getting ready for Christmas

Christmas is tomorrow! Ah! This time of year always goes by so fast, but since it's not yet quite over so I can still share some decor and highlights of this season.

This is an advent calendar I bought last year - each date has pockets where we stick this little snowflake to mark the day. Next year (...or the year after that...) I'll print out activities to put in each pocket that we'll do on that day. Sounds like something a fun, on-top-of-it mom would do - hopefully that will be me someday.  

I don't know why exactly, but I just don't decorate like crazy for the holidays for the past few years. I seem to enjoy the beauty of simplicity. Or I just don't want to spend hours decorating only to take it all down in a few weeks. Whatever the reason, I do enjoy just displaying a few touches, like these nativities on our bookcase.  Of course, one BIG decoration is the Christmas tree. The room looks so empty when we take it down after Christmas - and I miss the soft glow from the tree lights.  

There really aren't any ornaments on this tree - mostly just Mr. Preston and Mr. Lawrence - ornaments you can receive when donating $35 or more to that child.  I love seeing their sweet faces.  I just had a feeling that this year the boys (mainly...Kyle!) would destroy and un-decorate the tree whenever possible, so I just left the lights. As I mentioned before, the simplicity really doesn't bother me - I enjoy it! Besides, I will deck out that tree plenty of times in the future - one year of simple lights is no big deal if it saves my ever-waning sanity. :)

I have this complicated method of displaying our Christmas cards - if you want to replicate what I do, you'll need a small truckload of supplies and the craftiness level with that of Martha Stewart.  Pay attention, here are the instructions: I get some tape, put it on the back of the card, and stick it on our coat closet door.

The end.

Did I just blow your mind with my creativity?? Ever since our last house in CA (which also had a nice little coat closet right near the entry) I found this to be the easiest and most fun way to display our cards. I'm not bound by the number some card-holder contraption can hold and I enjoy the collage effect that decorates the door. Like the Christmas tree, this is one thing I miss when I take them done after the holiday - the entry just looks so dull afterward!



Aren't these hats just ADORABLE!!?? My friend Samantha sent these for the boys and we get complimented on them every time we go out - and the real miracle is that the boys actually wear them! The first night we put them on, they both ran around the house saying "Who-who!" and we now call them our Who-Hats.  So stinkin' adorable.

One of my fundraising efforts for Lawrence involved gift wrapping at Barnes and Noble. I was told that B&N offered this as a way for charities to raise money - and since I l-o-v-e to wrap presents - it was a perfect match. A good, kind friend that I'd known in California (who now lives here) even offered to meet me there to help! I had a great time wrapping presents, talking to people, telling them about Reece's Rainbow, and handing out a few brochures about the organization.  And we made a good chunk of money as well from donations. I'm definitely doing this next year.





Grant in his kindergarten Christmas production - - he knew all the actions and was so cute up there with the other kids. He's a natural born performer.



Also next year, I plan to get the word out better for etsy (and other sellers) that work with Reece's Rainbow.  A fellow RR Christmas Warrior makes these beautiful hand stamped necklaces - during the Nov/Dec fundraising season, 100% of the sales of her items went to her own Angel she was raising funds for - Jin Wu (a sweet boy with Down syndrome from Korea). This beautiful necklace was for Grant's teacher.  I purchased several other things as gifts from sellers like this whose sale of products went directly to their own RR angels.  I love knowing that I'm directly helping that child *and* getting my gift shopping done!



These are some gifts for neighbors (the Sprite bottles - how easy, cheap, and fun!) and the crayons were made for Grant's classmates (all 7 of them - had there been 20, might have done something else!).  Every year I have to make these M&M Pretzel treats too. Kyle was very helpful with unwrapping all the Hershey's Hugs - so glad I can put that kid to work now. :)

Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy it where ever you are this year!