Oh Pretty Christmas Tree

I have seen lots of pretty Christmas trees posted on Pinterest and on blogs since Thanksgiving (and even before!). I am pretty sure I have posted pictures of our tree on this blog and on Instagram in the past but it looks the same every year.

You know what? That's perfectly great - in fact - it is awesome. Our tree is a memory keeper. It includes ornaments we have purchased on trips or for momentous events (our wedding, the year 2000, etc.). We hang little crafts the kids have made and pictures of them as well. Some of the ornaments were gifts from others. When we hang them, we think and talk about all of these things. The kids love to ask questions about where things came from. Since my brain is filled with useless junk then I can often drag out the answer without much thought. I love that my kids also like to buy ornaments when we are on trips. I try to write their names on them if I remember so that down the road, I can pass them along to them when they have dingy apartments that need some Christmas cheer.  My mom did this for many years and that's how my brother and I got our collection started.

In other Christmas news, we have been able to pack in a lot of fun this season.  I took the kids to the Meadowlark Gardens Winter Walk of Lights while a friend was visiting with her daughter a few weeks ago. It is a lot of fun even in the pouring rain (almost no one was there!) - definitely recommend it if you live in the DC area.

We also made our first ever trip to the American Girl store in Tysons Corner which I LOVED. OMG - If I was 7 years old today, I would have to have everything in that store. My daughter, however, is not at all interested in dolls (never has been) although she was fascinated by the store (it's hard not to be!). And they have a doll hair salon and ear piercing station!

Jim and I also took the kids to the Nutcracker at Warner Theater. This is a special production by the Washington Ballet with a DC theme - cherry blossoms, George Washington nutcracker, etc. It is a lot of fun but long for 5 year old boys (and 43 year old husbands), but we rewarded everyone with a nice downtown dinner afterwards.

This weekend or next week while my family is visiting, we plan to visit the National Christmas Tree at the White House and maybe go to Mount Vernon which is always beautiful during the holidays. We are definitely making the most of the season!

Here's our holiday card this year. We send out about 160 now which seems insane but I love getting them in return! Photos this year are by Wendy of Blue Lily Photography. I cannot say enough good things about her - creative, fun, and relatively affordable.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Happy New Year! 

Christmas Grapevine Wreath

I had grown a little tired of our Christmas wreath - your basic evergreen with a ribbon and some red sparkly berry sticks.  I can't even find a good picture of it on my door!  In any case, not memorable!

I wanted to make a new grapevine wreath but for the holidays.  I love grapevine wreaths because they are a great base for so many things.  Here's what I ended up with after a little fiddling around and a consultation from my mom (master wreath maker) who was visiting.

Here was my total cost:

• Grapevine Wreath - $2.50 (50% off at Michael's)
• Bead garland - $4.50 (30% off at Michael's)
• Berry sprays - $7.00 (50% off at Michael's)
• Ribbon - $4.00 (60% off at Michael's)

                 Total $18.00 

For less than $20, I have a new wreath that looks different than any other on our street.  The other great thing about grapevines is that you can change out the components easily which I love.  

Here's a picture of our monumental snowfall yesterday...  Not so monumental but still messy and a great reason to stay home.

Be sure to check out my yummy and sooo easy slow cooker chicken stew recipe on my Facebook page.

Happy New Year! (and Living Room Christmas Mantel)

We survived Christmas in our own home!  We opened presents here in the morning (not too early fortunately!), and then left at about 11:30 for a quick drive to Philadelphia to see my adorable niece who is just 5 months old.  It was great to be with them for her first Christmas.  Hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve!  Stay safe. Take a cab or get a designated driver.  We're staying home and having some friends over for a casual dinner of enchiladas and tacos.  Blue margaritas seem like a great way to ring in the New Year!

Just dropping in before the end of the year to share my winter/Christmas mantel in our Living Room.  I shared my informal family room mantel decor a few weeks ago but I absolutely love my living room mantel this year which is completely different from its neighbor in the family room.

This is a collection of silver and glass trees and other metallic trinkets that I picked up at the after Christmas clearance sale at TJ Maxx last year with my mom. I picked up those topiaries at the end of the summer on Target clearance ((Smith & Hawken).  I coveted them all summer but couldn't stomach their ridiculous price.  In the end I think I got them for $19 each which seems reasonable for something I can use in any season and in a variety of locations.

I thought about changing out the picture for a mirror just to amp up the reflectiveness but then I realized that was more work than I was willing to do in this crazy time of year.

I wonder if I could leave this set-up for a few more weeks and call it a winter mantel?

Any New Years Eve plans?  New Years Day plans?  How about those Redskins?!!

And so begins winter... my least favorite time of year.  I'm filling it with fun winter activities including skiing, snowshoeing,

Simplifying Christmas Cards

I wanted to share some tips about simplifying Christmas cards.  We send about 140 Christmas cards every year.  This was by FAR my simplest year yet in terms of processing the cards so I wanted to share these tips even though it's probably too late for many of you.

1.  The Picture

Although we typically have our family pictures taken in June, this year I unintentionally let it slip until the end of September.  As a result, we had a great family pictures which were only 2 months old when we put it on our Christmas picture. I also like to have my kids wearing cool/cold weather clothing in Christmas pictures. Just a personal preference... don't judge.

