Christmas 2021

 Christmas 2021 included us cutting down our own Christmas tree again and fitting it in our new van.

It was a beautiful tree but we learned our lesson that the "charm" of a multi trunk tree isn't very practical for a tree stand.

It couldn't hold many ornaments nor stand up very straight but was beautiful.

Michelle and Johanna take Christmas village setup seriously.

Tony did a great job decorating outside.

Walter decorated himself with one of mom's cool Christmas presents.

The kids enjoyed some pretzel dipping.

Both kids got a Christmas countdown calendar this year.  Johanna had 24 days of crafting which gave us lots of experience with a hot glue gun and maybe a little more crafting time than we needed.  Luckily we suckered others into helping when they came to visit (thanks Grandma Millie!).  

Walter had 24 days of Legos which was a huge hit.  He was always up first and had his new Lego put together before school.  He only "cheated" a few times and opened a box before its appointed day.  He enjoyed all the legos he got for Christmas this year. 

When Johanna asked what I wanted for Christmas this year, I showed her a picture of some fabric Christmas trees.  She promptly thought to herself, "I could make that" instead of buying them and so she recruited Dad for help  They picked out some great fabric (with a little help from a nice shopper at JoAnn's) and spent the better part of a day in the basement working - once again with a hot glue gun!  The finished product was fantastic!  

  And the kids enjoyed playing with the extra fabric.

Johanna continued her streak as the queen of Christmas cheer by deciding to create pictures to include with our Christmas cards.  And the queen, once again, recruited her loving family to help and we were all able to create a few pictures.

Walter (and Johanna) helped Mom with a little Christmas skit for work  I think it is safe to say that Walter is NOT the king of Christmas cheer.  

Kluesner's hosted a Christmas cookie making night.

Michelle's favorite cookie that she decorated.

Michelle and the kids had the day off before Christmas Eve and took advantage of the great weather by going to Vet's park and having a picnic in the back of the van.

The weather was so nice for the Kluesner Christmas that we got some batting practice in.

Walter declared this year as his last year for the elf costume. 

For some reason, it still takes approximately 33 tries and the threat of no Christmas presents to get a good cousin picture.  

Christmas morning cuddles with the stuffed animals from Santa.

A nice little spread for our Christmas day visitors.

One last Christmas present, the kids were excited to get a Nintendo Switch.

Both big kids and little kids enjoyed playing.

Merry Christmas 2021!