Advent Calendar {a little late}

I realize it is now New Year's Eve. Christmas is over. But I really meant to post this. You know, before the whole fam came down with the flu (ugh) and ear infections (double ugh). So for the sake of my blogging self-esteem, just go with it. Please :)

As you search out those after Christmas deals (if there are any left...), be sure to think about projects to work on for next Christmas. I bought this advent calendar five years ago from Starbucks. Can you believe it?  It was just after Christmas and only cost me a few bucks. It's durable enough to last our family a long time. We have used it every year. In the past I've filled it with candy, other times with notes and this year I did a combination of candy and trinkets for Ellie.

Did you notice that the boxes are reversible? 

By Christmas, all the images are revealed to form a picture.

I've realized using an advent calendar is a great way to practice numbers with a toddler! Each morning Ellie asked to "pick a box." I would tell her the date and help her find it. She can only count to ten but I think she recognizes some larger numbers even though she hasn't been taught them directly. Whenever she had trouble finding a number I would help her by saying, "Find the nineteen (or whatever day we were on). It is a one and a nine."

I love how all my crafty bloggy friends made amazing advent calendars. There is some major talent out there. I also love that I didn't have to because Starbucks sold this for cheaper than I could have made one.

Hope everyone has a great New Year's eve!

My favorite things...

We had such a lovely holiday with our sweet girls. Unfortunately, we were (and still are) sick on Christmas. Of course that didn't stop us from opening all of our presents :) Here are some of my favorite gifts this year.

The Hallmark snowman night light. I kid you not - I have wanted this little guy for five years and searched high and low. He has always been out of stock but this year I got him. Better yet, the hubby got him for 50% off!

 Lady Grey tea. For whatever reason, this flavor is not sold around here in any of the stores. A friend of mine enjoys it too and has her daughters pick it up for her before they come visit. It is my absolute favorite tea. Thanks Mom!

 Bakers twine is my new addiction. I especially love this spool of cotton candy pink that the hubby ordered for me.

What was your favorite gift?

Farewell Christmas Tree

As we pack up all the Christmas decor, I thought I would snap some photos of these vintage bulbs. Some were my dad's when he was a child. Others I picked up at a thrift shop.

I'm glad I saved all my egg cartons this year. They are just the perfect size for storing all these vintage lovelies.





Linking up with...

The Christmas Express

Okay I have to share our new favorite Christmas tradition. I was checking out the latest pins on Pinterest when I found this from Confessions of a Homeschooler:

Source: confessionsofahomeschooler.com via Kristen on Pinterest

She is brilliant. She created these awesome free printable tickets. The ones I printed say "Christmas Express" since we don't have a minivan ;) Go to her website and read about her family's tradition and the ideas she has to share. 

On the eve of Christmas Eve (yes we celebrate that!) I let Ellie unwrap a present. It was The Polar Express which I actually rented from the library. (We'll be returning it next week, no worries.) We all got in our comfys a.k.a. pajamas and read the book together.

Next, I sent Chase and Ellie to her room.While they were reading books, I secretly popped some popcorn and made rich homemade hot cocoa. I used individual buckets for the popcorn and put the cocoa in our travel cups. Once I had everything in the car, I had everyone check their beds and lo and behold they found their tickets! Just like Erica from Confessions of a Homeschooler, I punched the tickets and loaded us up. I drove through the neighborhood lights playing Christmas music. It was such a fun and spontaneous activity....well not for me but for the rest of the family :) We are going to continue this tradition for many more years. The hubby even suggested keeping the same tickets and just punching them again each year. I hope you'll go check out Erica's website and get the free printable. She also has great ideas for teaching a range of ages and shares the curriculum she uses with her kids. You'll also find a wide range of educational printables. Have fun and start planning some traditions for next year. 

The Meaning Of Christmas

Merry Christmas eve to all you lovely bloggy friends! I absolutely love the holidays and all the traditions that accompany them. Having special family time and building memories with our children is wonderful. This time of year it is common to see so many different attitudes about Christmas. This has really been on mind so I prayerfully decided to share my thoughts with you.

