The Houghs: Christmas

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, AMERICA!!!

The most exhausting day of the Season is finally over and done with, folks. . . and I, for one, am f***ing spent.

This year, just as in the last couple years, we laid down the law that the girls couldn't get up before 6am. Alayna voluntarily took Benadryl to help her fall asleep on Christmas Eve, but it didn't help much - both girls woke up every hour, on the hour, for most of the night. Just like practically every other child in Christendom, I'm sure.

We didn't leave the house today - I spent a solid chunk of the day putting together Abby's big gift, and the girls were pretty preoccupied with their Christmas presents, so we just hung around like a bunch of bums all day. Which I was totally fine with, to be honest.

So yeah, here's a rundown of the Houghs' 2019 Christmas.

Enjoy. . .

Some exhausted kids arise from their slumber. . .

Oddly enough, the dog was the most excited to tear into his stuff - he could smell his treats and bones through their wrapping, and had been wanting to get to them since the night before while we were setting everything out.

We had to appease the dog, if only to get him out of our hair for awhile, so he got his stuff first.

Stockings always take awhile. . .

Another big-ass bone for the dog. This occupied his time for most of the morning.

Abby got to work right away with her stocking, and, as always, tore through it pretty fast.

Alayna, in retrospect, worked ever-so-slowly on the dog's stocking.

Still working on the bone. . .

Moving on to her stocking. Both girls got a lot of health and beauty products in their stockings last year, and less toys and candy - they're at that age now.

Abby's stocking, plundered.

Alayna takes FOREVER going through her stuff, taking her time to open and inspect every, last item in her stocking before moving on to the next one.

This means that Abby has to sit their, bored, watching her sister putz her way through the process. I feel bad for the kid.

Stockings finally finished, the girls transitioned to presents. This year, we picked up a couple salon chairs for their dolls from 'Santa' (their big gifts are always from us.)

Opening some perfumes from their Elf on the Shelf, Rosie.

Abby's perfume was tropical beach-themed, while Alayna's was Parisian - totally fitting, seeing the themes of their bedrooms.

Watson had a few wrapped items under the tree this year, seeing how their were quite a few things that wouldn't fit into the stocking. Like this box of gingerbread dog treats that he was super-excited to tear into.

A karaoke microphone, which Abby had specifically asked Santa for when we visited him at the Santa House awhile back.

Alayna finally got her gold decal stickers for her bedroom. . .

Happy camper

Opening up an early present from Grandma. . .

Mom sewed the girls window curtains for their bedrooms that match their accent walls.

Abby always makes us homemade gifts for Christmas. This year she spent quite a lot of time on them.

She made a modge-podge (however you spell that) collage of all my favorite things - records, beer, The Simpsons, etc. - along with a Christmas ornament.

And she also wrote a short story based loosely on me and my interests. A pretty entertaining read.

Kris picked out a couple cozy scarves for the girls.

They can also be worn as hats. . . I guess.

We bought Watson his very own fluffy fleece blanket - covered with dogs - so he had something to lounge on (he's always lying on our blankets, stinking them up.)

Definitely a big hit with the dog.

A coral lamp for Abby's beach-themed bedroom.

I'm not sure what she's holding here - some kinda beauty product Kris picked out.

Still loving the blanket.

After an hour of opening smaller gifts, we finally let the girls tear into their main presents. This year, both girls got one pretty expensive present, with consequently a fewer number of gifts under the tree overall.

Abby discovers she got a new loft bed, after years of begging for one.

Alayna, since she's pulled straight-A's throughout her first semester of Middle School, received a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. We actually bought it for her back in September, and every week (after she went to bed, of course) I'd install various apps, apply different settings and personalizations, etc to keep the phone up to date and ready to roll Christmas morning. I also bought screen protectors and a double-sided case for it, along with extra cords and chargers - everything she could possibly need to start using it. Consequently, this meant it no longer fit in its original packaging, so on Christmas morning I just turned the phone on, turned the ringer up, and set it in the kitchen Junk Drawer. Went it was time for her to open up her big gift, I just called her new phone and she heard 'something' ringing from the kitchen. . .

