What fun! thanks for sharing your happiness.. it put a smile on my face!

I hope it IS contagious. Thanks for sharing with us.

And because The Blog (and me) will ask, where does one find the "Keep Calm and Call Me" tag??

I just figured it out - it's a phone case. I blame the overabundance of coffee....

How lovely! and thank you for sharing.

of course happiness is transferable - who could not be happy looking at your wonderful pictures, especially the adorable baby, the happy dog face, and all of you having a wonderful time! We had a slow, comfortable Christmas here, and a power outage to complete the ambiance. Now I'm snuggled down with 2 cats, waiting for the house to warm up again. Time to knit!

Love the Christmas cracker hats! Looking forward to the knitting pictures!

Lovely! Thank you so much for sharing! Can you remind me again the story behind the crowns, I have forgotten. (I am American and maybe I will add this to our tradition as well!) I am definately adopting the boxing day tradition!

You totally deserve a blog holiday. I keep checking and glad you posted. Here at chez Rider/Holden we have been sick as dogs. Christmas only happened here because I made post its for everyone who was coming. They each did their list and the day miraculously got pulled together while I slept off this cold from H E double hockey sticks. Last night I moved into the next phase of this gig, vomitting, while trying to care for an even sicker spouse who got sent home from Emergency late Friday with an indwelling catherter and antiobiotics for acute prostatitis. Peace out all.

Ah, I knew you had Christmas crackers when I saw the first picture with the crown. I had crackers at my first six birthday parties, and introduced them to my family this Christmas. I was so pleased that they were all good sports about it, willing to wear their crowns. DD said it was due to Harry Potter's crackers.

It looks like a good time had by all. Happy holidays and may your new year (and new year's eve) be a wonderful time in whatever way is best for you!

They sure made me happy. New loom?

Love Hank's hair color and your girls' smiles! Happy , happy!

ahhh ... lovely. thanks for sharing! (and i have to admit that i'm relieved to see this. i was afraid The Sickness had returned and was ruining your holidays. glad i was wrong!)

You knitted Hank a dog!

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

What lovely pictures. And yes-the happiness is transferable!

Love Hank's hair color and your beautiful family!

I think happiness IS transmittable, however it depends on whether the receiver has already been given the gift of empathy. Empathy is a wondrous gift that enhances the holder's life immeasurably because they will always feel reflected joy and happiness from others, even if they don't know them. The only price is that sometimes they also catch sorrow, but that only stimulates the urge to donate, and to give of oneself to keep the joy circulating.

Thanks for sharing your lovely holiday pictures. And enjoy your time off from blogging!

Lovely smiles, lovely pictures, lovely family. What could be better.
Thanks for sharing.

Is that a new toy I see in the first picture? A friend has loaned me one, too. Are we about to be sucked down a black hole?

So glad you had a good holiday season!

Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your family and friends.

Wonderful photos ~ certainly did put a smile on my face! Looks like you all had a wonderful time!

I do hope you'll post more about those lobster mittens, I assume for a biker in your group. I'll check your ravelry but I need some of those!

Your days sound lovely, as were ours. I envy you your snow as out weather was in the fifties and sixties, to cold to sit out but not cold enough to feel like winter. I wish for you and yours a fine and productive New Year.

Dominoes! We played that at family Christmas too! (My family is slightly addicted to dominoes.)

My favorite photo is the one with your smiling dog. He IS smiling. So nice to see your photos. Thanks for sharing.

Glad to see your holidays were filled with family, friends, happiness, and good health.

Ours were as well. My adult children slept over Christmas Eve night so they could wake up to stockings in the morning. Santa decided once our youngest (he is now 16) was old enough, everyone would get a wind-up toy in the stocking. After more than a dozen years of this, good wind-ups are getting harder to find, but all were very pleased with the wacky ones from kikkerland.

Those who received knits also seemed quite pleased, which, of course, makes me that much happier.

We had 20 for Christmas dinner and 5 guests who slept over and had a big post-Xmas breakfast. Such fun!

I am curious about the glitten with a thread hanging. Is that the (almost) finished knit? It looks wonderful and warm.

Thank you Stephanie: The happiness is glowing from all the family, that I can feel it here in Northern California. Thank you for sharing the light!
Nancy

Hank is so grown up!

Aww, Rams, did you see? Steph included a photo of Joe just for you.

Love!

Your pictures show happy family times. That's really precious. Thank you for sharing. I'm looking forward to the knits that you made.

Just lovely! Thank you for sharing.

I'm glad you had a great time and had a break from all the daily duties. Happy New Year!!

Interesting comment on your blog's life that the faithful reader (cf: moi) can recognize all but two people in the photos -- no small feat, with Hank growing like a bad weed (the hair's great, Hank.) May these shots just replicate in some fractal way throughout the year.
Signed -- Yearning in Kalamazoo
(Hey! Where's the dancing?)

And Presbytera, yes, but shhhh... you'll make him self-conscious. And great literary characters should never have to be self-conscious.

I am well chuffed that our Christmases had a ukulele in common! Although I have no doubt Joe plays his with more skill that my 7 month old daughter plays hers.

Hogmanay cometh!

Simply lovely.

Thank you. I needed that. (We had some sick kids here and now I want a do-over)

Lovely.lovely.lovely. Thank you for sharing friend.

All the pictures were great,you feel cozy just looking at them. One of your girls was holding something up that said "keep calm and call me". Having had yet another melt down with my overstressed daughter, that looked great. Can you tell me what it is/where you got it? Thanks so much, and Happy New Year. Kim

Can I just tell you how much I love Hank's hair color? It's awesome. Just thought you should know. :)

Lovely! The Spirit of Christmas is in US and your pictures show that so beautifully.

