I was a bit frustrated that Christmas vacation didn’t start until the afternoon of the 23rd this year. Half the fun of Christmas is all the hype and preparation leading up to the big day, and having to squeeze in those things between school, music lessons, swimming lessons and homework was very difficult and stressful. Just finding time to help the kids make their gifts for each other was a monumental feat. I wish we could have gotten out a week earlier, and then gone back to school right after New Year’s. Oh well, we somehow got it done, and with no tears or screaming, so I guess it was our own little Christmas miracle. 🙂
Since all the hustle and bustle was over by the time vacation really got going, we had lots of downtime for relaxing and hanging out. We played lots of board games, card games and Wii games. We also watched lots of movies, including the extended versions of the first three Harry Potter films. Sophie was so shocked/surprised/intrigued by all the extra information contained in those few short scenes. We kept telling her that all that stuff was in the books, but they didn’t have time to include it in the movies. This made her very curious about what else had been left out, so finally, finally, finally, she started reading them for herself. 
She is now most of the way through Book 4, and I couldn’t be prouder of her.
Noah also had a Harry Potter-themed vacation, only he was playing the computer game Chris got for the kids.
All the kids love this game, but they are usually only allowed to play it on Saturdays, so having unrestricted access was heaven for this kid. 🙂
And since the computer in my craft room was occupied by the bigger kids playing, Alexandra made herself cozy on my laptop!
It’s even better when you can lean back against nice soft pillows, snuggled under a warm blanket. What does a tiny little girl like her play on a computer? All the free games on nickjr.com, pollypocket.com, Barbie.com and Playmobil.com, of course!
We did spend time unplugged as well. The three middle kids had gotten Diagon Alley from Santa, but they needed Nick’s help to put it together. 
I think they were completely done with all three buildings just before vacation was over. It looks pretty good, though, doesn’t it?
It is all set up in a corner of my craft room and the kids go up there quite regularly to play with it. I love listening in to all the fantastic stories they make up using the characters, while I am busy sewing or cleaning up. It’s a secret peak into their world, without them getting mad at me for intruding. 🙂