christmas ’20

Posted on December 24, 2020 by tandem in love

christmas was in question, just like every holiday this year. for thanksgiving, we all spent it with our nuclear family but for christmas…we thought, let’s do this.

it went back and forth, whether or not we were going to have it at our house or my parent’s house. we weren’t sure if we wanted to have all that commotion over at my parent’s since they were recovering from covid and my dad was still very weak and exhausted. my mom insisted that it would be best to have it there because it would allow my dad to rest in the comfort of his own home versus our house. so, we settled on my parent’s house!

we did our usual. my sister kim cooked most of the meal and we brought ancillary items. LOL i brought desserts and thuy brought…oh my gosh. i don’t remember what she brought…a salad? she was going to make an apple cobbler but there were a lot of desserts, she last minute nixed it.

i chuckle at the fact that we were determined to start early and end early. bahhhahahaha. nope. we all said we would meet at my parent’s around 2pm. that turned into 3pm. then 4pm. we were going to eat around 5 or 6pm and that turned into our usual 8pm. doh! plus, dan and agata typically celebrate with her family first and they don’t usually get over to mom and dad’s until 7pm…so in the end. it was allllll the same. LOL

we nibbled on a charcuterie board, drank wine, the kids played, assembled gingerbread houses and trees, and when we sat down for dinner, my dad said a prayer. like every year, we cleaned up, readied desserts and opened gifts upstairs! the kids were so excited! this was the first year ellie was so into it. last year she just wandered around but this year she was like, where are my gifts. LOL she kept saying, ‘i don’t see my name!’ as she would look for presents addressed to her.

and of course, we took our annual pj photos with everyone! tashina and huy couldn’t be with us {so sad!} but we were able to FaceTime them and include them in the picture like always! so perfect!

more on christmas morning, my parent’s 50th anniversary and christmas day down below!

C H R I S T M A S E V E

via tandeminlove.com — christmas balloons and my parent’s 50th anniversary balloon

while celebrating christmas eve, we incorporated my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary! isn’t that amazing?! we got them a cake and balloons to celebrate the special occasion!

5 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

we were so tired christmas eve, i forgot to get the girls to put out cookies and carrots for santa and his reindeers! i did it myself but bummed they didn’t experience it with me! then we put them to bed and i forgot to remind olive to wake me up before she goes downstairs. another fail!

so – early christmas morning, i wake up to olive not in bed! ugh!! darn it! i missed her surprised face when she saw santa’s gifts!!!! i had to drag ellie out of bed, what a sleepy head, and go find olive. she was so excited over what santa had brought!

they went through their stockings and we opened up all the gifts from us. olive was besides herself at the huge LOL house santa dropped off. once all the presents were opened and cleaned up, we jumped on breakfast. hearty for us and cinnamon rolls and sprinkles for the girls!

it was a special morning. it was slow, calm, heartwarming and sweet. oh how i enjoy these moments with my babes. their sweetness, innocence, appreciation, and love for everything makes my heart melt.

C H R I S T M A S M O R N I N G

later that day, we usually host christmas day for hc’s side of the family but obviously with covid, that was not happening. instead, we had his sister and mom over. hc cooked ham and bunch of other delicious sides. he always does such a great job creating the menu and working hard to make it wonderful.

we hung out, chillaxed, drank, ate, conversed and reveled in the evening’s calm and brightness of christmas. after dinner, i served desserts {cookies, peppermint bark, cake} and we opened presents.

what i have loved about being in this season of covid is the intimacy, quietness, and slowness of everything. it’s nice to not be rushed and overwhelmed with all the craziness that life was. it’s sweet, calm, and full of depth. a year that no one wanted but we all figured it out.

C H R I S T M A S D A Y

christmas ’19

Posted on January 8, 2020 by tandem in love

we did our usual…christmas eve at my parent’s house with my side of the family and christmas day at our house with hc’s side of the family.

for christmas eve, my sister kim, usually plans the main entree and we bring additional dishes. we all partake in the food and decor. we have always had christmas eve at my parent’s house our whole lives, so although we all don’t live at home, it’s only natural for us to host it there every year!

this year started very late for us as mass at st. mary’s was pushed back another hour, causing us to be a bit behind. our day flew by as we were trying to prepare for christmas day, eve, get ourselves ready, do odds and ends around the house prepping for our guests for christmas day.

i was hoping we could prep the salad i wanted to bring over before we headed to mass but we completely ran out of time. we hustled our way to church, attended a very beautiful christmas eve mass and came home to to put together the not so quick salad. ughhhhhhhh. we finally arrived at my parent’s house after 7! i believe that is the latest we have ever come over on christmas eve!!!

