I hope everyone is having a great weekend and that you had a very merry Christmas if you celebrate! 

I had an absolutely amazing Christmas. It was so, so nice to be home with my parents and all three of my older brothers. We haven’t all been home together in quite some time, so there was nothing more I wanted this holiday season than lots of quality fam time.

I feel so happy and blessed that we could all be together because my family is truly the greatest gift. As much as I love the Christmas cheer, music, baking, treats, shopping for presents, coziness, and excitement of the holiday season, my favorite thing about Christmas time is being with my loved ones. There’s seriously nothing better.

Clearly not the most recent picture, but it was too cute not to share – haha!

To kick off the holiday weekend, we went to Christmas Eve mass and then had our usual Christmas Eve lasagna dinner (and fun yankee swap) at my aunt’s house, which is a tradition we’ve had for years.

Christmas Day

We woke up at 8:00 on Christmas morning and all sat around our beautiful tree, taking turns opening gifts one at a time (as we do every year).

Even though I don’t like to focus on the material stuff, I’m thinking of doing a “what I got for Christmas” post, just because I know it’s fun to see what people got (at least, I love to find out 🙂 ). We shall see.

Once all the awesome presents had been opened and lots of laughs were had, we ate breakfast and did our lotto scratch tickets (another tradition we have)!

Then, one of my brothers (who recently moved to Chicago) and I did our “second annual siblings run” since the weather was creepily warm, yet again. We ran the 5k course in the park in my town where we both had our cross-country practices back in high school. It was literally a walk (well, a run) down memory lane. We had the best time!

Once we got home, I did another three miles in my neighborhood because it was just too nice out not to get out there! It was great seeing so many of my neighbors out for Christmas morning walks and we all smiled and wished each other Merry Christmas, which was so nice. I love how the holidays bring everyone closer together.

I was able to stretch and shower just in time for company to start arriving around 1:30. We had a great day full of family time, lots of amazing food (I think I probably ate 10 cookies/chocolates plus pie…and breakfast and dinner…but oh well, no regrets here!), tons of laughter, and so much fun.

It was an amazing day full of memories I will cherish forever.

Saturday

We had a slow, relaxing Saturday morning, and in the afternoon I went for an 8 mile run before more company came over to celebrate.

Since my parents cooked so much the day before, we just had some easy appetizers and then got pizzas and salads and had leftover desserts (we have so many cookies, golden Oreo truffles (don’t worry, I’ll share the recipe soon!), cakes, Hershey’s Symphony candy bar brownies (pictured above ^), pies, and candies – but, hey, I’m not complaining 😉 ).

It was another awesome day full of joy and festivities.

I’m sad that Christmas is already over this year – it just flies by way too fast! But at least there’s still New Years Eve to look forward to, plus my birthday (!!), and a whole winter break to enjoy :).

I truly hope you had an amazing holiday, and that the good times just keep rolling!

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Since it’s Sunday and all, I wanted to join in on Amanda’s fun once again with some more links that I’m loving.

Fitness:

The Best Free Workout Videos on YouTube via Greatist – I love all of these, especially any by Tone It Up, Fitness Blender, (and Sarah Fit).

The Quiet Workout: A Killer Home Routine That Won’t Annoy Your Neighbors also via Greatist – This is a great one to do in a hotel if you’re traveling, too!

Food:

Make Your Own Nut Butters via Runner’s World – I’m obsessed with any kind of nut butter, so I’d love to make my own! 

The Best Delicious Desserts Made Healthier From Around the Web via Greatist – Once all our desserts are gone, I’d love to make some of these! This, this, and this sound amazing! 

Pumpkin Protein Shake via Love Grows Wild – I know pumpkin is a little passé now, but I ate a pumpkin yogurt the other day and remembered how yummy that flavor is, and this smoothie sounds so good. Plus, I got a new blender, so I’ve been collecting lots of new smoothie recipes to try!

Life:

8 Common Worries That Aren’t Worth Stressing About via Greatist – I read this article last summer, but it recently resurfaced in my Greatist daily email, and I knew I had to share it! I can relate to numbers 2, 3, and 6, so this link was a great read for me.

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I usually have more links to share, but since this week has been busy (in the best way!) and I want to go soak up more family time before my brothers head out, that’s all I’ve got for today!

Have a happy rest of your Sunday, and a great week ahead. I’ll see you back here soon 🙂

*Edited on Monday to add: Today I’ve linked up with Katie (Marvelous In My Monday) and Erin (Weekend Snapshots)!