Needless to say, we'll now do all of our family pictures in the fall. Bonus, it's not generally 90 degrees so my hair is less likely to return to its naturally frizzball state.

2.  Addressing

I made the switch to printed labels a few years ago when our list topped about 85 cards.  This seemed like a real cop out, but I could not address all of those cards and keep my sanity (and job and family).  So, I did a mail merge and then use the same list every year.  I try to remember to update those who have moved, divorced, etc. throughout the year on my list when I update them in my regular contacts, but I always miss a bunch so I do a clean read of the full list before I print the labels.  I use clear Avery labels.  By keeping the list current, I have a good idea of how many cards I need to order when the time comes. Always order a few extras... see below.

3.  Stamping, Sealing, Mailing

Here's where you pull in the whole family!  Handy Hubby band kids did 90% of the labeling, return address stamping (we have one from Tiny Prints), and postage stamping.  To seal the cards, we use a glue stick.  So much easier than licking (and less scary - Seinfeld fans, anyone?) and much less messy than any water sealing device I have used.  The glue is more effective too since I find that many envelopes have inferior glue.

I like the bigger glue sticks for this project. Available here.

4. Unexpected Cards (Fun!)

Every year we receive some cards that we didn't expect.  Generally from new friends, coworkers, neighbors, or old friends with whom we have recently reconnected.  These are some of the most fun for me - yes, I am a freak.  This year, I had my card assembly workers, stamp and seal the extra cards (we generally order 15 extra beyond the existing list).  This way, when we get a new card, I hand address their card and then add them to our printed mailing list for next year.

So that's how I have made the whole card process easier on myself.  I no longer dread doing the cards and my kids have fun helping.  Who cares if a stamp is upside down?  Not the mail carriers certainly!

And in case you want to see what my Christmas card display looks like as of this morning...

I think I need another one of these.  How cute is my friend Stacey's dog (top left)?  This is from Willow House.

I'll try to swing back before Christmas to show you my living room mantle.  Exciting!

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Party 3.0

My wonderful neighbor Meghan hosts a gingerbread party for neighborhood and school friends every year. She works really hard on it but it is so worth it because the kids really love it (and she must too or she would not keep doing this!).  The basic premise has not change but she has found that some candies work better than others, and that you can never have enough royal frosting (Joy of Cooking)!  

Here's the table ready for the kids to start decorating.  All of the houses are pre-made by Meg and her husband Jeff (see recipes and tutorial here).  They make the gingerbread well in advance and freeze it so they don't have a made rush in the days leading up to the party.  Fortunately you don't really have to worry about staleness since these are better for looking than eating.

Balloons are always a big hit. This year Harris Teeter is carrying brown balloons - perfect for gingerbread parties!

Each child has their own candy dish.  About 75% of the candy makes it onto the houses.  25%... doesn't.

This was my little guy's first gingerbread party. He was so excited to be a "big kid" and worked so hard on his house.

The kids had some time to run off their sugar highs while we did a quick clean-up and reset the table for snack time (popcorn and bananas to counterbalance the sugar!).  

As parents started to arrive, Meghan and Jeff did the awards ceremony.  Here's Elizabeth with her award!  I was so proud of her house - she worked really hard and probably would still be working if we had not pulled her away!

 Here are some of the finished masterpieces!

For more information about the party, please check out these posts: 2010 and 2011.  These parties have always been my most pinned pictures so here are some more to add to the mix!

Thanks again Meghan for another great Gingerbread Party!

Christmas Card 2012

Just wanted to drop in and share our Christmas card cover for this year.

I love it.  It's from Shutterfly in case you are still working on your own!

Christmas Mantel

Wanted to share a few pictures of our family room Christmas mantel.  I like this mantel to be fun and whimsical since this is our family hang out location and there is nothing formal about this space.  I have used these items in various decor configurations for the past several years and they continue to be my favorites.

Of course our elf, Giddy, is back and enjoying himself in our house. My 3 year old has already told us that Giddy doesn't go back to see Santa and isn't telling Santa what he has been doing all day.  My 6 year old believes though! Jeez.

We put our tree up after we got back from New York City.  The kids were really into putting ornaments on this year.  I love sitting on the couch watching television and enjoying our tree.  I'm still happy we went with the fake tree.  

I only put about 25% of my holiday stuff out this year.  Just wasn't really into decorating but I feel the urge to do more coming on so I'll probably break out some more decorations in the next couple of days.

Linking to Thrifty Decor Chick

Just Elf'n Around

Meghan and my gingerbread party was featured on Apartment Therapy's ohdeedoh yesterday. So fun to be featured on such a great site! I'm so thankful.

Our Elf on a Shelf, Giddy, is a real jokester this year. He has been up to all sorts of fun stuff. He certainly has his work cut out for him! Here's a little taste.

He made an appearance on our first day back from Florida with new ornaments for each of the kids and a letter reminding the kids to be good!

Earlier this week we found him cooking up a bunch of hot dogs for breakfast!

 Then yesterday morning we found him swinging from the kitchen chandelier!

