Christmas in Mayo

Gemma and I departed Dublin for Louisburgh to spend Christmas with Paul's family on Tuesday, December 22nd, and Paul followed the next day after he was finished with work. On Christmas Eve morning, Marie, Brian, Paul, Gemma, and I made our second annual trip to Westport House to see Santa. It's a great experience- we got to decorate gingerbread men, make a Yule log, get faces painted, have a treat, and see the man himself!

That evening we made an attempt to go to mass (we left about half way through, as Gemma was getting tired and impatient!), then got ready for Santa's arrival!

We woke up on Christmas Day to discover that Santa had arrived!

Gemma's reaction to the 'snowy' boot prints was, "we have to clean up that mess!"

She opened her gifts from Santa and everyone else. 

So excited!

We ate the traditional Irish Christmas dinner of turkey and ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, roast potatoes, carrots, and brussel sprouts. It was delicious!

We spent the rest of the Christmas break relaxing, trying to dodge the rain, and visiting friends and family, including spending a night with friends in Galway. Gemma also helped a bit with the renovations on Marie and Brian's future home!

All seven of us went out for dinner on New Year's Eve. 

I headed back to Dublin early on New Year's Day to get the Christmas decorations taken down, etc, and Paul and Gemma came back yesterday afternoon. It was a wonderful Christmas to see the magic through Gemma's eyes! 

Christmas Time in Dublin

Back on Saturday, December 19th, Paul, Gemma, and I spent the afternoon/evening taking in the Christmas atmosphere in the Dublin city centre. Our first stop was the Live Animal Crib outside the Mansion House, where a choir was singing some festive favourites. Gemma danced and sang along!

We walked over to the Grafton street area, where we got dinner, watched the 'snow' fall outside a shop, looked at the lights, listened to all the Christmas music, and even got ice cream because the weather was so mild!

On Monday, December 21st, Gemma and I met Paul's cousin's wife and their two boys for lunch and fun at a cafe/petting zoo. 

Festive Fun!

We've been busy getting ready for Christmas and enjoying lots of holiday activities. 

Back on Tuesday, December 1st Gemma and I finished some Christmas shopping at the nearby shopping centre. 

And later that afternoon/evening, Paul met us at the Christmas market in the city centre. 

On Tuesday, December 8th, Gemma and I went to another shopping centre to get her hair cut- the last time she got it cut was right before last Christmas!

We had lunch and enjoyed the Christmas decorations!

Later that afternoon we met Paul nearby for ice skating! Gemma was a bit frustrated that she couldn't stay up on her own and declared the ice 'too slippy'. 

Paul made a quick trip to England last week for a night, and brought me back this special treat!

This past Sunday we put together a gingerbread house. I think Gemma had more fun eating some of the decorations! 

Yesterday we mixed up dough for sugar cookies. 

And, today we rolled out, decorated, and baked them! 

It has been so much fun making these holiday memories! 

Holiday Happenings

A couple of weeks ago, on Thursday 12th December, they had an event to turn on the Christmas lights on Henry Street, one of the main shopping areas in Dublin. As Gemma is SUPER excited about Christmas this year, we are trying to take in as many festive activities as possible, so we headed in to see it. It was a fun evening of music and entertainment!

Since we had our Thanksgiving dinner this past Sunday, we put up our Chrisrmas tree on Monday! Gemma was a great helper this year!

And on Tuesday, we completed the decorating! The stockings were the last things to go up, but Gemma had to try hers on first!

Thanksgiving!

This past Sunday we hosted an American Thanksgiving dinner for some friends. We had 9 adults and 5 children (Gemma being the oldest), so it was a full house! We had a great time! I did learn that the Irish aren't big fans of pumpkin pie- a lot of that came back on the dessert plates! You must have to grow up with it to appreciate it! 

Lots to be thankful for!