Christmas Countdown: December 6

Today was one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season...time to get a tree!  Last year we happened upon a new-to-us place and we really liked it, so we went back there again this year, hoping they were open.  They were!  Just one guy and a big field of beautiful trees.  We got a 9-ish foot tree because we have nice high ceilings and it's such fun to get a big tree now that we have the space for it.  Also, I was so happy we got snow earlier this week because this tree farm is just magical with the snow-covered trees!

Ari holding the saw while the tree was hefted onto the Suburban

Traditional family pic with the tree (missed it last year because we only had 2/4 kids with us)

Evaluating trees and deciding how tall and how full we should go for

Picked a good one!

Jim and Ari screwing it into the base.  Just thought this was so cute. 😊

We have yet to put lights on or decorate; this is a busy weekend with most of us not all home at the same time till tomorrow night. So, we'll have to work on it then (or later in the week), but at least now we can cross "getting a tree" off the list!  

Christmas Countdown: December 5

 Today I don't feel like I accomplished a whole lot of Christmas prep, but we cleared out the spot where we're putting the tree, so that felt good!  Hopefully we'll be getting our tree tomorrow.  Josiah and I also went grocery shopping, spent a bundle of money, but I'm stocked up on ingredients for some of our special holiday treats. 

Sam also helped me put up more lights in the living room (pictured above).  I think we're well lighted up now. 😁  

Hopefully over the weekend I will have time to put up a post or two with a bit more substance! The last couple days ended up a little busier than I anticipated, so I haven’t gotten as much decorating done as I’d hoped. 

Christmas Countdown: December 4

Today’s post is a book recommendation.  Last year I treated myself to this book, Glad and Golden Hours, by Lanier Ivester, and I have enjoyed it so much. As soon as I saw how beautiful it was, I ordered one for my mom as well! The writing is just lovely, the artwork is gorgeous, and basically it’s just a treat all the way around. I’m rereading it this year and enjoying it just as much as the first time.  If you love Advent and Christmas…I highly suggest adding it to your collection! 

Christmas Countdown: December 3

 

Today’s post is super quick because it’s late and I’m tired! I had a busy day and didn’t get much done towards Christmas, but I had Ari start decorating my printer’s tray, and she got a good start on that. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive, but I also need to run errands and get groceries…so we’ll see how it goes! 

Christmas Countdown: December 2

Well, I had this post all written and published...and then I accidentally deleted it, thinking I was deleting the draft instead of the finished post.  Oops.  Anyway, here goes again!

 Today we got a snowstorm, which definitely helped put me in the mood for decorating!  Pictured above, an old metal colander filled with cookie cutters and some twinkle lights...I think my mom has done something similar before, and I thought it would be a fun way to get my cookie cutters accessible on the counter for later this month, while also being decorative. 

 I also hung a couple of banners...my names of Jesus Advent calendar, and a "Merry & Bright" banner my sister gifted me a few years ago.  My living room wreaths went up on either side of the picture window.

 The crate of Christmas picture books is stashed beside the coffee table, which is covered with a handmade flannel runner and my wooden box of Advent candles.  This year I'm trying these rustic metal tea light holders on either side of it, which I think look lovely there...but I may move them, because the deer shaped one is pretty tippy and I don't want to light the runner on fire. 😁

The Christmas picture books are still a really special part of our celebrations, even though most of my kids are nearly grown now.  I still have an 11 year old who enjoys them, and truth to tell, I think the older kids like hearing the occasional one read aloud, too. 😉 

The other Christmasy thing I did today was some food planning for our "Jolabokaflod" (an Icelandic tradition which has become popular in the US in recent years...translated "Christmas book flood," it's where families give books to one another and then spend the whole evening reading them).  We've never done this before, but I've been wanting to for several years now, and finally broached the idea to the family, who were mostly on board.  We're going to put our own spin on it, and my plan is to do it the evening of the winter solstice instead of the traditional Christmas Eve...with a special supper of appetizers and treats.  I will update more about it either right before or after we do it!  

 

Christmas Countdown: December 1

 

It’s been well over 5 years since I posted anything in this space…life happens, and the allure of quick little snippet posts on social media was more attractive (still is, in many ways!)…but my mom encouraged me to try posting here for December and it brought back memories of my Christmas countdown posts from years ago. So, why not? I’ll give it a whirl and dip my toes back into the waters of more long-form writing. 😊 Although some days my posts might be short and sweet, and some days nonexistent.  We will just see what happens! My goal is to do something a little bit Christmasy every day, whether decorating, crafting, baking…even cleaning counts! 

So, today…I pulled out my favorite holiday mug that I found at the thrift store a couple years ago.  It just makes me smile! I also brought out two Advent devotionals, which I plan to read through this month. They are simple, but theologically solid, and really help to focus the heart on Jesus through this season. The two I’m using are Unwrapping the Names of Jesus, by Asheritah Ciuciu, and The First Songs of Christmas, by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. 

I also packed up my fall decorations today, to make way for Christmas decor in the near future! And this is my little bit of Christmas for Dec. 1st. 

Well, what do you know?!

My word for the year WAS "grow!"  I find this both funny and pretty cool, since this is the word that came to mind as I was thinking about summer (see my earlier post from Monday of last week).  I was excited to find that I had indeed written it down somewhere, way back on January 1st!  I guess God had kept it in the back of my mind all this time, after all, and six months later it came back to me.