Our Christmas books were at the heart of our Christmas again this year, though with a new addition!
Molly wrote her own story to add to the library.
"God is Grait God is Good"
Be still my heart!
Last year I wrapped the books up and used them as an advent calendar.
This year I simply ran out of time and it fell off the priority list.
Luckily, Jack got an idea all his own saved the day!
He drew a Christmas Tree and put 25 ornaments on it.
He was unwavering and diligent in coloring in one ornament each day.
I love how he cut his own banner out of red construction paper for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
He really did a great job!
Once Marc returned from London the weekend after Thanksgiving, we took a day to get the biggies in place. First the tree...
Good thing the ladder reaches!
The little elves had a field day hanging ornaments.
Above is the "cute elves working" picture,
Below is the obligatory "smile at Mom" picture.
This is the "Molly hugging Daddy's leg" picture
Followed by another "look at Mom and smile" picture.
This is the "I look like Melissa Egan" picture.
The "Wait, someone take a picture of me to prove I exist!" picture.
And lastly, our "This is Serious Business" Elf,
ready for action!
(do you love the brownie crumbs around his mouth? He takes this job seriously)
The tree looked AMAZING when we were done.
It still takes my breath away every time I look at it.
We moved it to the back of the house, next to the fireplace this year.
But I think what accounted for the tree going from GOOD to GREAT
was the addition of 20 giant snowflake ornaments.
Giant snowflake ornaments from DOLLAR TREE!
(Dollar Tree! Can you stand it?)
I first saw them on The Yellow Cape Cod, a decorating blog that has some really great ideas.
In fact, when I recently found it, I realized I'd been bookmarking her home on HGTVs Rate My Space pages for years! I never realized that many of the different bookmarks belonged to the same house or the same homeowner/designer. Just goes to show that when someone has a decorating "style", it's something you can identify, even if you don't know that's what you're doing. I don't know what style it is that Sarah Macklem has, but I do know I like it!
And I like her $1 snowflakes too!
After the tree, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without our dear Nutrackers standing guard.
This year, Marc suggested we put them on the entertainment unit. Smart man!
They looked so good!
Next year we want to put a giant wreath in between them.
We might need a bigger ladder though.
Everyone wants to know where they came from.
(personally, I'd like to know what in the blazes was on TV when I took this picture??)
They were a total indulgence from The Christmas Tree Shop in Pembroke, our old hometown.
At the time, we were on a tight budget with me staying home and Marc working, and I stood and stared at them for the longest time thinking "How am I going to afford $30 each for these?"
I put them in my cart so no one else could snap them up, and wandered around the store trying to come up with a plan. In the end, I think I skipped grocery shopping that week and we ate leftovers and pasta instead.
Today, they are a trademark of our holiday,
so I'm ever so glad I made the choice to go for it!
Another idea I borrowed from The Yellow Cape Cod was the idea to stuff a tutu under Molly's pink tree as a tree skirt! The base to her tree has long since bitten the dust, so I wrapped towels around the plastic 'trunk' until it was thick enough to wedge into my miniature garden urn with her lime green tutu on top. How cute is that?!
She'd just come from Irish dancing class, which is why she's dressed all in black.
(you know, in case you were wondering if she'd gone Goth on us)
(you know, in case you were wondering if she'd gone Goth on us)
I told Molly I had some extra special decorations for her tree.
Her great-grandmother had spent the whole first year Marc and I were married, collecting Precious Moments ornaments from the "ornament a month" club
(at least I think that's the story!)
(at least I think that's the story!)
They always ended up getting lost in our big tree, but grouped together on
Molly's little tree, they were perfect.
This little ballerina holding the Nutcracker was her favorite.
In fact, she asked Santa for a nutcracker all her own and he delivered! If you ask her, she'll tell you that it was her favorite Christmas gift this year.
Her tree turned out darling, just like her.
The boys wanted in on the action too!
So we took one of the small trees that we used to use outside and let them go to town.
They also had some special ornaments for their tree.
These ones have been favorites of all my kids from birth.
These ones are from Nana Nancy too.
But these ones she made with her very own hands.
Again, they get so lost on our big tree,
but having a small tree just for them was perfect!
The finishing touch was the Santa hat all the kids wore as babies on their first Christmases.
All of it together makes the tree more than just a tree.
It makes it a scrapbook of memories that make this mama pretty nostalgic.
Of course we also wrote our letters to Santa,
and stuffed them in our shoes on Saint Nicholas day, December 5th.
In the morning, the notes were gone and the shoes were filled with treats!
Ben wanted Spy Gear, a Power Rangers Megazord, and Transformer Play-Doh
Santa brought the first, Auntie Ulia and Uncle Paul delivered the second, and Mommy and Daddy gave Ben the third gift. He was one very happy kid!
Molly wanted an American Girl Doll,
Xia Xia hermit crabs, and a new Aqua Pet.
Santa delivered all of them to one very happy little girl.
Jack was a little more ambitious with his list.
Black leather jacket, Ferrari watch, air hogs hawk eye, iTouch, iMac.
He was warned that his list was too over-the-top, and apparently Santa agreed!
The holiday season really does a number on his sensitive spirit. Even at 9 years old he just can't process all the excitement and ends up in hot water over and over for outbursts and arguments.
The week before Christmas, on the way to Karate class, he burst out in tears in the back seat of the minivan. Ben asked him what was the matter and he answered
"I just know I'm going to get coal for Christmas, and I deserve it!"
He may have been right, after all he put his family through this month.
But luckily, Santa knows that inside his fiery temper and behind the mouth that gets him into trouble so often, there is a sweet and kind boy who wants to, and tries to, do good.
So Christmas turned out great for Jack, even if he didn't get what was on his list.
He got gifts that let him know he was special, and at least for that day, that's exactly how he felt.
Finally, our stockings were hung by the chimney with care.
And with more dollar snowflakes! They tied the mantle garland (a gift from Nana and Papa) in with the tree. I also tucked in some mesh ribbon and some glittery green leaves...which I thought looked great, but in this picture they are kind of making me think "Pterodactyl"
Hmm.
SNOWFLAKES!!
Now all that was left was to wait for the jolly old elf himself.
And that's just what we did!
