O Christmas Tree

One of my favorite things is the glow of the Christmas tree. Something about sitting on the couch in the evening and watching the lights give off a warm cozy feeling around the room. I love driving by houses and seeing their trees lit up in the window. There is something calming about it for me and it makes me a little gloomy when it gets put away for the next year.

 The tree décor is basically the same as last year, with the added exception of a couple new ornaments. You win a prize if you can find them...hahaha.

 Pillow: So Vintage Chic

One of our "tree" traditions is to take the kiddos pics around it. I incorporated last year's pic into my mantel décor this year.

Here is this year's pic.

 I found the skis at Hobby Lobby on clearance. I'm contemplating doing a winter themed mantel after the new year, but my intentions don't always come to reality. Perhaps if I hint at it here....eh, who am I kidding?

 

Spray Paint to the Rescue!

This little gem belonged to my grandma for as long as I can remember. She was only 4'11" so a handy step stool was a necessity in her house! I'm so happy that it got passed on to me because of all the memories it has. But yeah, the years have taken a toll on it and it's looking pretty shabby. 

I finally decided to use a fun color on it, and I just love how it turned out! Not sure if it's more aqua or mint but whatever it is, I'm loving it! I touched up the other parts with chrome colored spray paint. 

It will never cease to amaze me how powerful a bit of paint can be! I love to have things in my home that are meaningful to me and have a story. And if I can pretty it up a little bit, well that just makes it that much better! I think Miss Molly likes it, too. 😂

Happy Friday, loves! Go out there and make something pretty today!

 

Christmas Traditions

Many of us have traditions that we enjoy during the Christmas season. For some, those traditions have been passed on from previous generations while others may be brand new. I've seen many, and more, and lots, and still some more ideas floating around Pinterest and Facebook and one year I tried them all. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but I realized not everything is to our family's liking. And, that's ok.

 

We don't do Elf on the Shelf. I find many of the pictures humorous and there are some seriously creative peeps out there, but this Mama would go insane and ship him back to the North Pole. We tried the book wrapping idea and they liked it the first year, but didn't the next. I'm sure we'll try other things that we will love and some not so much. (Trying new traditions may become our tradition). Heehee!

 

Some of our favorites are:

 

Baking Cookies-I will admit that this one just about drives me batty because the icing and sprinkles end up EVERYWHERE!! Last year, I gave everyone their own individual decorating stations and got in mine and just blocked it out.

 

Wrapping Paper-We let the kids pick out their own wrapping paper. They love it! Simple, but they always have something in mind when it's time. This year, Frozen and Peanuts were the choices.

 

Sleeping by the Tree-The night before we open gifts, the kiddos sleep in their sleeping bags by the tree.

 

Christmas caroling, church programs, Christmas dinners are all things we enjoy, too.

 

One of my personal favorites was started the year we moved here. It gets me all sentimental and mushy-gushy inside. It makes me wanna grab my kids and put bricks on their heads so they'll stop growing. It makes me wanna hold them and not let them go. It makes me realize time is speeding by and to treasure these moments. It makes me wanna cry. It makes me smile. It makes me proud. It makes me emotional. I think you get the point.

 

 

 

 

 

I'd love to hear what some of you favorite traditions are. I may need to add them to our list to try. :)