First Christmas in Alexandria
- sarahwilk24
- Dec 30, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 10, 2025
647 pieces | LEGO: 31152
Assembled by Rachel Deese, July 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with this set is encouraged, but use extra care)
December 30-31, 2022
Sarah and Hunter drove up to Alexandria to visit with Hunter's sister, Rachel, and nephew, Andrew, after their first Christmas Day together. It was an eventful Christmas Day at Sarah's house because her mom, Bonnie, tested positive for COVID on Christmas morning, and it meant they had to postpone Christmas for a week so she could isolate. So, Sarah and Hunter celebrated their first Christmas together on New Year's. As they waited for Bonnie to recover, they traveled to Alexandria and spent their first holiday season together with Hunter's family. Andrew had received the gift of an astronaut suit from Santa, which he proudly wore for much of the time the couple was visiting. He and his dad, Steve, had built a makeshift spaceship out of cardboard, and he could be heard in the basement pretending to fly around in space on a mission. Andrew was also going through a phase with the movie Encanto. He liked to watch it every day, and so the couple spent some time watching the film with him (the volume was so low that they could barely hear it, but it was because Andrew knew the movie so well that he didn't need the sound to know what everyone was saying). For Andrew's Christmas gift, the couple got him a megaphone, a gift they knew wouldn't be too popular with mom and dad (they never saw that megaphone again after they left).
A young Andrew plays with building blocks while Sarah eats a bowl of rice in the background. What wonderful foreshadowing for Hunter and Sarah's LEGO wedding that would eventually be planned for three years later.
Andrew rocking them outta this world with the adorable astronaut costume that Santa brought him. He also had a cardboard spaceship, but they didn't manage to capture a photo of it.
Rachel is a masterful baker and makes an elaborate gingerbread house each Christmas. That first Christmas, the couple visited together, she made the famous Alexandria "Spite House." It's the tiny blue house between the other houses. In real life, it's about 7 feet wide and only 325 square feet on the inside. As the story goes, the owner of one of the neighboring houses built it in the 1830s to keep horse and foot traffic out of the alley.