Saturday, November 24, 2012

When Kids Decorate for Christmas

Thoughts and happenings...

* Went to Breaking Dawn part 2 in the theatre. The critics weren't lying when they said movie fans would be in for a big surprise. Even my date was surprised and he slept through part of it.

* I'm not going to exaggerate. The donuts we made this afternoon were super fabuloso. It wreaked havoc on our clean kitchen and we had to share with the neighbors to prevent eating ourselves sick but we definitely have a new tradition for our tummies.  For the recipe, click  Homemade Doughnuts  You won't be disappointed!

* Had a great Thanksgiving with Brandon's family--a 2-turkey crowd.  We went to church after for a talent show and some inevitable basketball in the gym.  Food, family, and fun--I'm thankful for a holiday that's simple and good like that.

* Know what's even awesome-r than getting a good deal on Black Friday??  Sleeping in!   (I'm sure they didn't have the 500-inch TV I wanted anyway.)

* Can I be completely honest?  I love Christmas shopping for my kids and husband. But,  when it comes to all the friend/neighbor/coworker/teacher/who-else-can-we-think-of gifts??-- that is the part of Christmas that just stresses me out.  Could we all just start now and agree to a truce to shrink our gift-giving circles to immediate family? That could be the best gift we ever gave each other. Here's taking a step further. How about we donate that money we would have spent to a good cause?   Would that not make the season brighter?  I'm in--and here I thought my love language was gifts.

* Christmas seems to creeping up on us earlier and earlier each year. I have welcomed it with open arms. I had to stop myself from decorating in mid-November but, I didn't stop myself from listening to holiday tunes.  This year we did something a little different.  I got out our boxes of Christmas stuff and let the kids have at it with the decorating.  Who cares that I'm hosting book club next week? If things get dull (as IF) the kids will have provided many interesting conversation pieces. I think it was pretty entertaining to see how they repurposed some of our gewgaws, trinkets, and baubles.


 Heavy concentration of ornaments on the bottom 1/3 of the tree

 Reliving Childhood memories?


 Vinyl clings get a prominent spot above the fireplace



For some of these underdogs, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!

4 comments:

Sherie Christensen said...

Oh, I love the pictures of the great decorating. I had Jake and Dan put out the big nativity set. It's funny to look at from across the room because all of the figurines have their backs to us -- but they are focusing on Jesus like they are supposed to and so I love it.

I like sleeping in on black Friday. We sent Kayli and Connor with Quinn and Tonya. What good hosts we are!

I think it is easy to get stressed out trying to give gifts to all of the people we love. Smile big and wish them Merry Christmas every time you see them and they'll probably barely notice you didn't give them something.

Megan Goates said...

Your pics and commentary of how your kids decked the halls really cracked me up. Priceless. And yes, I would willingly join in the armistice of gifting everyone everywhere at Christmastime. Too much stress.

TisforTonya said...

my house is still not decorated - guess I'll be leaving the boxes out this afternoon and hoping for the best? ManOfTheHouse might freak, but I'll be happy just to have it done :)

Michelle said...

Where did you get those freaky frowning dolls? Yikes! The day after the Sunday after and the kids put all the ornaments on the tree. I'll have to post a picture. Your decor looks great.