And you even threw in a picture of Joe!

No need to apologize for putting family and friends over blogging! Thanks for sharing when you had a chance.

If you're boxing up that loom to give away,I'll take it.

Thanks for giving us all the enjoyment of your blog----whether you share knitting adventures or your family life, it is all good for so many of us in cyberspace---A very Happy New Year to you and your family from Massachusetts!

*Love* the photo of the girls with the baby! They are all beautiful and have terrific smiles. Thanks for sharing with us.

Stephanie,
Since your December 21st post, I've been very curious and I wonder if I can ask a question about something that I don't understand. If you are not Christian (I have been reading you blog for years and I never knew that), then can you tell me what Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mean to you? Just wondering.

I play that same domino game with my family every year at Christmas! Nothing else says the holidays to me like the sound of the dominoes clattering over my grandmother's table.

Just have to say that I often am jealous of other folk's happy gatherings, because it is only me and my (wonderful) husband. BUT, I love that you preface your pictures by saying you want to share the happiness. Well, that melted this stony heart and I really enjoyed your pictures instead of feeling sorry for myself. Thanks for teaching me something new, even if it doesn't have anything to do with knitting.

Best of the season to you and yours - mine was pretty sweet, also, with a little sour mixed in just for contrast. Families are amazingly wonderful and annoying beasts. Love and breath to you all!

Ooh, who's the handsome big yellow lab? He looks just like my Isaac, down to the dumb happy smile. :)

Lovely photos. Thanks for sharing. We had a fantastic Boxing Day dinner at our house with a few good friends. I feel so fortunate to have my family and good friends. Happy New Year to you and all of your loved ones!

@ Laura: the dumb happy dog smile is standard equipment on (yellow) labs. If I saw one not smiling I'd be calling animal control stat! Joe's like a fine wine, just keeps gettin' better and we don't need much to get the joy. So glad you're feeling better and enjoying some "downtime" with the folks -- love those girls in their crowns! May the New Year bring you more of the same pleasures, and more often.

That does look really lovely.

Lovely to see your photos, i had a lovely relaxed day with my family.
I'm not religious but i think it's a lovely time of year to appreciate the friends and family we have.
Best Wishes to all for the New Year

Lovely post! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful holiday pictures. I think that happiness and kindness and compassion, to say nothing of laughing so hard tears roll down the cheeks - it's all contagious. Thank you for spreading so much good stuff all year long, Stephanie.

Happy New Year to all!

is Hank wearing a purple sweater ?

Looks like a lovely gathering!

My husband has requested one-finger mittens like those. Is that a pattern of your own devising?

Lovely photos. Thanks for posting and infecting us with your happiness. Your grown up younguns remind me to enjoy the littles while they are still. Thanks

stefka just asked the same question I have- is there a source for the one-finger mittens? awesome!

is your daughter, megan engaged? just saw her ring finger with a ring on.

Happiness must be contagious! I'm sitting here smiling, just after the "repair" person left. He was going to "check out" my problem, then told me the heater was cracked, and he would have to shut off my heater! Fortunately, it could be replaced, but not without hitting my visa big time. Yup, I'm still smiling. Thanks. I really needed your post.

What type of loom is that? I'm looking to buy one. Is it easy to use? would you purchase it again? Thanks

PS. Love your holidays pictures.

Just made our year-end MSF contribution in honor of our families in Virginia - $150.

Love the photos. Looks like the family is well and having a great time. Everyone looks so relaxed. I think winter storms and the lack of power and electronics really brings a family together.

The star lights on your door...where did you find them? You see, I live in Star, North Carolina; and, we have stars everywhere at Christmas.

Cheers!

Lovely, lovely, lovely!

I love the dog! What is his/her name? You all look so happy. Glad it was a good holiday for you. We were blessed with a good one too.

Love + + +
Makes my heart shine :)

Oooh I love the star lights hanging in your door (or window?) Where did they come from?

Thank you so much. Our Christmas was a balance of tears and smiles as my grandmother passed only three short weeks ago. It's nice to remember what "normal" Christmases are supposed to look like in the hopes that we'll get there next year, especially as this was Grandma's favourite holiday.

Gorgeous! Gorgeous family having a gorgeous holiday! Thanks for sharing....

I do not know most of the faces in your pictures (except for your lovely knit-model, Sam), but I think I recognize the hair color on the adorable pre-teen.... it looks to be the same shade that my 13-year-old achieved with a packet of Kool-Aid last Christmas. A creative spirit! Thanks for sharing your wonderful holiday with your readers.

Thank you! Wishing you all the joy and peace of the season.

Thank you for sharing the love. May there be good health, happiness and prosperity in your New Year.

This blog site is extremely cool. How can I make one like this ?

Tods Handbags;

To make a blog like Steph's the following ingredients are needed.

Genuine love of what you do.

An openness and real willingness to share that love with others (family included).

A earnest concern for the welfare of other persons.

VERY hard work

Blatant honesty

The ability to laugh at yourself without mercy

Do these things on a regular basis and you will have a blog (and a very good life) like this one.

Christians....TAKE NOTICE!!!!! Much can be learned here....

I certainly have...

Barb Rickman
Shelton CT

Finally, the meaning of boxing day is known to me, thanks for that gem so casually flung out amongst the pirates hoard of others. Best clicking for the new year!
cheers!