My Holiday Home

I have been staying up late after the kids go down like a busy elf, fashioning wreathes, hanging ornaments, and throwing shine around like it was my first Christmas. In a way it does feel like my first Christmas because it is the first one Claire will really remember. And I am so lucky that she is attentive to my efforts because she has an eye for anything new in our house. I am rewarded with lots of gasps in the morning as she scopes all the rooms out and she will point and say "look at that mommy - look how pretty - did you make that?" It is really a magical time of year! 

  

I am really happy with this wreath. I made two for each of our front facing windows and hung them underneath the garland. They are so cheerful! And cheap. I started with the grape vine wreaths that you get a craft store, added the gold sprigs and stuck in some wired bulbs. It took be about 30 minutes of staring at all the options in the store to select what to bring home, but assembly only took about 10 minutes!

  

I am a big fan of real greenery. You can't beat it. But this year I was feeling crafty so I made these wreaths using the plain green wreaths and sticking in festive accents. I also cut some branches from our spruce tree and added some into the fake wreath so it wouldn't appear as fake....I was happy with the results AND it smelled like a real one. Bonus.   

  

My sister in-law sewed these adorable felt stockings to use as our advent calendar. Well - I finally hung them yesterday and they are just so sweet. I love them and hope to use them for many years. My plan is to embroider numbers on them (maybe for next year). Obviously since I just hung them up you can guess that I have not been filling them with special treats for my kids. Treats have become a little excessive in our house. The other day Claire rejected a nutella sandwich and asked for a "treat." Ummmmm when your child rejects a chocolate sandwich you know that maybe it is time to make some changes. So even though I am not planning on stuffing these cute stockings with candy, I decided to wait until a week before Christmas to commence the count down (and I just plain didn't get around to hanging them). Lindsay used this tutorial from Martha Stewart as inspiration.  

Happy Holidays!