It took her a second to realize what was happening, but eventually it clicked.

Kris had a video of this entire reveal as it unraveled, but she deleted all of her post-stockings videos from her phone on accident. Which definitely f***ing sucks.

Abby and Alayna had struck a deal, where if Alayna ever got a real cell phone, Alayna would pass on to Abby her Wi-Fi-only phone that she got from a friend of hers at school (a phone without a SIM card, so it can't call or text.)

Within seconds of getting her new phone, Alayna ran back to her bedroom to get the old phone for Abby, which we thought was pretty sweet of her.

Welcome to our new life. . .

As always, a festive fire on the TV. . .

After giving the girls a few minutes to look around their new phones, we resumed the gift-opening. . .

Alayna's been really into jewelry lately - especially rings - so I picked out a top-rated, white leather jewelry box (like, a legit one that would suit an adult) so she can keep her stuff organized.

I picked up a Visa gift card for Kris so she could shop for new cabinet hardware for the kitchen remodeling she has in mind. Happy Wife, Happy Life.

Abby bought Alayna a leopard-print pendant necklace from the school craft store, which went over well.

Alayna took this edited pic with her new phone. The kid needs to learn how to focus her pictures.

Kris receives her modge-podge collage and short story from Abby. . .

Videogames for Abby's Nintendo DS.

An American Girl book on how to organize one's life. Abby NEEDS this book in her life, and, judging by the expression on her face here, she knows it, too.

Wouldn't be a Hough Family Christmas without getting a bunch of new books. . .

Each girl got a laptop desk - you know, one of those ones with a plush underside and a work surface with cubbies on top. Something they can use for school work, writing, artwork, etc. while they lounge about the house.

Some stationary boxes Marcy put together for the girls - with all sorts of stationary, art supplies, stamps, envelopes, etc.

Alayna had this ornament made for us through her school. Too bad she got the year we got married wrong.

I bought us a breakfast sandwich maker from Hamilton Beach off Amazon when it went on sale for half-off on Black Friday. Egg McMuffin time, baby.

A new camping mug. Seems pretty accurate to me.

This here took the majority of my day, but it was worth it in the long run. Before we could set up Abby's new loft bed, we had to disassemble her old one and move it into Alayna's room (Alayna wanted a bunk-bed set-up in her room, since there was a free bed on hand.)

This meant we had to move Abby's bed into Alayna's room and set that up first, seeing how Abby's bed is the bottom bunk and Alayna's was the top (the dog hates the vacuum cleaner, and attacks it whenever we run it.)

The looooong assembly process begins. I had to start with the bookcase that makes up one side of the loft bed.

Some handsome guy, working a hex wrench.

After the bookcase, I put together the bed itself.

Meanwhile, back in the Living Room, Alayna was still on her new phone. Which surprised no one, honestly - we figured this would be the case throughout the first couple days she had it, so we allowed some over-abundance.

Four hours later, everything assembled but the ladder.

In the early afternoon, it was time to give Watson his 'Christmas Cookie' from his stocking. . .

This gave him diarrhea later on in the day, but I'm sure it was worth it. At least he didn't have an accident in the house this year. Thank God.

A lazy, lazy Christmas Day.

The new set-up in Abby's room. We're going to paint her walls white this week - that ought to be a frickin' blast.

I strung up white lights underneath Abby's loft bed, where she designed a cozy 'chill space.' Any excuse to use Holiday illumination, folks.

The loft bed finished, it was time for the first of many Christmas mimosas. . .

Still in his new fleece blanket. I dare you to find a lazier dog than ours.

Alayna's new set-up in her extremely-messy bedroom (that's on her To-Do List this week - clean up and organize her f***ing bedroom.) The girls played in here with their doll stuff the majority of the day, which was a Godsend.