As soon as I drove into my brother’s neighborhood Friday night, I had the feeling that I was gonna be celebrating “Christmas in Maine”… like a small town, coastal Maine Christmas movie. It just felt magical and cozy and wintery. There was ice/snow on the ground, it was bitterly cold.
But, it was toasty warm in the house. And there was pizza waiting for us! And beer! Oh, glorious Asheville craft beer! My parents had stocked up on multiple cases of our favorite beer… so my brother, Lina, and I dove right in.
I woke early on Christmas Eve morning and realized that the moon was shining right in on me. It was silent and peaceful, and I just lay there as the sun rose. Soon, I smelled coffee from downstairs, so I headed down and sat with my brother for a while. We had a slow morning, all five of us, just sitting and talking and watching Christmas movies.
We came back in to warm up and decided it was time to see what might be open for a late lunch. We weren’t the only ones with the idea of getting out on Christmas Eve. There were more people than I expected at the local BBQ bar. We had a cozy, fun time together over a long + yummy lunch. Then, we made a quick grocery store run for last minute needs before heading home for a relaxing, quiet Christmas Eve night.
National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation, beer, chips, ham, roasted veggies, popcorn, and lots of laughs. That’s how we spent our Christmas Eve. Totally simple. Unrushed. No “musts” or “shoulds”. Nothing but just being together.
Christmas morning came and I woke early again. Soon, the coffee was brewing and I joined my brother downstairs to sip on a mug of coffee (with a little Bailey’s in it) while we readied the Christmas atmosphere. Music. Christmas lights. And the Netflix fire on the tv. Hehe.
After we all gathered and had started sipping on our second and third cups of coffee, we got to the presents part. Fun! Lina and I passed out all the presents and then we all dug in. So much fun.
Again, the simplicity of this Christmas amazed me. No big expectations or needs. Just sitting and enjoying the morning together. No need for fancy anything. Or stress about when to prepare what food or what comes next or anything. We literally took each minute as it came.
In the afternoon, I decided to take a short walk on the beach to just soak it all in. The sun. The feelings. The gratitude. 
My dear ones, I sure do hope that you have had a beautiful holiday weekend… and that you are still finding time to just be and relax and feel the love.
xoxo. liz.
Lovely!
Thank you, Louise! I hope that you have had a calm and beautiful holiday season. xoxo