Journeys›Photograph

A Bay Area Family Christmas, December 2011

·San Francisco, California·#winter#bay area#christmas#family#holiday
Two young girls smile in front of a brightly lit Christmas tree with presents underneath.

Christmas back in 2011. The girls were so little, posing for photos by the tree in their holiday sweaters, with the presents slowly accumulating. I remember getting them up on our shoulders for the requisite family picture, everyone smiling in front of the lit-up tree.

The house was always so quiet on Christmas Eve after the kids were finally asleep. We'd put out the plate of decorated cookies and the wooden nativity set next to the fireplace, the colored lights from the tree reflecting on everything. It felt like a moment of calm before the chaos of the next morning.

And Christmas morning was definitely chaos, in the best way. A storm of torn wrapping paper and kids in their pajamas, all gathered on the floor by the fire. Everyone was focused on opening gifts, pulling out new toys and clothes. It was just a simple, cozy holiday spent together at home.

Two children stand in front of a lit Christmas tree; one holds a toy, the other a bottle, with presents below.Two adults hold two smiling children on their shoulders in a living room with a decorated Christmas tree.A sleeping child with light hair hugs a brown teddy bear on floral pillows, with a red digital clock in the background.A Christmas tree, fireplace, stockings, and large colorful string lights illuminate a nativity scene with cookies and milk.A child on the floor unwraps a Christmas gift, revealing a purple toy dump truck in its box, surrounded by stockings.A young child holds up a gift in a living room decorated with a Christmas tree, presents, and a fireplace.An adult and two children open gifts on the floor in front of a lit Christmas tree and a fireplace with a fire.A man opens a shipping box next to a child holding pink clothes, with another child and a Christmas tree nearby.

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