Christmas is in full swing in our home. Sam is into it so much this year and it is so fun to participate and encourage the magic. He has so many question's about the details and he is soaking up all the important information. I hope that Ryan and I can make Christmas very magical this year and many years to come. It has been fun introducing Sam to some of my favorite things and it is fun to watch his own develop.
1. There is no question that I have scaled down BIG TIME in the decorating department this year. Not only am I too sore to actually go around putting stuff up (and I can't take it out of storage myself) but I am also worried about taking it all down and either having a newborn or being 72 weeks pregnant. But there are some things that NEED to go up! One is the Christmas trees! Both the indoor ones. The one in the livingroom is my "pretty" color coordinated tree and downstairs one is full of memories and special ornaments. I love my special ornament tree! The other thing I insist goes up is the bright white light garland I got from Costco years ago and within that on the fire mantle, my collection of nativity scenes. It's just makes for a beautiful display of the true meaning of Christmas.
2. Another thing that I do love this time of year but I am scaling back on, is the holiday baking! I love to make oodles of treats that I can package up for friends and family. I love decorating sugar cookies but they are too time consuming. So this year I've opted to only make the peanut butter cups, shortbread and pretzel bites (and a pan of fudge for my in-laws Christmas dinner!). The peanut butter cups and shortbread Christmas "worms" are the cookies of my childhood Christmas' gone by.
Again, cutting WAY back then what I usually do. The funny thing is that my favorite Christmas cookie is not even something I make myself. I'm sure I could but I worry it wouldn't taste the same. So instead I rely on Jilly to give me a taste of her Oatmeal Lace Christmas cookies! YUM!
3. Holiday traditions are BIG in my family and thankfully Ryan has adopted a lot of these with me. White Christmas while wrapping, Wayne Rodstad while decorating the tree, Christmas Eve service, snacks and GIANT "T'was The Night Before Christmas" book before bed. Some of them are really dorky but Ryan I think enjoys them now and enjoys having Sam involved in them too. Another tradition is our Christmas morning breakfast/lunch, bacon bunnies! It just isn't Christmas anymore without a snack of bacon bunnies while opening gifts. This is a newer tradition. When I was a kid we would have Christmas morning pizza but since Ryan and I have been married, it has been bacon bunnies! It has stuck and now a very important thing to consider when getting ready for Christmas!
4. Costco wrapping paper! A small item but when you are a wrapping gifts for everyone (a task I do actually enjoy) good quality wrapping paper is important. It's two sided, thick and the magical roll takes FOREVER to run out. So I usually have 2 rolls of paper which is like having 4 except they last so long. It's thickness makes for smooth cutting and no tearing when lifting up the gifts! I don't shop a lot at costco, but I do take a special trip just to pick up this paper!
5. Anyone who has talked to me over the last 3 years will have heard me RAVE about a tree-mote. My Dad has to take the credit for this item. He picked me up this gadget three years ago and then one week later I asked him to pick me up 4 more! This dandy tool plugs into your wall and you then plug in your tree/gardland/whatever. When you are ready to turn on or off the this item/light just press the button! No more bending down, no more trying to maneuver around decorations or furniture. This might sound so lazy but it really is amazing! My decorative tree is in a bay window (for example) and to try and get around the back was always so hard! I'd pretty much be army crawling on my belly to get it plugged in every night. Now Sam comes home and takes the remotes to turn on all the hard-to-plug-in items! He actually didn't understand how to turn on his own little blue tree without one (something we resolved right away). You can get them on Amazon or at Canadian Tire! GO AND GET ONE! It's worth it!
As usual, a pretty unconventional list of Christmas favorite things. I do love the usual things too. Hot chocolate, Christmas cards, movies, music and spending time with family and friends. But these are just some of the items that help bring some extra joy to me and our home and things that I think of that make my Christmas special.
What are some of the "unusual" things that make your Christmas special that might not be on everyone else's list?
Happy Friday!
xo