Christmas, like Thanksgiving, Father's Day and birthday celebrations, is a day that we devote to family time. We create special traditions in hopes of making memories and passing them along to our children. Christmas is no different in that aspect. However, it is also a holiday with great religious significance, especially in the United States. Many families celebrate the birth of Christ and may even celebrate the day as Jesus' birthday. I'm sure most everyone realizes Christmas is not the actual birthday of Jesus. No where in the Bible are we told the precise day that He was born, nor are we commanded to celebrate Christmas. In fact, it is believed that Christmas began as a pagan holiday full of indulgent sin. Regardless of its origin, isn't it wonderful to see so many focus on our Lord if only this one time a year?

 Certainly we should teach our children about Jesus all year long and remember the greatest gift we have been given. I'm thankful for the teachable moments this time of year provides. I enjoy seeing the  many nativity scenes on display this time of year and use them to recount the birth of Jesus with my two year old daughter. However, since there is no command to celebrate Christ's birth, no one should be condemned for choosing not to celebrate Christmas or associate it with the birth of Christ. I think the most important thing is to remember the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23:

"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it." (New American Standard)

There are some who may be offended by the Christian holiday because of its pagan origin. Others may be offended if we do not take time to think of blessings we have in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).  In all that we do, may be always be mindful of our ability to influence souls, teach them and encourage them to dwell on the blessings we have in Christ. The birth of Christ is just the beginning of a beautiful story that we can share. Let us continue to share the life of Jesus and the ultimate gift we can have through clothing ourselves in Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). I promise it will be better than anything we unwrap under the Christmas tree ;-)  Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card Keepsake

Don't you love getting Christmas cards in the mail? What do you do with your cards after the holidays? I sometimes re-use the cards for gift tags or projects for next year's Christmas. Up until last year, I was just throwing all the pictures in a photo box - one with all my pictures from pre-digital camera times. Remember when we developed film and had hard copies of all the pictures we took (like it or not!).

Thankfully, a dear friend of mine shared her Christmas card book with me. Each year she adds the photo Christmas cards to her book categorized by family. She has been keeping her book for many, many years and it was very neat to look back through the years of each family.

For my keepsake, I just put page protectors in a three ring binder. I put one family in each sleeve and just add to it each year. On the outside pocket, I slipped in this free printable from Tattered and Inked. Now it is cute enough to set out on the coffee table or slide under the tree.


Linking up with....

Whipperberry Friday Flair

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

I'm joining the Christmas Tree Linky Party over at Five Days...5 Ways. So....here are a couple of my trees and some other odds and ends.

I'll start with one of my favorites. My feather tree. I made the tree and collected the Old World ornaments when I was child.

Do you have a pickle ornament on your tree?

My big tree is turquoise and gold. I'm thinking next year I'll do turquoise and white with bird and burlap ornaments. 

Not a tree, I know, but I had to share my paper village I'm working on. I've got the barn, a house and the general store finished. There are probably ten more but we'll save those for next year.

I also have this Merry Christmas banner that came with the paper village. You know I only paid $4 for all of it?

Ribbon tied in a bow + berry sprig = Christmas wreath!

We have a family tree and the girls have a pink tree but I haven't gotten around to taking pictures of them. I look forward to seeing everyone else's trees linked up!

Glittery Santa

I'm loving all of Martha Stewart's Christmas craftiness. Aren't these little santas so cute?

Source: marthastewart.com via Kristen on Pinterest

I made two of these (you can find the free printable here) and I think they go great with my felt Christmas tree. Whatcha think?

I will say it was a little difficult to get the Santa face to lay flat on the rounded surface. They aren't perfect but not very many things I make are. I haven't decided what to put in my santa's hands. A Christmas list? A present? Do YOU have any ideas? I'd love to hear from all you lovely readers. If you have a blog, be sure to leave your address so we can stop by :)



Linking up with....

Holiday Tablescape {Amateur edition}

I have seen some lovely tablescapes around the blogsphere lately so I thought I would contribute a few snapshots. And yes, this is DEFINITELY the amateur edition both in the tablescape and the mad photo skills displayed below. Unfortunately, the stomach bug stole a lot of my holiday planning time so this festive brunch was thrown together on a last minute whim. We invited a sweet family over for brunch after church. This meant all the decorating and prep work was done the night beforehand. It also means I was a bit preoccupied to take pictures of the actual spread. Ah well.