reagardless, the holiday spirit was in full swing. the house smelled yummy, the candles were lit, christmas music was blasting, glasses of wine were plentiful as we laughed, talked, cooked, and the kids played.

everyone was joyous and the mood was bright. as we sat down for dinner, olive helped my dad say the dinner’s prayer, and we all then tried pulling our christmas cracker with our neighbor. the trick was to make a wish and the person holding the longest end, their wish would come true!!! we all held crackers with each other and pulled and pulled. we were laughing so hard as some of us could not get our cracker to pop! LOL we were practically crying and then some of us didn’t even get the long end of the stick and we couldn’t stop laughing!

dinner was delicious and the kids could not wait to open up their gifts! per usual, we cleaned up, set up desserts and the kids started to open up their gifts. one by one, group by group, we opened up all our gifts. it was getting so darn late and ellie was becoming deliriously tired. she was not in a bad mood, grouchy, or anything of that sort but she was out of it!

i held her in my arms, like she was a little baby, and literally rocked her to sleep. her eyes rolled back and forth and i swung her and within a few minutes she was o u t. oh she was so tired. it was so cute and darling that i rocked her to sleep…i don’t think i have done that since she was a newborn!

there were so many gifts and the girls had so much fun. christmas eve was definitely a wonderful, enchanted success!

*****

C H R I S T M A S E V E

*****

christmas day started out slow and, per usual, before i knew it…the deadline was approaching and i was not ready! i still needed to finish the table settings, i didn’t get everyone’s names out on place cards, i hadn’t set the flatware, i didn’t start the charcuterie board…shoot! shoot! shoot! i always wonder, where did the time go?!! LOL there was still soooooooo much to do!!!

but in the end..it all falls into place. the guests arrived early, per hc’ s whole side of the family and the festivities began with a bang. aunt wendy put together the drinks, his cousins and aunts brought sides and different entrees and hc was putting the finishing touches on the prime rib and ham.

everyone was in good spirits and the food prep was humming along perfectly. after an hour or so of warming everything up, it was time to eat. hc had everyone gathered around before food was served and proceeded to give a little speech. this was our first christmas without his dad and it was a tough one. hc tried to continue on with his speech but i picked up, in tears, thanking everyone for coming and that it was our first christmas without papa and we felt blessed that everyone was here to celebrate together.

that was pretty much all i could spit out. there were tears shed and lots of hugs given. what a heavy but heartfelt day. we miss him so, so much and it’s not the same at all. such a big void in the day that will never be the same but we continue to share all the wonderful memories of him and that warms our hearts and keeps us going.

overall, it was a very beautiful and wonderful christmas day with our family. the food was delicious, the decor was festive, and the energy was palpable.

we deeply miss you papa.

C H R I S T M A S D A Y

[sisters]

[charcuterie]

[danielle, daniel, and mark]

[hc and jennifer]

[with auntie missy]

[me and hannah]

[opening up presents from auntie missy]

[family]

[dinner by candlelight]

xoxo

christmas eve ’18

Posted on December 28, 2018 by tandem in love

christmas eve. it’s such a special evening. i get so excited leading up to this day. the magic, the love, the merriment. there is something so wonderful about spending this evening together as a family. maybe it’s the hustle and bustle that envelopes you. maybe it’s because everyone is in a good mood. maybe it’s the sound of christmas music and strangers saying merry christmas to you. maybe it’s the joy and smiles that exude from your children filled with anticipation of candy, toys, and a visit from santa. maybe it’s the smell of a delicious dinner waiting to be served. maybe it’s the wine kicking in. hahaha!

whatever it is, it’s truly the most wonderful time of the year. we spend christmas eve at my parent’s house annually and i love the coziness of it all. the kids have fun darting all around and playing. our family members ebb and flow to different parts of the house to socialize and immerse themselves in random conversations and activities.

once dinner is ready, we all take our seats and my dad says grace. this year, we had mom’s crab soup, tenderloin, sautéed mushrooms, corn, mashed potatoes, {i’m sure i am forgetting something} and agata brought her homemade cabbage pirogies sprinkled with chopped bacon!!! her dish was the highlight and hit of the night! it was sooooooo flippin’ good!

after dinner and clean up, we served desserts and then we all changed into our christmas pj’s and posed for our family photo. a tradition running, maybe, ten years strong…or close to that! once that was done, the kids became super excited because we started our gift exchange. it’s soooo delightful to watch their excitement and joy!

oh gosh, the girls are so fortunate to get so much!!!! the gifts kept rolling in for the kids. ellie was a bit fussy and was not into opening gifts but olive on the other hand – she was a pro! oh my, it was such a long and lovely night. after each gift was opened and desserts were consumed, we had to get home. it was almost midnight!!! so late for the little buggers. plus, santa was coming soon!

what a perfect and wonderful christmas eve. we are feeling so grateful for everything – life, love, health, family, and friends.

