Christmas in 2011

I’m still a little groggy from all the measuring, compiling, cooking, baking, assembling, transporting, heating, eating, wrapping, unwrapping, hugging and laughing that went on in the past few days. I haven’t enjoyed a Christmas this much in a while. It was definitely well deserved, I think, after the year that we had.

Mom brought her stockings from home so we could hang them all up on the, um, staircase.

Our tree was topped with Disney, of course. Thanks to Hubs for the idea!

And there wasn’t an inch to be found under the tree, either.

I got creative with the camera. I’m trying to learn all the different features and how this fancy DSLR thing works.

Then we got to the baking. We made pretzel hugs – please don’t make these if you are not ready to eat ALL of them. I didn’t get a picture after they finished with the pretzel and topped and smushed together but oh goodness, they are addicting. Be warned!

There were green beans to snap, party ryes to assemble and trifles to make!

 

Christmas Eve came together like a dream at Grandma’s house!

Midnight Mass at 10:30 pm was next and it was lovely as always. There’s something about to mass in the middle of the night to celebrate something so important to our faith that has always meant a lot to me.

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The next morning, we opened presents by fireside!

Needless to say, everyone had fun opening gifts and there were lots of Ooos and ahhs and oh my goodness-es thrown around! But really, I was just happy sitting on my floor in the craft room, under the glow of the Christmas tree, surrounded by my immediate family – mom, brother and husband. It was a pretty awesome morning.

But once that was done, we had another appointment at the in-laws! Mom and brother came with and we trucked out to the other suburb where we spent the rest of the day with Husband’s family.

More present opening and confusion by the adults on how the children’s toys go together!

In this family, even the grandpuppy gets presents on Christmas! Although I’m not sure if this was a present for Bandit the dog or Scrappy, our cousin!

Good. Moose got it figured out. Well, his dad did at least!

Got to start off the digital addiction young, right? My brother and my godson, with the exact same expression as they start into their devices.

As much fun as everyone else was having, I wasn’t feeling very well on Christmas. I picked up a cold along the way and was just kind of feeling gross. Husband was thoughtful enough to document my feelings.

But what made me feel a little bit better was the sweatshirts the family got for the trip down to Disney this upcoming week. Everyone has one with a number and their nickname on the back! They’re happy flight hoodies!

Do you have the Green Pickle tradition in your family? We do. And it is more often better to watch the craziness looking for the pickle on the tree than it is to participate! I watch from a safe distance, preferably on the couch with a glass of wine.

We never did find the silly thing, my MIL had to show us where it was! No one got the extra gift this year, anyway. But then it was just in time for more food! Traditional fare this time, but the best was my pumpkin gingerbread trifle. YUM.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year’s to you and yours! I hope 2012 brings you love and prosperity the whole year long.

If I’m Not Careful, I Could Spend Way Too Much Money On Etsy

I bought this beautiful sign from Etsy seller DefineYourSpaceVinyl for my cousins to decorate their brand new house. It was also a Christmas gift.

I really liked working with this seller – she was so quick to respond and I think they are really going to like their new sign! 

We ran into a problem with my order, though. I accidentally put 2010 on the sign instead of their actual marriage year, 2009! Whoops! Angela was so great to work with though. She fixed my mistake and made an awesome sign for them.

Then, in the rush of Christmas orders, and her little boy getting in the hospital after the holidays, my cousin's sign got stuck in her workshop. I got an email a few weeks ago saying that she was sorry that it hadn’t gone out yet! After hearing the story, of course I told her that it wasn’t a big deal! She promised to get it out the next day (so nice of her to rush it) and also offered me a custom made sign to make up for the problems!

I hadn’t expected it, but I was awfully excited. I found her shop and was lusting after those gorgeous signs but didn’t think I could get one. I got to go shopping and found the perfect sign for me and hubs.

I wish I could show it to you in its full glory, but it has our last name on it and I don’t like to show it on this blog! :)

And here it is all hung up in our dining room – I see it every day when I come home. :)

Thanks, Angela! I love our sign and I know my cousins love their too. :)

[Note: I was not compensated for this review, even though I received a free sign. The vendor did not give the product in order to get the review – I just wanted to give her publicity in thanks for it!]

The Obligatory Christmas post (part two)

We packed and headed to Texas to visit my family early on Christmas Eve day. I haven’t been back in so long – it’s always good to go “home home” as I call it.