Does your elf need some creative encouragement? Check out all the ideas on Flickr!

HOLIDAYography: Gingerbread Magic

My incredibly sweet and generous neighbor and friend Meghan hosted a gingerbread party for 8 kids 6 and under last weekend.  Of course, it was all for a good cause - an fundraiser auction item for our children's preschool.  Although I admit I was skeptical that pre-Christmas-sized attentions could be held for 3 hours without disaster, it was a complete and total success.  I was happy to help her out and provide a few details, but she was the definite ringmaster of this three ring circus!

Here's the play-by-play in case you want to host one of these parties.

1)  The houses -  Meghan did ALL of the work on the houses and they were really amazing.  She started with a small milk pint container and then made a template from that.  Each house had a milk carton base which made it very sturdy and easier to assemble.  She used the gingerbread and icing recipe from Joy of Cooking.

She mounted each on piece of foam board covered in tin foil.  How cute is this?!

2)  Table set-up - We started with a plain white paper tablecloth with a plastic lining (purchased at the grocery store) to protect the table.  The perfect blank canvas.  Each kid had an assembled gingerbread house, a plate of candy, a plastic knife, a small dish of icing, and a dish with candy in front of them when they sat down.  We tied balloons to each chair - red, green, and brown. (Side note - brown balloons are not standard colors at most grocery stores so you may need to plan further ahead (I didn't) and head to a party store instead).

3)  House decor - Here is a list of the stuff that we had on hand for the kids to decorate with.  In hindsight, we probably should have unwrapped anything that was wrapped.  We didn't use anything with nuts.  Each kid had a gingerbread dish in front of them, but there was also candy strewn on the table and in other bowls and plates which they threw passed around.  Each kid also had a small dish of royal icing in front of them which we replenished as necessary. 

1. Peppermints
2. Andy's Candy Mints (great doors)
3. Necco Wafers
4. Marshmallows - large white and pink/green holiday ones
5. Twizzlers
6. M&Ms - holiday and regular colors
7. Mike & Ike's holiday
8. gumdrops
9. gumdrop rings (make great wreaths)
10. Junior Mints
11. Candy canes - we had large ones but you could use either large or small or both
12. Square pretzels (make great windows)

4)  Trees - Meg's hubby Jeff made Christmas trees with cone shaped ice cream cones dipped in green royal icing.  The kids loved decorating them for their gingerbread yards!

5) Snowmen - Big white marshmallows make great snowmen!  


5)  Inspiration - We printed a few pictures of gingerbread houses we found on the internet to give the kids ideas.  I think they had plenty of ideas without looking but it was some good inspiration for some.

6)  Goody Bag - Each child took home a goody bag in addition to their gingerbread house.  The goody bag was a plain small brown paper gift bag.  Meg had stickers and markers on hand for decorating.  It only took them about 5 minutes to decorate but that was a great time filler between snack and pick-up time.  The goody bag included a ceramic gingerbread shaped dish that we used for candy (we washed and dried them while the kids took an outside play break), a homemade Christmas music CD with a custom "Gingerbread Play Date 2010" label (may main contribution to this entire project), and a gingerbread cookie wrapped in cellophane.  We tied a balloon to each bag.  What kid doesn't like balloons?!


6)  Party Schedule (roughly)

• 2 p.m. - Kids arrive and head to the basement playroom until everyone arrives.
• 2:30 p.m. - Decorating (and candy and icing eating) begins.  We each help the kids along a little but they quickly get the idea and are gung-ho with decorating!
• 3:30 - Kids head outside to run off some sugary energy with Jeff.  Meg and I clean up the table and move the houses to the sideboards for safekeeping.  
• 4:00 - Snack time - Popcorn and hot cocoa.
• 4:15 - Kids decorate their goody bag with stickers and markers.
• 4:30 - Awards!  We award each child an award certificate - Most Beautiful House, Sweetest House, Most Decorated House, Most Sparkly House, Most Christmas Spirit, etc.
• 5:00 - Parents picked up - Meg offered everyone beer and wine so things were a bit festive for them too!

Here's a sample of the award certificate.

If you are thinking about hosting this party, I would not do it with less than the 3 adults that we had on hand at all times to help out with the 8 kids.  We probably could have done it with 2 but it would have been much crazier.  It was also great to have Jeff take the kids outside to run off the sugar while we did a quick clean-up and prepared the snack. 

Here are some of the kids' awesome creations!

We put Elizabeth's on the mantel in our family room!

Overall, it was a tremendous success.  All of the kids were really into it.  I don't think I would try this with kids much younger than 3.5 without having their parents on hand as well.  The parents all seemed so impressed with the result and loved the goody bags - people were telling me days later at school that they loved it.

All of this creativity really got my juices flowing.  I think both Meg and I both were dying to get our hands on a house and decorate.  Maybe we'll have to do that sometime over a glass of wine!  The possibilities are really endless.

In case you are interested, check out these other parties I have hosted!

Have you done a gingerbread party? What worked and didn't work?

p.s. In 2011, this is the most linked page from my blog on Pinterest!

As featured on Apartment Therapy's ohdeedoh!