[bûche de nöel]

[tashina and huy]

[olive is sooooooo extraaaaaaa. aren’t they the cutest cousins?!]

[she’s so sassy, sweet, and thugalicious]

[ellie loves dogs]

[how sweet is nutmeg and ellie?]

[our sweet family]

[christmas is for chillin’ with the fam]

[kim’s table centerpiece]

[kids table]

[plaid anyone?]

[hamming it up]

[ellieeeeee, she was hugging reagan so tight and making the funniest faces!]

[thuy and mom]

[how sweet is this?!]

[y’all. i can’t even with olive’s faces. hahhaa!]

[i had to post them all because she’s so cute!]

[christmas pj’s]

[the doan zone]

[there goes olive again with the cute expressions]

xoxo

christmas eve ’17

Posted on January 2, 2018 by tandem in love

christmas eve was teetering on the brink of us possibly hosting it or having it at my parent’s house {for the past several decades}…it depended upon whether or not my parent’s foundation crack was fixed and the carpet was installed.

hallelujah, everything fell into place and my parent’s house was back in order! it was going to feel like christmas eve!

well, i awoke to it snowing outside and became a little kid, squealing with excitement! i was soooooo stoked it was going to be a white christmas!! it had been so warm all season and the southern region of the states had gotten more snow than us! there’s something just so magical about snow on christmas!

we prepped all day to get ready for christmas day {we were hosting for the first time!}, ellie took a nap, we scrambled to get the girls bathed, and over to my parent’s house at a decent time but failed miserably! i wanted to get over to help my sister cook but we ended up not getting over there until 6!!!

all was good, we helped with dinner, we partook in joyous, silly things, and enjoyed each other’s company. christmas time is so darn special. i love the merriment, the compassion, and the warmth of home. there is nothing like spending time with family and loving one another.

we were so happy to have the newlyweds, huy + tashina, here for christmas {after joining them for their fabulous wedding}. they always add to the fun craziness of our family time!

life is good.

[a white christmas]

[olive is so gangsta]

[twinning]

[gorgeous centerpiece]

[besties]

[my sweet, sweet girls]

[silly cousins]

[olive and ba]

[olive, huy, and tashina]

[my tribe]

[crazy cousins]

[dan, olive, and agata]

[kim and ellie]

[bennett, kevin, and reagan]

[oh ellie…reagan loves you!]

[she’s like take the friggin’ picture already! hahaha]

xoxo

christmas eve

Posted on December 30, 2016 by tandem in love

2016

every year, christmas eve is spent at my mom and dad’s house.

my sister kim cooks dinner, while we help, and all is merry and bright! my dad blasts the christmas music, the wine is freely flowing, yummy aromas fill the house, and there is much excitement and anticipation amongst the kids.

as we walked into my parent’s house, i heard my brother huy’s voice. i thought, ‘oh, he’s on face time already!’. we had received bad news earlier on in the week that huy and tashina weren’t going to make it out here for christmas. we were so sad! well, as we were taking off our shoes, huy comes running up the stairs!!! wtf! we couldn’t believe it! i was soooo surprised and happy! he made it into town! yaaaayyyyyyyyy! he was only going to be in chicago for less than 24 hours but we didn’t care! it was a total christmas gift to have him spend it with us, albeit the short time frame.

olive was not afraid, this time around, of uncle huy! all the other times he’s visited she has been utterly scared of him. almost terrified! she was so receptive and actually gave him hugs, kisses, and wanted to be near him. a complete 180 to her behavior from a few months ago! i was loving it…it made me so happy to see her loving huy.

well, we fried the turkey, we made all the delicious food, and after hours of waiting, we finally sat down to eat! yum.yum.yum. my dad said a blessing and we all dug into the delicious meal! it was sooooo good as always. after dinner, we did the usual of cleaning up before we opened presents. the kids always wait soooooo patiently for that.

at last, it was time! but not without a hundred photos first! hahaha! this christmas is the first christmas where olive was fully aware of what was going on. she knew she had presents and it was the most darling thing to watch. she was so excited, grateful, thankful, and oh so darn cute opening up each one of her gifts. her excitement and joy filled my heart with love! it was awesome to watch her light up from all the excitement and gifts. we are so blessed and thankful for all that we’re given!

after the tornado whirlwind of tearing apart gifts, everyone settled in and enjoyed their presents. dessert was served and relaxation began. we were spent…so exhausted from being sick and tired from all the sleep we weren’t getting. an hour after the craziness, i was ready to go.

we packed up our zillion things, said our merry christmases and thank you’s and went on our merry way. it was a fabulous christmas eve, especially with huy surprising us! we enjoyed our family, the food, the libations, and the absolute joy these kiddos exude. life is good, christmas time is great, and family is the best. it was a merry christmas indeed.

