We started by enjoying the sunny days we could get in December.
And for rainy days, we enjoyed being cozy inside.
Elena had her assembly, which was a combination of Christmas carols and a rock and roll dance number, go figure.
That weekend was the Christmas party at the Ambassador's Residence. They had really fun, candy land style decorations.
Elena was so excited to see Santa, she refused to do anything else first. She went directly to the line and pranced around until it was our turn. She gave him a BIG hug. Vivian was smiley, but less enthusiastic. This may be the last Christmas when Elena is so thrilled to see Santa, so we savored it.
After Santa, there was plenty of time to enjoy the arts and crafts and the bouncy house with her friends.
The day after the Christmas party was a birthday party, with even more games and crafts. Even Vivian got in on the action.
Elena's teacher planned a week of holiday crafts at school as well. She was most proud of her ginger bread girl, so I took a picture.
Even in the last week, we were still dealing with strikes and traffic. One day, the school decided it was safest to send us home early. I had already given Piedad the day off, so I had the girls come home on the teacher bus with me. We stopped at the playground on the way home for some fun, since they had missed recess.
The other advantage to getting out early was that we could do a little Christmas decorating. I had been so busy staying on top of work and planning packing, that I hadn't had time to decorate, so I got the little tree and soft ornaments and set the girls loose.
They were very proud of the result. The last couple days were a series of special events, pajama day, jeans day and concerts. Elena was thrilled about dressing up and getting to see Santa again.
Vivian was a huge hit at the Secondary concerts. Now that she's in Secondary where there's actually a choir, she's been "discovered". In addition to having a solo during the choir portion of the concert, she was also the vocalist with two of the guitar groups. For the second one, where she rocked "All I Want for Christmas" she even got a standing ovation. We are so proud of our incredible singer.
We knew we were leaving Saturday evening, so we decided to make Saturday morning our "Christmas". Several people had sent the girls presents already, so we arranged them under our mini tree as best we could.
They were very pleased.
It felt like just the right amount of gifts to be excited about, but nothing too overwhelming. They picked a couple to bring on the trip, and it helped the wait at the airport go smoothly.
Of course, their big present is our incredible vacation, but having a new book to read is always good too.
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