I mentioned before that we were going to do something different for Christmas this year. In lieu of gifts, we opted for a family trip. I’ve been trying to figure out this little idea for years. Some way to simplify it all and just “be.” And finally this year we figured it was time.
Of course it was a little tricky. I mean, we are a tradition family at heart, that is for sure. What would Christmas morning look like? Would we still do the kid’s gift exchange on Christmas Eve? (My very favorite part of Christmas.) Could we still keep our focus on Jesus? How could we make it special without gifts? How could we make it still feel like Christmas?
Lots of questions to be thought through, and honestly, it took a lot of “spiritual creating” to make it happen. But we figured now that all our kids adults are adults they might be ready to switch things up.
And we were right.
I am filled with so much gratitude for that sacred time we got to be together with my family.

All but Claire who was definitely sorely missed.
I’m not sure how to really capture how these days went down. To me it felt like it was swaddled in so much love and present-ness. Which felt so good because there was so much thought and preparation to create beforehand.
Christmas Simplicity helped us focus on Jesus
Of course it’s not so “simple” to get all these people to a different place at Christmas and put your heart into planning it all out. But the reward was pretty special since the simplicity of not worrying about gifts created an avenue to let more Jesus in.
For today I’m just going to talk about arrival, Christmas Eve and Christmas. (The Christmas Eve part was my favorite, so be sure to get to that part). Then I’ll get to the rest of the stuff in another post.
Favorite Things
Here are some of my favorite things from “the beginning:”
There was nothing like seeing my people lined up there on the beach, enveloped in all that beauty. The best Christmas gift I could ever get.

I just felt so lucky down to my bones to have this TIME to just be together.
Arrival in Maui
Arrival in the afternoon, all of us coming from different spots to the welcoming smell of that Hawaiian equilibrium air with wide-arm hugs all around and trying to cram all our luggage and baby gear into our two small rental cars.


Grace, Elle, Lu and I so happy running around Costco to load up (and cram all we got in between us, on our laps and under our feet to get to our Airbnb) while Dave, Murph, Max and Abby went to get us all checked in.
We stayed in two condos across the hall from each other in this place with pools and a beach right out front. It was the perfect setting for us, we had dinners on our balcony overlooking the ocean and sunset, there was a grocery store we could walk to across the street. Dave knows how to make magic happen in the flight and hotel category, and I’m so so grateful for that.
Murphy at the Center of Everything
Murphy was the center of everything. of course.


She is a magical baby, so good and even-tempered and Max and Abby are pretty incredible parents.

None of us can get enough of her kisses and antics. Even Lucy warmed up to her and talked to her a bit which made all our jaws drop.


Our First Night
We checked in and went directly to the beach, of course.


(We were missing Carson that first night who had to join us the next night because of his rotation.)
I loved sitting on the porch of Duke’s that first night after basking in the sunset on the beach. We sat at two small round tables smooshed together and I wanted to memorize every minute of it. The ambiance was so beautiful, live music, my favorite people’s faces lit up by the light of the dwindling sunset and fire torches surrounding us, the air the perfect temperature.

Nightly Devotionals/Discussions
It’s so fun when your kids get old enough to really discuss and share ideas. Dave and my plans for each kid-duo to make dinner and lead a little devotional each night based on the book (which we had everyone read before we arrived) worked out better than expected. Well, after some prodding and a little bit of huffiness from me to start out with that first night, ha!
Max and Abby started out and did such a beautiful job talking about the “long-game” in the book and an epiphany Max had while brushing his teeth one night.

CHRISTMAS EVE
Christmas Eve was the day after we arrived and it was a different kind of Christmas Eve for sure.
A Catamaran Adventure
Dave booked a catamaran snorkeling boat for us on the day of Christmas Eve and it was a favorite highlight for everyone.

We saw whales and turtles, got to snorkel (very sub-par fish showing up, but we swam around with a turtle floating in all his glory, not a care in the world). They fed us tacos and the sky was so blue reaching down to the deeper aqua water all around us as we nestled in with Murphy on that front netting holding us above the water swirling by below.






Two dads with their babies:


Christmas Eve Dinner
We went to Leilani’s at Whaler’s Village adjacent to a giant Christmas tree on the beach (see top photo) for our Christmas Eve dinner. Everyone was just so happy. We sat at a round table that fit us all perfectly, live music in the background, sunset over the swells of waves right in front of us.

Christmas Eve Devotional
It was my turn for the devotional that night and I had thought and prayed and sure pondered about it all for so long. So I felt deep gratitude for the feeling seeping into that room with our paper Christmas tree adorning the window, lined with gifts our kids would be giving to each other. (I had made one just like the one I made for Claire, but this one was blank, ready for us to adorn together.)

Nothing much to look at, right? But during my little devotional we fixed that thing up.
I wonder if my kids felt the spirit of it all as much as Dave and I did??
We started out with just our kids (while Abby and Lar were finishing talking to their families) and I gave them paper and had them write as much of Helaman 5:12 as they could remember by heart.