To decorate the table I just used what I had on hand. I love my snowglobes mixed in with my snowflake votive holders. I also included these miniature chalkboards I ordered from Bluhm's Gardens.

I used my ornament place card holders as labels for our belgian waffle toppings bar....of which I didn't get a picture because...well... hot waffles with butter, whipped cream, powdered sugar, walnuts, raspberries, chocolate chips and syrup had to get in my mouth. No time for pictures. I will say I am loving my furniture from Ikea. The dining table and the gateleg table in the pictures are both from there and get used a lot. I'm also still loving my Ektorp sofa (you can read my review here).

I'm linking up with Aimee over at It's Overflowing for the Christmas-Scapes Linky Party!

Shabby Ornaments

Next year I would love to have a shabby Christmas tree decorated in white, burlap and some natural elements. I'll also include these ornaments I have been working on. It is really an upcycle project since all I did was paper mache some ornament rejects - you know the cheap ones that go in the back of the tree or at the bottom at toddler level.

Like most of my recent inspirations, I got this one from Pinterest:

Source: fleamarketstylemag.blogspot.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Aren't they lovely? I know the shabby "homemade" look isn't for everyone but I love it :)

These are pretty simple. Tear up strips of newspaper, paint the ornament with glue and adhere them. Be sure to take the lid (?) cap (?) topper (?) off the ornament first. Once it dries, add another thin layer of glue and sprinkle clear crystal glitter all over the ornaments. Let dry again. Replace the top of the ornament. Print "noel" on the card stock color of your choice in your preferred font (you can download the font I used here for free). Cut to size and use a straight pin to poke a hole in the tag. Loop it into the metal ornament hanger. Take a black marker and  run it across the four edges of the noel tag just to give it a distressed look. I tied mine on a strand of bakers twine just to up the shabbiness.

Linking up with...

Christmas Card Wreath

If you spend any time on Pinterest, then you have probably seen Martha Stewart's Christmas card wreath using an embroidery hoop and miniature clothespins. I even saw it showcased on the Today show last week! I had to make one and I'm considering leaving it up all year. For now, I hung the ribbon on my antique match box mounted on the kitchen wall.

I do love all the Christmas cards coming in the mail. How are you displaying your Christmas cards this year? Since I can't send cards out to all you lovely readers, here is the picture we are sending to our loved ones.

Merry Christmas!

Linking up with...

O Christmas Tree!

This little felt tree was a cinch to make. I found my inspiration here where you can also read the step-by-step instructions. I used a baby food jar lid to trace my circles and once they were all cut out, it only took a few minutes to pin the tree together.

Pinterest & A Snow Globe

I love Pinterest. Have I mentioned that before?! Ah yes I have. {Actually, I just posted a link on my Facebook page to a Pinterest tutorial my blogger and real life friend Audreya put together....so go check it out if you are still trying to figure out with this wonderful obsession pastime is.}

One of my recent pins is this:

Source: itsoverflowing.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Aimee from It's Overflowing made these and I just fell in love. They are an Anthropologie knock-off. Wait - Anthropologie style without the price tag? Double love!

I was actually going to wait and make these next year since my project to-do list is longer than I have time to discuss. However, Ellie and I went to Dollar Tree this morning and I found those little Christmas village trees. Two trees for a buck! Plus, these are already snowy and all so I just grabbed some mason jars and stuck them inside. I didn't do any gluing or even add "snow" to the base. Since I plan to use my mason jars post Christmas, I've decided that after the holiday I'll just pop the trees out and store them until next year.

Linking up with...

Holiday Placemats

As I was unpacking Christmas boxes, I found one of my holiday placemats that I made several years ago. I had a couple more but after enduring a toddler, the others were retired. Anyway, it's an idea for a fun project to do as a family. I just went through holiday magazines (mainly Martha Stewart) and cut out all the images, text, and colors that I wanted to include on each placemat. I glued mine onto white craft paper and then had them laminated. In hindsight, a thicker laminate would have made mine last longer. For kids, it would be fun to give them their own magazine and let them tear out the images they want to use to make their own collage print. It would add a special touch to the dinner table, serve as a conversation piece and showcase your child's artwork. I really wish I had my other placemats to share with you all. I did a different "theme" on each mat...but this was all pre-blog :)

Linking up with...