It was snowing when we landed.

Who knew we would have a White Christmas in Texas? So crazy.

 

Christmas Eve is traditionally spent at my uncle and aunt’s house with their three big lugs of teens and pre-teens. There’s a grand buffet of every food imaginable (but of course, I didn’t get a picture). Lots of drinks and then a game or two.

We ended up skipping Midnight Mass that night because of the ice buildup on the bridges. Texas doesn’t do well with winter weathers.

The next morning, we opened up presents before Mass.

I got my Cricut! Well, technically I opened a card that had a picture of one. Husband hid the actual box from me for weeks while waiting for Christmas. My family is so sneaky!

Plus, the awesome hippopotamus ornament! Do you know the Christmas song from the 60s about wanting a hippo for Christmas? It’s my favorite song ever and my dad found a Hallmark ornament dedicated to it! So neat. :)

It was a good trip and I was missing everyone the minute we got to the airport. Someday I want to live in the same city as my parents again.

The Obligatory Christmas post (part one)

It’s been quite an eventful week.

Last Saturday, we had Christmas with my in-laws ahead of the actual holiday. Lots of food, fun and presents were had by all.

Moose was FASCINATED by the snowglobe that plays Christmas music. My brother-in-law was helping him out with it.

Click was being a pre-teen and hanging out before we actually stated to open presents. I think he was giving his cousin that look – apparently the sugar hadn’t kicked in yet!

Scrappy and Husband were playing with princesses on Nina, my mother-in-law’s cabinets. She loves them!

Christmas presents at this exchange included a beautiful white down and feather-filled coat with a fur-trimmed hood from Costco. I fell in love with it a few weeks ago on a shopping trip with my mother-in-law and I figured it might end up beneath the tree! I haven’t gotten a chance to get a picture of, though.

I was really surprised, however, to find out that Husband and I are both getting a nook come February! I had talked to my in-laws about Husband getting one but I didn’t expect one for myself. :)

Did you know that the nook can let you borrow books from friends? Our local library also has a website that allows you to “borrow” from the library just like you would a hardback! Now I can read all those classic books with lots of pages that I never wanted to carry around in my purse.  I can’t wait until February!

My in-laws are so generous, there were lots of other fun things for us to open – like chocolates (my favorite!) and my Page-a-Day calendar (a tradition in their family).

After opening presents, Mike’s younger cousins (Click, Scrappy and Moose, our godson) learned that they would be spending New Year’s in Walt Disney World! The look on their faces were less than impressive, however. We knew they were excited though! They only had to wait 10 more days. 

Before the secret reveal:

After the reveal:

Do they look excited? I promise they are – no, really, they are definitely excited about going to Disneyworld in ten days.

Only two more sleeps at this point!

Christmas Lights in the Cold

Driving thru the Snows with the top down on the Mustang… doesn’t really sound like my version of a good time. But that’s exactly what we did a few nights ago!

After our usual Sunday night dinner, our friends M and D wanted to go see Christmas lights – M absolutely loves them, just like me! So we picked the Way of Lights display at Our Lady of the Snows.

We had hoped there wouldn’t be too many people since it was already 8 o’clock on a school night. We were pleasantly surprised when we drove straight into the Shrine turn off and into the lights.

After going thru the lights twice, we stopped for a camel ride! Yes, I thought it was odd combination – beautiful white lights, the story of Christ’s birth told in lights, and camels? But everyone wanted to try it – well, except me that is. I ride horses, not camels. I was NOT getting up there. I had to take pictures after all!

This was the best shot of M I could find – for some reason that camel would not stand still for me to take his picture!

D poses kinda funny – but that’s why we like him.

And of course, dear Husband, striking a Heismann pose.

Inside the visitor’s center, they had a bunch of other displays set up. We saw a whole room dedicated to different themed Christmas trees. Down the hall there was a children’s village – and we fell in love with this candy cane made of legos! How cool is that?

They also had an auction of themed wreaths on display. This one below was my favorite – and I’m hoping it will inspire me to take on a wreath project next year and make my own.

On the whole, even though it was cold, we had a blast! I love spending the night out with friends. :)

I came home to Christmas Decorations!

