The Christmas Tree: The day after Thanksgiving we went to the tree farm near our house only to find out that we were an hour early. We didn't have an hour because we were celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents' house that afternoon so we figured we would get one on Saturday. We headed to dinner and at some point the conversations turned to Christmas trees and long story short, we ended up with something similar to the Griswold's tree, cut from my parents' front yard. Here, Clark, I mean Robbie, is on a ladder using a window washer with a hook (that he made from a hanger) to hang our lights. I'm pretty sure that it is not at all safe and I couldn't watch so I left him to his work and went to take a bath.
This is our tree stand. In case you can't tell, it is homemade. But it sure beats the one I found online for $465! I am working on a super size tree skirt in hopes that it will be slightly less distracting.
We weren't going to let them hang anything up high and then the bottom row of branches got so full of ornaments that they were dragging on the ground so we thought, "What the heck. Why not let our 3 year olds climb 18 feet in the air and lean over to hang a fragile heirloom on an unstable branch?"
Gingerbread Jamboree: This is going to be our new tradition! A friend (thanks Jennie!) gave me a gift certificate for my birthday so we tried it out. It is put on by the Children's Museum every year and we had soooo much fun! The kids loved going to pick out their candy from the candy bar and we all enjoyed working on the house together. They even got to go up on the stage and sing songs ("Mom! Jingle Bells! We know this one!!")
Christmas Cookies: Each year, since I was 2, we have made the same cookies. This year the kids were REALLY into decorating. And by that I mean that they buried the cookies in sprinkles.
Wrapping Presents: It is my FAVORITE thing to do! I love to save all of my presents until I am done shopping and then sit down for a marathon wrapping session. I have a little addiction to wrapping paper (especially the stuff they sell at Costco!) and I love to arrange them under the tree when I am done. Today we spent the day finishing up our shopping so tonight was wrapping night!
Decking the Halls: We bought this garland long before the plans for our house were drawn with the idea that we would be able to hang just like we do. It is my favorite decoration in the house. We did it at night while the kids were sleeping and when they woke up Ben said, "Wow! Who decked the halls?"
Advent: Our house is full of Advent calendars. We have one that we used in my family when I was a kid that tells the Christmas story and has a door to open every day. We have magnetic one that hangs on our back door, the kids each have one that they made at school which hangs on the door to their rooms and they pop out of bed each morning to put a sticker on the new day, and we have the house that my dad built for my brother and I as kids. Each day, one of them gets to open the door and find a little present.
Elf on the Shelf: This is new for us this year too. The story goes that the elf watches all day and then at night goes back to the North Pole to report behavior, be it good or bad, to the big man. Then, before we wake up he comes back home but not to the place where we left him before we went to bed. We named our elf "Kelf". (They are really into rhyming and it was better than the first two options which were "Ben" and "Diet Coke".) Hopefully I can remember to move him each night. Check him out...waiting to be found tomorrow morning!
Chex Mix: I love Chex Mix. And I love making it. I have a system. I get ready for the next batch while the current batch is cooking. I can crank out a ton in just a little bit of time. I make it every year. In my old kitchen I had to us the kitchen table, when I lived with my mother in law I had to get out the card table to make sure I had enough room. When I designed the kitchen in this house a big island was a must and it's all because of Chex Mix. It worked perfect! Tonight I made 4 batches and I have enough stuff to make 4 more another night. I only make it at Christmas time but when I have it I eat it for every meal. It is so yummy!
I told ya we've been busy! The rest of this week will be spent getting ready for a big ol' party this weekend. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE the holidays!!
Gingerbread Jamboree: This is going to be our new tradition! A friend (thanks Jennie!) gave me a gift certificate for my birthday so we tried it out. It is put on by the Children's Museum every year and we had soooo much fun! The kids loved going to pick out their candy from the candy bar and we all enjoyed working on the house together. They even got to go up on the stage and sing songs ("Mom! Jingle Bells! We know this one!!")
Christmas Cookies: Each year, since I was 2, we have made the same cookies. This year the kids were REALLY into decorating. And by that I mean that they buried the cookies in sprinkles.
Wrapping Presents: It is my FAVORITE thing to do! I love to save all of my presents until I am done shopping and then sit down for a marathon wrapping session. I have a little addiction to wrapping paper (especially the stuff they sell at Costco!) and I love to arrange them under the tree when I am done. Today we spent the day finishing up our shopping so tonight was wrapping night!
Decking the Halls: We bought this garland long before the plans for our house were drawn with the idea that we would be able to hang just like we do. It is my favorite decoration in the house. We did it at night while the kids were sleeping and when they woke up Ben said, "Wow! Who decked the halls?"
Advent: Our house is full of Advent calendars. We have one that we used in my family when I was a kid that tells the Christmas story and has a door to open every day. We have magnetic one that hangs on our back door, the kids each have one that they made at school which hangs on the door to their rooms and they pop out of bed each morning to put a sticker on the new day, and we have the house that my dad built for my brother and I as kids. Each day, one of them gets to open the door and find a little present.
Elf on the Shelf: This is new for us this year too. The story goes that the elf watches all day and then at night goes back to the North Pole to report behavior, be it good or bad, to the big man. Then, before we wake up he comes back home but not to the place where we left him before we went to bed. We named our elf "Kelf". (They are really into rhyming and it was better than the first two options which were "Ben" and "Diet Coke".) Hopefully I can remember to move him each night. Check him out...waiting to be found tomorrow morning!
Chex Mix: I love Chex Mix. And I love making it. I have a system. I get ready for the next batch while the current batch is cooking. I can crank out a ton in just a little bit of time. I make it every year. In my old kitchen I had to us the kitchen table, when I lived with my mother in law I had to get out the card table to make sure I had enough room. When I designed the kitchen in this house a big island was a must and it's all because of Chex Mix. It worked perfect! Tonight I made 4 batches and I have enough stuff to make 4 more another night. I only make it at Christmas time but when I have it I eat it for every meal. It is so yummy!
I told ya we've been busy! The rest of this week will be spent getting ready for a big ol' party this weekend. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE the holidays!!
Wow, you've been busy! I love your Christmas tree, it's so tall! I thought our 9' tree was big! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! Your kids are so cute!
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