Kelly Olson Creative

Our plane touched down Christmas Eve to a snowy Salt Lake City- our winter adventure had begun.

But before all that excitement, we had a couple of days at home in Madison. On Friday, we spent some time at our friends’ house.  They put together a beautiful dinner.  Made me want to host more, especially when the cold dark winter nights persist. Love a little get together and a good charcuterie board.  Saturday we grabbed some travel items and did some planning over coffee at Ancora. With all the last minute travel prep taken care of, we were just ready to head to the mountains.

We flew to Salt Lake City in the late afternoon of Christmas Eve.  Watched more episodes of The Office on the flight than we’d like to admit, and arrived in SLC.  Once we checked in and got settled, we made plans for Christmas day and finally rested our heads after a busy day (but not before checking NORAD Santa Tracker, just to keep tabs on the big guy).

On Christmas morning, we ate breakfast together before heading out to explore the quiet city.  It had snowed most of the night, leaving downtown a winter wonderland.  We made it to noon mass at The Cathedral of the Madeleine, which was complete with the cathedral choir, orchestra, and mass said by the Bishop.  It just felt grand, and very appropriate for Christmas day.  After some relaxing and a late dinner, we were ready to wrap up our day.

Having amazing families is a blessing, but makes it hard to leave them, especially on a holiday.  So we spent much of our day talking about our future traditions and how we’d like to spend the holiday season down the line.  I am grateful though that our first married Christmas was spent gaining some perspective and reflection on what we want for us and our own family one day.

Christmas this year was out of the ordinary, but simple in the best way. We were reminded of the real reason for this season.

Kelly