I came home last night to find my wonderful husband had decorated for Christmas! I had an awful day at work and he knew just what to do to surprise me! :)

My real pine wreath on the front door

 

We decorated the tree that night, after he got it all set up in my craft room

The small nativity is set up in my craft room under the window

The stockings are hung on the bookshelves, because we have no fireplace anymore. :(

This is the small nativity on the front entryway table.

Of course, I had to try out the kissing ball.

See what a great job he did?

Fresh flowers.. err.. wreath this month

We stopped by Ted Drewes on Sunday …

and picked up this great pine wreath for the front door.

This is a St. Louis tradition – grab your real tree and a frozen custard. It was so cold that we just got our wreath and avoided the lines at the custard stand.

Husband and I had such fun picking this one out (even though it’s more money than I wanted to spend; whoops!).

The neat thing is I can take the decorations off and use them again next year. And it just makes me smile when I pull up to the townhouse and see this gorgeous wreath hanging on my door.

This satisfies month one of my monthly flower rule! Um, sort of.. right?

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…

I saw this on Sonya's blog for a Christmas meme. I was drawing a blank so it seemed like fun!

After you finish this tag be sure to link up with Heather @ Top Ten Christmas, she originated the meme and wants to share everyone's posts.

1. Have you started your Christmas shopping?
We had to start our Christmas shopping early because of our situation – we spend Thanksgiving in Kansas City with my side of the extended family. Since we don’t go back for Christmas, there’s always Christmas present opening on that same weekend. It’s just so much more fun to open them in front of people! So half of my shopping is done. :)

2. Tell me about one of your special traditions.
We always open presents on Christmas morning, have a big breakfast, go to Mass if we haven’t gone the night before, and then end up at the movies in the afternoon. It’s my favorite thing!

3. When do you put up your Tree?
I would like to say it happens the day after Thanksgiving, but that’s Black Friday, so it’s usually that Saturday. This year, however, it isn’t happening! There’s no room in the new townhouse so it’s a little less Christmas-y around here.

4. Are you a Black Friday shopper?
Not until I met my husband – now I’m addicted! But we slept in this year until 6:30 am. It was grand and I still got the boots I wanted!

5. Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
Our holiday season is pretty crazy. We usually travel for Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas and most years for New Year’s. Whoopee!

6. What is your funniest Christmas memory?
I remember the first time that I watched my husband’s home videos from Christmases past. I fell out of my chair laughing! Now we all are in on the joke about waiting until my father-in-law gets the video camera out to tape us coming down the stairs before we open presents – even though we are all grown and aren’t waiting on Christmas morning upstairs. Does that make any sense to anybody but me? :)

7. What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?
I don’t have a favorite – is that bad?

8. Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat?
I haven’t really done a lot of baking on my own, mostly in my mom’s kitchen when we’re home for the holidays. My favorite has to be old fashioned sugar cookies with way too many sprinkles. :)

9. Fake or Real Tree?
All my years growing up we had an artificial tree that got replaced with a bigger one every few years. We had a real tree our first married Christmas but now the husband has pretty much declared we’re going to be a fake tree family.

10. What day does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
Mine happens the week after Thanksgiving. That’s when I realize we have about four weeks to get it all done and I freak out. So yeah, I’m good at this point!

11. Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
Since we travel, I don’t wrap those presents until we get to my parents’ house. So yup, we’re normally wrapping on Christmas Eve!

12. What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?
I love decorating the tree, wherever we are. Somehow, that just makes it feel like Christmas.

13. What Christmas craft do you like the best?
I haven’t really done any crafting around Christmas. I really enjoy putting up the cards in a place where I can see them everyday. Does that count?

14. Christmas music? Yes or No, and if yes What is your favorite song?
Oh my gosh – yes! My favorite song has to be Mannheim Steamroller. Any song.

15. When do you plan to finish all your shopping?
I hope to be done sometime next weekend. Only a few more gifts to go!

Do you want to play along?
Just simply copy and paste the questions into your blog, and then answer them.
•Then tag 5 or more of your favorite blogs, and leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged.
•When you post on your blog, please spread some Christmas Cheer, and leave a link back to Heather's blog (Top 10 Christmas), and the blog that you were tagged by.
Heather would like any blogger to participate in this meme, even if you have not been tagged. She will go back and add your blog link to the list if you want play along.

I tag:
Anybody – have at it! :)