They all knew it pretty much word for word from Grammie Camps through the years (thank you Mom!).
That was the trunk of the tree. Building that foundation on Christ.
Then everyone had a paper ornament and took a few minutes to write down a name for Jesus that means the most to them (finding what spoke to them in the scriptures), and we went around and talked about why we all chose the names we chose and how Jesus has shown up for us in that way. And with each explanation, we added our ornaments to the tree.

My favorites (or the ones I can remember the most) were Advocate, Rock, Dayspring, and LIGHT (picked by three kids). I loved hearing their thoughts and vulnerabilities they shared.
Kids’ Gift Exchange
The kids did their gift exchange, always my favorite part of Christmas Eve.


This time, as directed by Lucy, they each thought of the spiritual gifts of the sibling they were giving the gift to, wrote those gifts on another paper ornament and put them on the tree before they gave their gift.




I loved every minute of that night.
CHRISTMAS DAY
A Christmas Morning Swim
As per Elle’s request, we headed out to the beach and swam first thing on Christmas morning.

We tenderly tiptoed over the rocks to get out into the swells, even Lucy joining in, and Abby and Murph waving to us from the beach.


We came back in to the condo (after our tree branch Eyre photo replica, because you HAVE to recreate that cheesy thing if you see a perfect branch for it, right?):

45-Day Challenge Reports
Back at the condo we sat and told each other what we had done for our 45-day challenges leading up to Christmas and our thoughts about all that.
I loved it.
Murphy and Lucy’s Little Gifts
We opened a few little family gifts and Murphy got a couple little things to unwrap:


Lucy, since she’s still in high school, did get her most requested Christmas gift: a Chatbook filled with pictures of the year.


She can’t see those things except with her magnifier, but still, they are her very most asked for Christmas gift each year.
Eggs Benedict
After that, of course, traditional eggs Benedict.


I mean, we had to keep SOME traditions, right??
They turned out so delicious and we ate them up sitting out on our patio overlooking that expanse of palm trees and blue ocean, basking in this different kind of Christmas, yet still the same feeling of Christmas.
Christmas Day Dinner
My brother Jonah and his family live on Maui, and, as luck would have it, my sister Saydi and her family were arriving on Christmas day for their own Christmas gift. Jonah and Aja invited us all to head over there for Christmas dinner.
I was exuberant pulling into Jo & Aja’s house right as the sun was setting and bathing so many people I love in the most beautiful light.

Can you see that ray of sun coming through on the picture below? That’s how my heart felt. SO FULL.



I loved everyone crowding around the tables talk, talk, talking in different configurations over Jo & Aja’s delicious food:


Making orange juice out by the chickens:


….delighting in the chorus of bells we played to Christmas songs:
(I LOVE everyone helping Lucy be involved, including Elle tapping her on the leg when her bell was up.)

…and a serenade from my nephew Camden on his saxophone as we left.
I love those people and the feeling crowded into that beautiful little house that night.

It was a Christmas to remember, that is one thing for sure.
Can you please share where the bells and video came from? would love to do this with my family.
Long time reader thank you!
Yes let me ask Grace. She looked it right up that night and bought her own set of bells speedy-quick. They are here: https://amzn.to/42aiYL7
She put us to work the next week in Utah making all kinds of bell music. I’ll come back and let you know how she found the music.
xoxo
Thank you so much Shawni
What a wonderful trip! Family time is the greatest gift you can ask for, especially as the kids grow up and have their own busy lives. What a treasured time for all of you to enjoy each others company in a beautiful location. Perhaps a Hawaii Christmas will even become a new family tradition every few years as schedules permit… I’m sure the kids wouldn’t mind! 😂
Ooh what an amazing amazing time!! Sooo wonderful!!!
I think it was a great idea to do this instead of gifts, but I think “ we’ve been hoping for this for years” type of thing is a little ridiculous? You are always constantly together on family vacations, weekends, reunions, “ happening to be in Utah” etc
I see what you mean. I was referring to being gone for Christmas and shifting it up this way.
You often go away for Christmas. Building houses in Mexico. Equator trip? Utah. Did you get home from China? You lived there 2x.
It was very exciting 2 of the families made it to Maui making 3/9. I watched wagon and followed your SIL and mother’s blogs and the work on the house years ago, but today finally the lanai and tv area add on make sense.
What a beautiful way to spend Christmas!! And extra fun that you got to spend some time with extended family as well!
I love this idea so much, and as our family grows, really want to try and do something similar. I think it’s wonderful how obvious it is how much you all enjoy being together as a family. That’s the best gift ever! From following your blog, I know that no matter where you guys are, or what you are doing, what matters most is that you are together.
Was Maui the only place you considered or did you have other places in the running?
Also, thank you for sharing yourself and your family over the years!
How do you guys work it out with your daughter and son in law that they get to spend the holidays with you instead of their own families? It don’t know, but it sure seems like they spend every holiday with you guys!
This is such a beautiful idea! I was wondering if you would share the condo booking information for your stay, as the condo set up and the proximity to beach+restaurants looks perfect for a family. Thank you Shawni!
Do you mind sharing the Airbnb you guys stayed at? I would appreciate it a lot! Sending love from Germany 😊