Kladder Christmas looked and felt a little different this year, with our house still under renovation. Many of our beloved holiday traditions were put on pause, but we filled the gaps with new experiences that kept the magic very much alive. For example, we replaced our usual live Christmas tree with a mini faux tree that Natalie selected from Amazon. It’s pink and she looks forward to putting in her room at Christmastime next year.
With the kids home from school for two full weeks, we took advantage of the flexibility and temporarily moved into the lake house with Jeff’s parents. Back at home, we’ve been three months without a kitchen and sharing a room together in our makeshift apartment. Needless to say, spreading out and enjoying home-cooked meals again has been pure joy. Praise be to my mother-in-law—truly the hostess with the mostess.
Progress on the house continues, with much of the recent work happening on the new garage. It’s been wild watching what was once a mostly unused corner of our driveway transform into a space that will soon be central to our daily routine. Inside, demolition is nearly complete, and this coming week the new stairway should start to take shape. At the moment, it’s just a giant hole in the concrete floor—very inspiring. We’re still aiming for a May completion, and in the meantime I’m loving every minute of selecting design details.
Without a house to host in this year, we leaned into some new holiday fun—including our first visit to see The Nutcracker performed by the Grand Rapids Ballet at DeVos Performance Hall. Natalie and I made a girls’ day of it and were joined by the Van Vels ladies next door. The day included brunch at Margaux before hand, and a truly unique backstage experience at the show. For the first half of the performance, we sat backstage watching all the behind-the-scenes action unfold. After intermission, we joined the rest of the audience in our regular seats and soaked up every bit of Nutcracker magic. It was absolutely wonderful.
Jeff and I also had a great time co-chairing and attending the West Michigan YPO Holiday Party in the Pantlind Ballroom at the Amway Grand Plaza. We had so much fun planning a festive and joy-filled evening. YPO continues to be such a meaningful community for us and dancing the night away together felt like the perfect way to celebrate the holidays together.
Earlier this month, we surprised our forum friend Lacey for her 40th birthday downtown. Brock and Lacey Dennings are part of the incredible group Jeff gained when he joined his forum earlier this year. Brock pulled off the perfect surprise—filling a room with friends, family, and tacos. Truly elite party planning.
Jeff also joined his YPO forum for their annual retreat at Two Hats Ranch in Big Rapids. His typical guys’ weekends usually involve golf, but this time he left his clubs at home and picked up a rifle. The pheasant hunt was a first for him, and while he enjoyed the experience, I wouldn’t bet on him wearing hunter’s orange again anytime soon.
Some annual traditions remained firmly in place, which made everything feel a little more normal. Jared and Elizabeth’s Christmas party was, as always, a highlight—bringing together friends from all across our community. The Rosewood Progressive Dinner continued its reign as a favorite neighborhood night out. And the Van Eerden Santa Brunch was extra over-the-top this year, complete with an incredible magic show. Even with an unconventional holiday season, these gatherings made us feel right at home.
Another cherished tradition is gathering with girlfriends who also just so happen to be my neighbors. When Jeff and I moved to Ottawa Hills, I was welcomed into a fierce group of women who now do everyday life together. Each year we rotate hosting a favorite-things party—complete with cocktails, laughter, and the prettiest cheese boards you’ve ever seen.
The Mercantile Bank Marketing Team kicked off Christmas celebrations with our annual retreat at Crain’s Grand Rapids. We reflected on the incredible work accomplished in 2025 and started mapping out what’s shaping up to be another stellar year ahead. We followed the meeting with a festive happy hour at Broadway Bar—truly a Grand Rapids holiday staple.
Meanwhile, the kids have soaked up extra time with Grandma and Grandpa Kladder while we’re living at the lake. They’ve been to the movies, baked cookies, and visited Frederik Meijer Gardens to see the holiday trains and trees from around the world. We also enjoyed the Santa Brunch at Watermark together where Natalie requested hoop earrings and Thomas asked for a new mountain bike.
Before Christmas break officially began, the kids enjoyed a full week of classroom festivities. I joined Thomas for his class party where we decorated cookies, made ornaments, read Christmas stories, and played bingo. I led the ornament station and couldn’t help but laugh at the stark difference between how the boys and girls approached their crafts. Judging by the “cookie-sandwich” bag Thomas brought home, the treat station followed a similar theme. And the annual Christmas chapel at Iroquois is always the most precious moment to behold.
I made a return trip to Broadway Bar—this time with the kids and school friends. For anyone wondering: the wet burritos are extra salty, the soft pretzels are bigger than your face, and the cheeseburgers are wonderfully saucy. The bar also announced they’re keeping the Christmas décor up year-round, which means a 2026 Christmas-in-July visit might be in our future.
We loved spending Christmas Eve at Ada Bible Church, joining Jeff’s parents at the Bella Vista campus. We also enjoyed the kids’ activities beforehand and loved seeing Thomas participate on stage during the service - at one point he was a cow and their was no missing his ‘moo’. Later that evening, back at the lake house, the kids discovered Santa had delivered their gifts a day early—and he absolutely nailed their wish lists.
We wrapped up Christmas celebrations with family. First with the Kladders at the lake (a very short commute for us these days), where it’s always a full house—ten adults and ten kids. Mari’s meals were incredible, the cousins played nonstop, and the guys stayed up far too late playing board games. One of my favorite traditions is starting—and rarely finishing—Hallmark movies with my sisters-in-law with a glass of wine.
Next came the Smith family Christmas, which began with a stop at the Schoolcraft Eagles Lodge. The kids ordered kiddie cocktails, popcorn, and played pull tabs with money from Miss Joy and Grandma. Back at the house, my dad prepared a massive prime rib dinner with twice-baked potatoes. Christmas morning brought full stockings, gifts by the fireplace, monkey bread made by the girls, and a Bloody Mary bar complete with BLT breakfast sandwiches.
December was truly so good to us. As I reflect on the joy packed into the last thirty days, I’m left feeling incredibly grateful. Most families have what I like to call a magic maker. The magic maker decorates, plans, organizes, shops, wraps, bakes, schedules, remembers, photographs, cleans up, manages expectations, wraps presents, tracks batteries, and somehow makes Christmas morning feel effortless. Along the way, they ensure everyone feels celebrated, comfortable, and cared for. And then they clean it all up.
Magic makers are the greatest gift of all—and this year, I’m especially grateful for the ones in our lives. That, and all the food and drink we enjoyed this month. Merry Christmas, everyone!
