Category

Christmas

It Isn’t Much, but It’ll Do: Christmas Tablescape

I’m Christmas crazy. I admit I have an almost unacceptable amount of Christmas cheer this time of year. Because of this, we have a fair amount of Christmas decorations. I have a Christmas village that my parents started for me when I was young, two Christmas trees, stockings hung with care, outdoor lights, my Grandma’s natvity, a small collection of snowmen, so by the time I get to the dining room I’m tired. The dining room needs something though, we are in there every single day.

Here is what I was able to do with what was leftover.

I used my favorite table runner found last year at Target on after Christmas clearance. I love the snowflakes stitched on it.

Then, I filled hurricanes with sparkly pear ornaments found at Home Goods last year and berries from Michael’s.

Finally, I added these felt snowflakes from the chandelier.

Not too shabby for leftovers. What do you do with extra holiday decorations?

Check back soon for a full scale tour of our house decorated for Christmas!

The Fire is So Delightful: Holiday Mantel Decor

There is no snow here in the midwest yet. In fact, on Monday of this week we had a high of 70. 70 degrees. In December. I have a feeling we are going to pay for this later on this winter.Even though the weather is far from frightful, our mantel is ready for a cozy Christmas fire.

 

I found these Pottery Barn velvet stockings six years ago at an after Christmas sale for $5.00. Brian and I were just married and weren’t sure how big our family would be, and I was afraid of them being discontinued or something, so I bought six of them. Now we all have matching stockings. Also, we have a wonderful friend who has an amazing embroidery machine, and she has stitched all of our names on them for free!

 

The banner I found at Target for $4.00 and the ornaments are extras I had leftover from our family room Christmas tree. The Waterford ceramic presents were a wedding gift from my oldest brother and sister-in-law 6 years ago (they are probably my favorite Christmas decoration).

 

The finishing touch are the mercury glass candle holders which put a sparkly glow over the whole mantel. I found these after Christmas last year at Target on clearance. I think they are meant to be holiday decorations, but I keep them out all year. I love how they have a little bit of sparkle.

 

There you have it. Now, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

 

Linking up today at Ten June for the Christmas Cheer to the Blogosphere Event and The Lettered Cottage for the Holiday Home event! Get your hot cocoa ready for two great link parties. You’ll be at the computer for hours 🙂

Countdown Book Style: Advent Calendar

Can you name anything better than reading in front of the glow of the Christmas Tree? There are very few things that I enjoy more. There is just something about the light of the tree being the only light in the room. Everything is gorgeous. I don’t even notice the baskets of clothes to be folded or the toys and sippy cups everywhere. It is like a little miracle. Even on our honeymoon which Brian and I took on our Winter Break, we spent a lot of time reading by the plethora of Christmas trees.

Now that we have children, this wonderful thing is even more fun. Kids in footie jammies, the soft glow of the tree, snuggly blankets, hot cocoa, and a wonderful Christmas story cannot be beat.

Over the past month or so, I have collected 25 Children’s Christmas Books. Some were mine from when I was a kid, some were Brian’s, some were gifts, and some I found at book sales and Half Price Books.

Last week, I wrapped each book and put in a bright red bin. Each night, the kids choose a book, we unwrap and read right before bed (and count the remaining books which represents how many days are left til C-Day). This is so much better than any chocolate, paper chain, or ornament Advent calendar. We are making time to enjoy each other and our Christmas tree each night. Isn’t that what this is all about anyway?

Oh yeah, and the footie jammies.

No Two are Alike: Snowflake Garland

Check out the kids and I’s latest craft.

 

No two of the snowflakes are alike. My kids love anything to do with paint and glitter so this was the perfect craft for them. Plus, I love how simple and rustic it turned out.

The inspiration for this project came from a table runner I found Target on clearance last year. The runner has stitched snowflakes (I will show pictures when I reveal my holiday tablescape). Instead of ornaments, I thought a garland would be more unique and actually more useful as I keep trying to find the perfect decor for our entry way and dining room.

Last week, at Michael’s getting supplies for another project, I grabbed some popsicle sticks for around $3.00 and then I saw a bag of pre-cut snow flakes for around $2.00. The total cost for this project was about $5 and we still have plenty of supplies to string enough snowflake garland around the entire house (which I may do as it kept the kids busy, and turned out so cute).

First, I covered the craft table with some paper and then covered the children with some of Brian’s old shirts. Next, I laid out some paper plates with brushes for each kid to have a work surface. Finally, I gathered some red paint (I kept it to one color to cut down on color mixing), glitter, and glue.

We first made some snowflakes out of popsicle sticks by gluing them into a star pattern.

 

Then the kids started painting.

 

 

Then came their favorite part: GLITTER!

 

After painting and glittering, I let everything dry for about 8 hours. Then, using a small hole punch, I made some holes in the snowflakes, and then carefully strung each of them on some twine I had on hand.

 

The kids are so proud they made the snowflakes themselves, and I am happy to have such a beautiful new decoration hanging in our entryway.

Linking up at Hi Sugarplum for the Christmas Cheer to the Blogosphere. Come check out all the amazing holiday crafts and projects. It seems like a Pinners Paradise!

Also linking up at Centsational Girl for the Holiday Home link event. Another great place for Christmas craft ideas.

Christmas Time is Here: Decorating the Tree

As I mentioned last week, we started Christmas decorating the house. Over the weekend we put up our BIG tree in the living room. This is the tree that holds all of Brian and I’s childhood ornaments, all the ones we buy for the kids every year, all the home made ones, and all the ornaments that Brian and I buy on our vacations together.

Every year, putting up the Christmas Tree at our house gets more fun, as well as more of an event (maybe because we have lots of little elves to help now).

After a dinner of Thanksgiving Leftovers and cleaning up toys, I made some hot cocoa, turned on the holiday tunes. Brian and I assembled the tree and plugged in with bated breath to hoping all the lights would work. They did!
Then, kids helped put up ornaments and beads on the tree. They had a ball and Brian and I had a ball watching them.

Here are the kids with their new ornaments from West Elm that Brian and I bought for them the day of the YHL book signing.
Trimming the tree.

 

 

My kids love snow globes.
Coco thought this was a necklace.
Do you have a family tradition regarding your Christmas Tree? Is hot cocoa involved? Holiday music? Does anyone get new ornaments?

Something Wonderful is Happening

We put up two trees in our house every year. One is a big traditional tree with ornaments collected over time. The second tree is a small one my Mom gave us last year. We put it in the corner of our family room since the kids spend most of their time there.

The kids yesterday were a bit antsy with some of the boxes being out so I broke my usual rule of no decorations before Thanksgiving. We put up the small tree in the family room.
Here is how it turned out.
Last year, I bought a package of coordinating ornaments at Lowe’s on sale which is just enough to fill the tree. I love the chocolate brown sparkly ones best. I put a string of red shiny beads that I had on hand from years past and a small star ornament on the top. I set it on an end table covered with a table cloth and made a tree skirt out of some white fabric I had on hand.
We have a teeny bit of Christmas in our house this week. Anyone else started decorating yet?