It's Begining to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

We have been pulling out the decorations over the past week, and all we've lacked to finish up was to get a new tree for our family room. We finally bought one today and put it up tonight! I just love turning on the Christmas music and watching Claire's face as I pull ornaments out of our storage bins! She loves to look at them all and help put them on the tree! I love thinking about where each ornament came from and seeing those handmade ones I've collected since Claire was born. I am looking forward to adding some of Ava's creations to the mix very soon! She sat in her exersaucer and watched for a bit, but she went to bed before we really got going!

Here are some pics of the finished product (well, I need to fill in a few spots!) and a very proud Claire. She liked playing around in our Santa sack too! I am also including below some of our family's traditions for Christmas. I have gotten these ideas from many places - family, friends, books, etc. I would love to hear yours!

Before that, I don't want to overlook Thanksgiving this week! It's so late this year that I feel like it runs right in with Christmas! We are going to start a new tradition of a handmade thankful tree that we'll decorate with "leaves" noting things everyone in the family is thankful for. Thanks to Susie Willis from MOPS for this great idea!

For Advent.... Read our Advent Storybook each night starting Dec. 1. It's a collection of 24 stories to read, each with a biblical lesson. We read this before bedtime.



NEW this year - The Story of Christmas Storybook and Advent Calendar. It has a miniature "storybook" ornament for each day of Advent. This one we'll do during our family time and place the ornaments on a small tree.
NEW this year - We are adding an Advent wreath with candles when we pull out the ornament book.

Miscellaneous things we'll do....
Buy a dated frame ornament for the girls' Christmas picture and display it on the tree!
Have Christmas pictures made (usually at Portrait Innovations)
Adopt and angel or needy family to help
What God Wants for Christmas play nativity and storybook (it tells the story of Jesus' birth as the kids open boxes with each person in the story). There is a Miss Patty Cake Christmas video that you can get as well that references it.

NEW this year - we're doing a breakfast with Santa instead of visiting him at the mall.

Also NEW this year - we're going to start the Elf on the Shelf tradition. He appears from the North Pole at Thanksgiving and reports back to Santa each night, returning to a new spot for the morning!


Some neat things we do on Christmas Eve....
Make a birthday cake for Jesus
Attend church service
Read Twas the Night Before Christmas (and/or sing it!)
NEW this year - girls dress for bed in their matching PJs

Of course, I didn't list everything we'll be doing that everyone seems to do! We will hopefully spend plenty of time with family, do a good amount of baking, making hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies! I also love sending and receiving Christmas greetings and especially those with photos! We are so excited about this holiday season and are so thankful for all of our wonderful blessings!