a DECEMBER of delights with the GRANDS! Part 2 - Life Lately with Laura!

Our Grand Lives
11 hours ago
8 min read

Friday, December 9, 2026

Welcome back to Part 2 of our December Delights!

Yesterday, Laurie recapped her busy month for us all

and her post was filled with photos and memories of special times

spent with family and friends!

Today, Laura continues this look back

by sharing moments from her own holiday season!

As I began to write my own December update for this post,

I found myself reflecting on the blogging partnership Laurie and I share!!

It’s always fun for Laurie and I to read each other’s recaps at the end of each month!

I always look forward to seeing what she has been up to!

In fact, it’s one of the things that makes blogging special for us

and one of the things that makes us a bit unique here in the blogging world!

We’re friends who share a lot of the same interests and values

but our day to day worlds don’t often coincide

(unless you count our 3 hour brainstorming/catch up sessions, that is)!

And, while we have a lot of the same interests, in other ways we’re quite different! We love spending time with those we love and with Littles of all ages, that’s a given! We’re both great organizers and planners and we appreciate that about each other so much! Yet, Laurie excels at coming up with creative ideas on her own while I tend to tweak something I’ve seen somewhere else and make it my own! Laurie is a big picture person while I love planning out every detail! Laurie gets to the point and I am known to ramble a bit… or a lot! Laurie is a phenomenal keeper of photos and special mementos and I only strive to be so! Laurie takes photos that focus on people and gatherings while I often forget, focusing on places and things like food and decor! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve texted Laurie late in the day with a last minute change to an upcoming post (LAST NIGHT!) and she just rolls with it! While our styles and talents may differ, we appreciate so much about each other and we always respect and encourage each other!

We make a great team

and, as this new year begins,

I’m so grateful for our friendship and partnership!

WHAT A GRAND GIFT!

And, now… onto my December recap!

From beginning to end, December was a delight!

Do you remember the collection of books

- The Christmas Countdown -

I left for our Littles during our Thanksgiving visit?

Well, each morning during the month of December, Little L and Little P looked forward to opening a book. We’d frequently FaceTime later in the day and they’d share the day’s book with us!

We all loved this daily ritual and it will be on repeat again next year!

If you want to read more about this fun tradition,

you can find details in this post!

Early in the month, a few of my retired friends and I

were able to join 1200 other attendees at the Star Tribune Cookie Wonderland!

At this event, held at a local mall,

the finalists and winner of the newspaper’s annual Holiday Cookie Contest

are revealed!

SURPRISE! This year’s winning cookie - North Star Nights -

came from a 10-year-old baker!

He was quite the charmer!

The best part! We got to sample all five cookies

The Peppermint No Bake Cookies were my personal favorite!

We had a great day together and spent a bit of time shopping, too!

We’re all holding vintage Dayton’s bags!

Talk about memories flooding back!

This poinsettia tree at our local arboretum is always spectacular!

It’s always a favorite place to visit during the holiday season.

Truly - any season!

On this particular day, a friend and I spent the morning there,

supporting their auxiliary as best we could!

😉

A few days later, our daughter and her girls - Little L and Little P -

arrived for a long weekend of holiday fun!

Look who was waiting to welcome our Littles!

We kicked off their visit with an early dinner at a favorite supper club

that was all gussied up for the holidays!

The restaurant closes down for a few days in late November

and spends the time decorating.

These photos are from their Facebook page.

The menu and cocktail list are oh so festive!

Our Littles were enthralled and so were we!!

Then we bundled up and headed to the Arboretum

(my second trip of the week).

We took a walk through their “Winter Lights” display!

It was a winter wonderland of an evening!

The next day, the Middles (our daughters)

went out for some adult fun with their cousins

and Grandpa and I held down the fort!

We baked bite-size cookies for our gingerbread family

and, of course, some people-sized cookies for us, too!

Our silly gingerbread family was so mischievous.

They kept sneaking away and we’d find them in the silliest places!

I had a container of “spicy” gum drops that we repurposed!

