It feels like we enough time for a 50-yard dash between Thanksgiving and the beginning of Christmas prep. Having Thanksgiving 3 days before the beginning of Advent is anything but leisurely!!!
The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we hauled out the Christmas decor and got to work un-Thanksgiving-ing the house and Christmas-ing the house. We decked the halls, trimmed the tree, and hung the stockings with care. We also decided to try a new approach to shuffling around our furniture in the living room so we can accommodate the Christmas tree. It took a few attempts, but I think we got a good flow for the room. (It also re-ignited my desire for getting some new furniture, but unless Santa can fit some on his sleigh, that will have to wait awhile.)
Before calling in the whole crew, I assembled the tree (thanks, again, to the Frisch side of the family for the hand-me-down tree!) and to the lights plugged in. Huck quickly decided that having a tree in the living room was just about the coolest thing ever and under the tree was the perfect napping place!
A few years ago, we started using Starbucks coffee cups as our tree topper. After hauling out all of the ornament boxes and getting ready to start the decorating process, Eric and I realized (with great panic) that we didn't have a cup for this year yet. ACK! I quickly put in a mobile order for two coffees and two hot cocoas for all of us to enjoy as we decorated for Christmas. We hit the pause button on our decorating efforts so I could make an emergency Starbucks run and pick up a cup for our tree's top. Whew! With beverages in hand and cup for the tree, the holiday season could proceed!
While I was on the Starbucks run, the kids took to assembling the creche and deciding where each of the characters should be placed. And, in the true spirit of Christmas, it almost turned into World War III. Yup - 'tis the season! Fortunately, Eric was there to referee and remind the kids that compromise is the key to success.
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Peach on Earth, good will to all ... unless they want to put a wise man where
you don't want the wise man, then all bets are off and it's every many for himself |
I think one of our favorite parts of the Christmas decorating process is going down memory lane as we pull out the various tree ornaments. Each ornament has a story and it's fun to reminisce as we hang them on the branches. The kids, especially, love to hear the stories associated with their earlier years and how some of the ornaments are connected with family vacations.
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| Conor placing the cup on top of the tree |
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| Santa's little helper |
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| Making the tree festive |
Before we knew it, the tree was decorated, the stockings were hung, and the nativity was moved to a higher location (aka out of Huck's reach!). The kids have spent time snuggled up on the couches thumbing through the Christmas books we took out of storage and have enjoyed quiet moments enjoying the lights on the tree. Next stop: Christmas baking!!
Fa la la la la la la la la!
