Christmas things that I love

I love, love, love buying the girl’s Christmas ornaments and books. It is hands down my very favorite holiday thing. A friend gave me some unexpected money and I bought the girl’s some really special Lenox ornaments that week. Minnie Mouse for Luna’s Minnie loving heart, and a chubby Pooh bear for my chubby Daffodil. I also love getting them matching Burt’s Bees pjs. I almost skipped that this year because they have enough pjs, but Target hit me with a good sale and I am SO glad. They are the cutest! I look at other brands, but go back to Burt’s Bees every time. They’re just the best.

Stockings were always my favorite thing growing up and still are. I mean, I love a big gift under the tree because I’m not a crazy person. But the stocking is so special. I always loved how my mom did them. We didn’t get anything expensive just pencils, toothbrushes, lip gloss, hair things, deodorant, etc. And maybe one special thing; I remember getting miniature glass animals for a collection I had.

I won’t have them done in time for this year, but I ordered Spoonflower fabrics to make stockings and a tree skirt for our family. I am super excited. I found a Dresden tree skirt pattern on Etsy. The fabrics for Luna’s and Daphne’s stockings are my favorite. I’m not much of a seamstress, but occasionally the spirit hits me. 

Luna’s stocking gifts and the fabric for the girl’s new stockings which I have to share since it’s so adorable!

The Christmas Eve Candlelight service. It’s hard to think of anything more special than singing Silent Night with my family by candlelight. The babies faces looking at the candles!

I hosted a small ornament exchange with a few friends. I get super nervous hosting at my house and this was only my second time doing it. It turned out so nice and I was so happy I did it.

I say no to so many things without guilt (frankly with a lot of joy). No thank you, I won’t attend. No thank you, I will not buy more gifts. No thank you, I won’t decorate more or bake or shop or anything else extra. I take on a Marie Kondo attitude at Christmas and try to say yes to joy and no to stress and obligation. I feel strongly about this, haha! But truly, the more I say no to the things that spark stress, the more I am thankful for and able to take joy in the things that I love. Whereas in the past when I said yes out of obligation to every single thing I had no time left over to do the things I loved. And often I felt dread for even the things I love because it was just so much more stuff to add to the to do list. So culling things out has given me back the joy. This year I said yes to 10 things- family, church, and personal related things. And I said no to about 10 other things. I can’t imagine if I tried to squeeze all 20 of those things into 4 short weeks!

Taking Luna to see lights. She’s super into lights this year and we point them all out to each other every car ride (I’m so proud!). We love the Liberty Lake lights display after discovering them last year for the first time. Free! Lots of them, like a really huge display to walk thru! Luna loved them again this year. I think even Daphne was blown away with her big brown eyes taking it all in (little baby mouth hanging open as always). Hello to Rachel photobombing there like a dweeb.

Celebrating my birthday. I do not understand when people complain about having a Christmas birthday. Are you okay. Have you lost your little gray cells. It’s the best time of the year! I have an entire month to celebrate my birthday. With the best decorations that stay up for months (I decorate on November 1st)! All the best activities like Christmas lights and playing in the snow! The best wrapping paper of the year! The best music and movies! All my favorite shows do Christmas episodes! Criminal Minds a Christmas Murder, thank you very much!

Last year we went ice skating for my birthday. This year we left the babies with their cousins and went to Farragut for a hike, out to eat, and to a movie. We hit a used book store too, and I came home with 13 books.

Christmas music. Frankly, as much as I love it, Christmas music can get old pretty quickly so I am so happy when I find something new. This year I am loving Andrea Bocelli’s family album. Like LOVING. I grew up listening to him and I think he has a beautiful voice. I also really love Jolly Old Saint Nicholas by Caveboy. A random pick but it’s fun and they have great harmony. Mary’s Boy Child by Boney M. is old, but so great! I made Aaron listen to it and he said,”You actually like this song?” Yes, babe, I do like it. It will always make me think of Karen because she loved it when we were kids.

She would call the local radio station and ask the DJ (who she knew on a first name basis) to play it, and then we’d be ready to record it with our cassette tape. Just making mix tapes in the 90’s. And I always felt some anxiety about whether or not she started the tape on time. Like DID YOU GET IT KAREN DID YOU START IT AT THE BEGINNING? Because sometimes she waited to start it until after the first note so instead of “Mary’s boy child” they said “…ry’s boy child”. Then we had to call the DJ again and that’s why we knew him on a first name basis probably.

Daphne got more than her two front teeth for Christmas. She got 7 teeth, the poor miserable thing. But look how cute she is.

And I’ll leave you with probably my favorite picture I have ever taken. Our family on a nighttime snowy walk. Daphne on Aaron’s back, and Luna in her tiny sled.

December was made for me. I’m so sad for it to come to a close, and so happy it will come again.