We used them to measure with and as game pieces.

Perhaps, we nibbled a few, too!

The evening ended with the cutest elf ever

as well as Rudoph and cuddles, too!

By Saturday morning, our SIL and grandpup had arrived,

just in time for our family Christmas morning… ten days early!

Look who else came to visit!

Okay! I’ll tell you! Skye from Paw Patrol!

Definitely a favorite of most Littles!

Sadly, I took very few photos of the chaos and fun that followed!

Did you notice that this year’s Christmas pajamas were purple?

Little L was especially excited about that!

Later that day, it was time for this year’s Jingle Bar!

This annual event is always something we look forward to!

If interested, you can find more details about Jingle Bar in this post from last month!

The following day, our Wisconsin crew packed up and headed home!

It was sad to see them go

but we also knew that we’d be back together again in a few mere weeks!

It didn’t take long before I was doing laundry, cleaning and creating lists!

I had a dinner party to prep for!

I hosted a gathering for school friends and went with a “star” theme

which has special meaning for us all!

(Hmmm? A future post topic perhaps?)

I kept things simple and took a few photos

(Of course, I have none with me or my friends! SIGH!)

I kept the menu simple, too!

This charcuterie board was the “star” of the show!

The next day was my bible study holiday brunch!

It was a morning filled with great fellowship,

yummy food and silly games!

Last month, as part of our post on favorite holiday traditions,

I shared our Neighborhood Card Exchange.

A few days before Christmas,

this year’s delivery of goodies and cards arrived on our doorstep!

I do so love this tradition!

Then I got a bit silly and fell into the AI trap!

Look at these fun “Norman Rockwell inspired” creations!

Our front steps

and our family Christmas card!

Funny and fun!

Things slowed down a bit on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

and we enjoyed every minute!

Our younger daughter joined Hubby and I for both

and even spent a few nights with us!

Our candlelight Christmas Eve service..

I love getting there early to listen to the beautiful music!

Then home for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

Tenderloin steaks, scallops, twice baked potatoes and asparagus!

It’s a menu I’m not allowed to deviate from!

The next morning, per tradition, was puzzle time!

Later that afternoon, we went to the movie theater

and saw Song Sung Blue.

The movie was great, although I had told Hubby and our daughter that it was a Neil Diamond biopic. We quickly discovered that the movie was based on the true story of a Neil Diamond tribute band. What a story it is! I definitely shed a few tears!

It was a lovely Christmas in every way!

A few days later found us loading up the car!

We made the five hour drive to Wisconsin

and arrived in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve!

Our oldest daughter and SIL had both sides of the family over

and Daughter J outdid herself with the grazing table she put together!

It was as yummy as it looks!

Can you guess what we had for dessert?

YEP! Chocolate fondue! YUM!

Grandpa and I took charge of the Littles

while everyone else watched the “Stranger Things” finale.

Then, we rang in 2026 while decorating for Little L’s 4th birthday

on New Year’s Day!

Do you think she’ll love it?

You’ll have to wait to find out!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

We told you our December recaps were EPIC

and we’re so grateful to have these moments to hold on to!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR HANGING IN THERE

AND JOINING US AS WE REMINISCED!

BE ON THE LOOK OUT!

We’ve got BIG plans for OGL in 2026!

Our notepads are filled with lots and lots of ideas!

In the somewhat quiet weeks and months ahead,

we look forward to celebrating the winter season,

including the seasonal and cozy joys it offers!

And, of course,

we’ll be here to share simple ways to explore winter magic with Littles, too!

We’ll be back next week to get started!

We hope you’ll join us!

December…

it had a way of gathering delight into the everyday!

It lingered in twinkling lights and well-worn traditions, in shared meals, familiar stories, and moments that we’ll cherish always!. As we look back, the true delights of December weren’t necessarily found in all we did to fill our days, but in cherishing the moments along the way — grace in the ordinary and joy in togetherness - the precious gifts that warmed our hearts!

Our prayer for you in the coming year is

that your days be filled with meaning and with moments that make you smile!