Tag Archives | Christmas

December {getting ready for the Christmas Season}

November 30, 2013

I was a little surprised to see some retail stores decorating for Christmas in October {just a bit too early for me}. Now that December is upon us, I am ready to move forward and into the Christmas season. The first thing our family decided to do after Thanksgiving was to go and get our Noble Fir Christmas tree. It’s now in our house with lights and decorated with ornaments. Our house will be in the decorating and cleaning stage for awhile longer. Here’s a little glimps of what’s going on.

I always look forward to opening the Christmas bins and rediscovering all the things again. To see my kids find excitement and talk about what they uncovered was great to be a part of. The picture of the pine tree and a bible verse, “For unto us a Child is born” was a printable I created last year for a blog post, Christmas quotes. I reduced the size of the image to fit the matte and frame for the display. {to print, click HERE}.

A simple felt wreath. (diy, here…}

One of my favorite methods to wrap presents is by layering the gifts and using clear cello wrap to tie all of it together. The cello adds a little sparkle to the gift and gives a sneak peek of what’s inside.

The morning temperatures have been low and cold enough to put a blanket of frost outside. These beautiful little berries looked quite delicate with a layer of frost on them.

Homemade cranberry relish with pear & orange is a favorite of our family. This year I decided to preserve the relish and give it as gifts for Christmas. The packaging was easy and fast using what I already have around the house {brown lunch bags, rubber bands, double sided tape and labels printed from the computer}. continue reading…

A fun and whimsical display of a tinsel Christmas tree against black paper {or chalkboard}.

How are you preparing for the Christmas season?

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posted by: Kay

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Christmas

December 15, 2012

This time of the year we are surrounded by many distractions of the Christmas season. Here are some beautiful and simple quotes, bible verses and printables celebrating Christmas, as a reminder of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

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{free printable, “For unto us a Child is born” print HERE}

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Sources: 1/I Still Love Calligraphy 2/Livin’On Love 3/Vintage Feed Sacks 4/Rambling Renovators 5/Printable Decor 6/Livin’ On Love 7/Glamorous, Affordable Life 8/Whitegunpowder

{free printables for personal use only}

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posted by: Kay 2

2 comments

Hot Cocoa

December 12, 2012

Hot Cocoa is a popular gift for giving and always a treat to receive at Christmas time. My kids will be giving these treats to their friends for Christmas. Here are a few ideas to make store bought hot cocoa mix and marshmallows special to give as gifts.

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I discovered these Kraft Jet-Puffed Stacker Mallows a few years ago at Target. These flat marshmallows are perfect to be made into fun shapes using mini cookie cutters.

Mini plastic bags come in many sizes and the large clear bag has a sticky tape closure that seals it like an envelope. The Swiss Miss cocoa mix is the favorite with our kids (2 1/2 to 3 Tablespoons per bag). Each gift package contained two servings of hot cocoa, instructions, two candy canes and enough marshmallows to share.

have fun !

• dip cookie cutter in powdered sugar to keep marshmallows from sticking to it • string cut-out marshmallows together as a garland or turn them into gift tags •

Supplies: www.clearbags.com ( 3″ x 3″ bags • 4″ x 4″ bags • 5 7/8″ x 4 1/2″ bags ) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

posted by: Kay 4

4 comments

Advent Calendar

December 1, 2012

It’s the start of the advent calendar time! This advent calendar is just as lovely today as it was when The White Company featured it in the 2010 Christmas season. Beyond being a”pretty” display at Christmas time, how, what and why was this tradition started? My lovely friend Sherry recently explained it on her website, Kains on the Creek. Please go and check it out {here}.

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Every year my kids have looked forward to counting down to Christmas day since their little fingers could grab an ornament and hang it on the Christmas tree. Hannah, my oldest at 15 and Grace at 12 are still enjoying their advent calendars. Over the years the sign of wear and tear has become obvious and a little more care and patching up are needed. I’m still in search of one more for my son. The last time I saw the Christmas tree advent calendar was on Ebay and the bidding price was over $300! I will wait and hope to find it somewhere else for a lower price (thinking … $10 – $20). I don’t think my son is all that concerned about it as I am. He’s quite content with his “three” Lego advent calendars. Having traditions, family time and discovering the meanings to Christmas traditions with our kids are precious. Thank you Sherry for your insight into the history about the advent calendar.

Here is Hannah’s well used and loved Advent calendar

Share with us your Christmas tradition(s)

Merry Christmas everyone!

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posted by: Kay 0

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Tree Cutting

November 24, 2012

Cutting down a Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving has been a tradition for us since our kids were little. It’s a fun time to be together as a family and we always look forward to it every year. A week before that, we had some of the big pine and cedar trees (6) taken down on our property. It was amazing to watch the crew members climb the trees and cut it down section by section. To put it in perspective, in the time it took us to drive to the Christmas tree farm, find a tree, cut it down, and bring it home, they would have finished most of the work and began the clean-up. They made the whole process look effortless on a rainy and cold day. Here are a few pictures from that day.