God bless us all.

[uncle dan with miss ellie]

[crazy cousins]

[festive, cutest table decor]

[uncle huy with baby ellie]

[family pic…minus ellie]

[i love how happy my dad looks]

[dem cheeks]

[mama and her daughters]

[cutest cousins]

[so festive]

[she’s so sweet]

[christmas table centerpiece]

[photo by huy doan]

[they make each other smile]

[photo by huy doan]

[love these two!]

[photo by huy doan]

[ellie in her fur stole]

[photo by huy doan]

[a rare moment for ellie…usually that’s olive. hahaha!]

[ready to open christmas presents!]

[tearing into her presents]

[pretty much what ellie did all night…lay around]

[i think this might be my favorite pic]

[super auntie thuy and olive]

[she had a B L A S T opening up her gifts]

[photo by huy doan]

[sweet baby ellie]

[olive’s stash]

[facetime with tashina]

[thuy’s secret santa gift…macarons]

[mmmmm macarons]

[b loving his gifts!]

[a very sweet moment between uncle dan and olive playing together]

[photo by huy doan]

xoxo

christmas eve

Posted on January 4, 2016 by tandem in love

2015

ahhhhhh! it was finally christmas eve and we were so excited! i love the holidays and the joy that comes with it!

like i said in a previous post {now that the cat’s out of the bag!}, I have been sooooooo tired from this pregnancy! writing blog posts, decorating, planning, going out, whatever it was took five times as long having a toddler and being so exhausted every day. there were days where i didn’t want to do anything and that is soooooo unlike me. i am the energizer bunny. i can plow through anything and come out winning like a champ with extra energy to spare. hahaha! throw in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy during the holidays and i was ko’d.

anyhoo, our morning started calm and quiet. hc made a delicious breakfast quiche to start our day out. we just relaxed and completed odds and ends before we headed over to my parent’s house. while the girls slept, i made christmas popcorn and packed them into mason jars for our neighbors and saved the rest to bring over to my parent’s house for our family to munch on.

[hc made a festive christmas breakfast]

[yummy christmas popcorn]

once we arrived at my parent’s house, cooking our christmas eve dinner was in full swing. we hung out with everyone, sporadically helped out with dinner, the kids played, and everyone was just having a great time together. it’s always so fun to have my brother huy around and his fiancé tashina. they are so quirky, fun, and oh so creative. i love their style and the kids love them so much!

my sisters did such a great job setting the table and the kid’s table. it’s always so pretty and festive. once dinner was ready to be served, we all sat down, my dad says a blessing, and we get to manger manger the delicious meal my sister kim cooks! after dinner is when the kids get soooo antsy because they want to open presents! i must say, though, my nephews do ask but they are so patient and understanding. we won’t open presents until we are all done with cleaning up the table, the kitchen, and the dishes are all washed, cleaned, and dried.

of course the kids always go first! r and b are tooo cute when they open up their gifts, we always get hugs and thank you’s. sooooo sweet! each present for olive, we had to get started. someone would tear off a little piece or corner and away she would go. she definitely had fun opening up her gifts! she loved the big stuffed kitty aunt thuy bought her, one of her favorites! she also looooooved b’s roller skates! they were too small for b but olive wanted to put them on and she was amazing in them! she held her balance well, she would jump and land on her feet, and every time she fell, she would say, “whoa whoa whoa!!!!”. it was too stinkin’ cute!

the best part of the evening? being able to tell our mom and dad and famille that i am pregnant! i was sooooo excited, i could hardly wait! after the kids opened up a majority of their gifts, i decided to give my parents our present from us. my dad was the one to open it up. as he did, a big smile crossed his face…seeing what the shirt said. he held up the shirt {a white toddler tee that said big sister in vietnamese} and my sister kim asked, “who gave that to dad?”. i said, “we did! i am PREGNANT!!!!!”. there were gasps and cries of joy! oh i was sooooo happy to tell everyone the news! there were tears and hugs and lots of smiles! it was so awesome to share the news and see the elation on everyone’s faces! little r asked if he could have a boy cousin! hahaha! we will see little one, we will see!

oh what a merry christmas eve it was! it felt fantastic to finally share the joyous news and just let my prego belly hang out! i was soooo tired of hiding it! after we opened up all our gifts, i sliced the buche du noel cake and served the french classic treat to everyone and we just reveled in all the goodness around us. it was quite the blessed evening and we couldn’t wait for christmas day to share the news with hc’s side of the family! hooray!

