something more to really get there. So we opened a present before bed.

We were almost feeling it. Christmas jammies were next on the agenda. 

We were 99% feeling like Christmas had begun. Something was missing. Then we skyped our family and we were there. 

The Christmas feeling is not about climate or lights or Christmas treats, it's about family. We are missing our family. If you have yours nearby this holiday, hug them a little tighter. Merry Christmas out there!!