an unconventional christmas eve.

This year for Christmas Eve (day)
we decided to do something a little unconventional.
We went to the beach!

An odd way to spend Christmas Eve, no?
Well….our good friends John and Dana are moving back to Kansas for school (we’re super sad about this….like SUPER sad) and since they’re going to be land-locked for quite awhile, we decided it was of the utmost importance that they see the beach one last time before leaving.  AND….since Christmas Eve was the only full day we all had off that would work, that’s the day we chose and we had so much fun. 
The beach on Christmas Eve was perfect!  Most everything was open, but there was hardly anyone around.  I think this might be a fun new tradition for us.  We were able to make it back around 6:00, which left us time for family as well…the perfect combination.
We started off our day by getting cinnamon rolls at Camp 18.  We’d been there for breakfast beofre, but I’d never had the cinnamon roll before and it was AMAZING!  Seriously as big as my face.  This is no exaggeration and the photos really don’t do it justice.  Craig and I split one and didn’t even finish it!

After our stop for an early morning dose of sugar we arrived in Seaside.  First stop:  Playing on La Playa!  ….That’s “beach” in Spanish in case you didn’t know.  Marley loves the beach and she was super stoked to run in the surf and chase the birds and her tennis ball.

Next up:  The arcade!  We played this game called “Fascination“.  It’s kind of like a cross between ski-ball and tic-tac-toe.  You try to get the balls in the holes and light up 4 lights in a row.  John dominated, winning 4 times.  Craig won 3 times.  I won once.  Dana won zero :(.  It’s ok.  We still love her :).

We used the tickets we won to buy gobs and gobs of candy and silly little toys.  We were like little kids.  I think the lady behind the counter was getting kind of pissed that we were taking so long as we painstakingly chose each little piece of candy.  We had about 800 points and we were choosing items one at a time (i.e. “I’d like one green apple Jolly Rancher” which was a total of 9 points….”Alright….you have “767 points left….”).  Oh well.  I don’t feel guilty, because that’s what you get for working at the prize counter.

We checked out a few of the shops, but if you’ve seen one beach shop, you’ve seen them all, so we headed to Mo’s for lunch and had delicious chowder.
And finally we topped off the day with a Christmas Eve dinner at Five Guys for burgers and fries!  I’d been craving a cheeseburger for two weeks and finally got my wish!  After all the fat kid-esque eating we’d done that day, Dana and I decided to just split a little cheeseburger, which was definitely a good choice.

This was most assuredly the least conventional Christmas Eve I’ve had to date, but it was also one of the most fun :).  Thanks for a fun send-off adventure John & Dana!  We’re going to miss you like crazy!
More about my Christmas craft-projects, along with some requested crafty tutorials, coning soon!
‘Til next time!
xo
{Lauren}

Comments

  1. I LOVE Mo’s! It’s so hard to find time to make it back to the Oregon Coast, living in Seattle!

    The weather looked great for a December day in Seaside!

    Looks like A LOT of fun!

  2. You are so stinking adorable. You have the simplest, most perfect life and even though I don’t comment on your blog a lot, because it’s like talking to “the popular girl” 😀 and most likely 10 other people have already said what I was gonna say, I. LOVE. YOUR. BLOG.
    It makes me miss Oregon.
    It inspires my craftiness.
    It makes me feel special, because I’ve been places you go and see.
    You dress adorable.
    And, in a weird supercreepyI’mtotallystoppingherepoint, it’s kinda like you’re the big (blog) sister I never had!?
    😛 apologizeforthewierdrambling, xo jess

  3. FUN! Haha you’d think the prize counter lady would be glad of something to do! Maybe she was in the middle of a good book:)!

  4. What an amazing way to spend the holidays! You guys are all so cute!

  5. Wow, that’s awesome! What a fun way to spend a holiday.

  6. It looks like so much fun!

  7. aw, that seems like the perfect christmas eve! that’s awesome that you went to an arcade. my brother and i used to go (but it’s been years) and spend ridiculous amounts of money on ski ball, then we would pick our prizes just like you, one item at a time, maximizing our points! that cinnamom bun is insane, and i think i have a little drool running down my chin just looking at it 😉

    oh, and i can definitely understand how bummed you are about your friends moving. micaela leaves tomorrow morning, so today is our last day together until they come back to visit. i’m prety sad about it 🙁

    love you and miss you like crazy! have a good tuesday!

  8. Oh my gosh looks like you had such a fun time!

  9. What a fantastic day!!!!
    I love all the fun photos and I think it is HILARIOUS that you all picked prizes one by one! 🙂
    That cinnamon roll was INSANE!!! That could feed a family of 4!!!
    I hope you have a wonderful day today friend!!
    xoxo

  10. 🙂 I love this story.

  11. looks like a fun Christmas Eve!!!
    Merry christmas Friend!
    I need to get back on my blogging schedule too and commenting more!!!
    Anyway,
    what do you want to know about the coat?
    15 inches in back from seam to seam. and 22 inches from one end of your arm to the other.
    It fits me and Kelly Well….
    🙂

  12. Unconventional? Maybe, actually I think that it looks like a grand way to spend Christmas Eve day. It is all about friends and family and you had a great time with friends so there was nothing wrong with your celebration.

    ToOdLeS.

  13. It’s so sad when friends move away but at least with these newfangled blogs the kids have these days you can keep up with one another. 🙂 The coast looks super fun and that is amazing there were not many people…definitely a plus of going to the coast on Christmas Eve. I’m so glad you guys picked your prizes one by one…the people at the prize counter often times act pretty high-and-mighty given how much control they have over very important decicions. Lets hang out again soon k?

    PS: I want a cinnamon roll now, as if I hadn’t had enough crap this last week. So thanks for that. 🙂

  14. I love to spend Christmas at the beach and this looks like the most fun time! Hope your new year equally as happy!

    xo Mary Jo

  15. the beach! christmas! cinnamon rolls! ahh! i might explode from that amazing combination! exclamation point!

  16. Oh that is so fun! Ian and I love Seaside! We went recently on a Wednesday and NO ONE was there and only our favorite shops were open! We love the arcade too. It never gets old and for a prize I always choose invisible ink. It’s good for pranking people : ) We go to this one shop called [something] Antique Mall. We LOVE it and you’d probably love it too. It’s really big and has all sorts of treasures.

  17. I love spending holidays with super close friends. It’s always so great to spend special time with your chosen family!

  18. I love this story. What a happy way to celebrate friendship.

  19. Oh man, I love this! I totally want to go to the beach for Christmas, too bad I live a long ways from Seaside…or any beach really. I was in seaside back in July, it was way fun, we rode bumper cars and got elephant ears. Yum! Those cinnamon rolls look amazing, I love cinnamon rolls and this makes me really want one.

  20. So fun, I love all of your pictures! I absolutely love Seaside. It’s my favorite beach! We used to stop at Camp 18 when I was little but I never knew they made such huge cinnamon rolls. I’m definitely going to get one next time.

    Looks like you had a great Christmas Eve with your friends!

  21. LOVE this!!! You guys are too cute!!!!

  22. I’ve been reading your blog for awhile, and I always love seeing you show the local things on here. This one especially hit home because I love Seaside AND the arcade is one of my favorite places :).

  23. You weren’t kidding, that cinnamon bun is as big as a person’s head. I am quite jealous right now because I love cinnamon buns.

    Spending Christmas Eve on the beach is something so different. You guys looked like you had a lot of fun.

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