[my shirt says: santa, i know him! looooove it]

[kids table! how fun!]

[grace and hc]

[buche du noel]

[buffalo check greatness]

[tashina, thuy, and r]

[huy and tashina]

[classic…of course olive is grumpy]

[olive was so afraid of her dada]

[so silly. i love it]

[love these two]

[desserts…fruit and cake!]

[loving my dad’s outfit!]

[she really enjoyed opening presents!]

[she looooooved her stuffed kitty from super aunt thuy]

[she loved bouncing around on the it]

[dad holding up the ‘big sister’ shirt!]

[christmas eve isn’t complete without a pj party pic!]

xoxo

merry merry christmas eve

Posted on December 29, 2014 by tandem in love

2014

ahhhh, it was christmas eve! i love christmas eve. it’s the most wonderful time of the year! every year, it’s at my parent’s house. we gather there for food, fun, and gifts!

hc and i got ready {while olive was napping away}. i was hemming and hawing over what i should wear. i wanted to be festive and fun but i couldn’t figure out what my ensemble should be. well, i got a little dorky and totally went all cheesy chritmasy with my outfit du nuit. red and green it was. it was a bit loud, bright, and crazy but i totally rocked it like nobody’s business {no comments please}.

olive’s outfit was a bit classier. she wore ralph lauren plaid. yup, the cutest little red dress with a plaid ribbon, sparkle tights, and a red flower pin. hello, she had to match her cousin’s outfits!

once we got there, we said our hello’s to everyone and i went downstairs to see if my sisters needed help with dinner {they were chugging along quite nicely}. in-between helping with dinner, we were visiting with everyone and clinking our drinking glasses on this very merry evening.

we did a lot of goofing around, taking photos at every chance, and just relaxed. a perfect evening to sit back, unwind, and slow down from this hectic, hectic holiday season. it was pretty cool to just chill with our family. i was so tired that i actually fell asleep sitting up on the couch. what?! i never do that, like never. just ask hc. but never say never ’cause i just did!

[red and green!]

[the boys]

[cheers!]

[i found this picture quite funny. mmmmmm, wine…]

[why, yes there is a tent in the middle of the room. and santa and rudolph were visiting olive]

[super auntie thuy and olive]

[tashina actually holding olive! or i mean, olive letting tashina hold her]

[sweet baby girl]

[silly faces]

after much waiting, dinner was finally ready! yum! kim always creates the most wonderful entrees. everything is always so flavorful and delicious. we had a wonderful seasoned beef tenderloin, buttery mashed potatoes, savory mushrooms, corn, brussel sprouts, and a crisp, fresh kale salad. it was all so tasty and good!

[christmas tablescape]

[dinner place cards]

[matching ralph lauren plaid outfits]

after dinner, our little elves changed into their pj’s. oh so cute. could this be any more adorbs?! we, of course, went photo crazy. after much admiration of them, we finally trekked upstairs to open up christmas gifts. it was so crazy and fun. of course, the kiddos went first. that’s the best part! olive, reagan, and bennett opened up all their gifts and ooh’d and ahh’d over all their goodies. the cutest part? olive learning to ooh and ahh herself! she would squeal every time we opened up a present…it was beyond precious to watch and hear her! i just about melted every time she did it.

[santa’s elves]

[this picture cracks me up! i laugh every time i look at it!]

[elf feet]

[gifts!]

[presents, presents, presents]

[my gift from hubby charming]

[prints from rifle paper co.]

[bose sound system]

[christmas booty]

[how many christmas presents can i wear?]

[pout]

[what a cool dude]

after the kids opened up their presents, all the adults opened up their secret santa gifts and had to guess who their secret santa was! score…i got mine right, it was tashina! ha! i’m so good. 😉 so, as usual, everyone tinkered with their christmas gifts and/or reveled in the kids excitement of new things.

thuy and i then brought up desserts and coffee for everyone to nibble on while we continued to play around with our new toys. oh what a night…it was a pretty awesome eve together. spending time with family is precious and it was definitely a christmas eve to remember! merry, merry indeed!

[pj party!]

xoxo

tandem in love

{life is truly beautiful and it should be celebrated + shared.}

Tag Archives: christmas eve

christmas ’20

christmas ’19

christmas eve ’18

christmas eve ’17

christmas eve

christmas eve

merry merry christmas eve