This year was the latest we’d ever put up our Christmas tree. We usually put it up right away after Thanksgiving but it’s just been getting delayed later and later.
Plus, it honestly doesn’t really feel like Christmas time yet. Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful, we haven’t had our Christmas pictures taken, no work Christmas parties this year, no advent services, no snow, in fact it was 55 degrees the other day! No deere hunting for my family like they usually do, no Christmas baking yet, we never did black Friday shopping like we usually do to kick off Christmas. So we got the tree up the other night – finally in hopes to make it feel a little more like Christmas.
I’ve been teaching Carver how to give gifts. He picked out which gift went to which teacher, he’s been working on wrapping presents and labeling them – look how far he is coming on writing his name! We are so impressed with how quickly he has caught on. One presents is for Betsy and one is for Rosie – can you tell?
I found a few of my favorite ornaments while we were decorating the tree. The German star ornaments were made in 2007 – the first year we had a Christmas tree. Mom and Dad and I made them one night and we dipped them all in wax. They’ve lasted all these years. I also made Swedish heart ornaments that year. 2007 was one of my favorite Christmases ever – I’ve always kept our yearly ornament from that year.
That was the year I got Dance Dance revolution, Rockband, the Xbox, we got a real tree that Dad and Karl and I went out and cut down. Mom and I played so much Mario Cart that winter. We baked so many Christmas cookies. It was just the best Christmas ever.
If you’re curious as to why the first year we got a tree wasn’t until 2007, Christmas has been…I don’t know how to say, a touchy subject in my family growing up. You can read more on that here: https://www.joscountryjunction.com/ask-jo-christmas/
Gannon thought the nativity set was a barn so he grabbed his tractors and got to work…
And here we all are – tree decorated, Christmas carols playing, watching the twinkling lights, all happy as can be…as long as Gannon doesn’t unwrap another present!
Do you guys have your decorations up? Shopping done? I think I have just one more person on my list. I’ve stuck with shopping local except for two very specific presents that are pretty hard to find in your typical boutique or brick and mortar. Have you been working to shop local more this year?
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I grew up with a real tree, chopped by dad and 6 siblings searching for the perfect one. We decorated with lots of homemade ornaments and my grandmothers came to stay. Lots of baking, sledding, and games were played. So that is what I did with my own children and I truly love seeing your sons getting the homemade ornaments up and playing with the nativity set. ( I never had one of those in our home growing up but my husband did so we added it to our family decorating. Our children are grown and gone from home, each with a box of homemade ornaments for there own tree. Our gifts were shipped this year and included a small letter from us and some of there favorite things to eat growing up. Our son likes green beans, so his box got 2 cans, lol. We will facetime on Christmas and share a egg nog together.
You have inspired me to shop local for as many gifts as possible. I have done well doing so and really enjoyed it. I am also trying to make several gifts so hoping the chain store purchases will be minimal. Wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays!!
No Christmas decorating here at all this year…everything Christmas went home with my daughters in August. One daughter and two granddaughters will be coming here for Christmas (from Texas to Nevada) this year, so that will be wonderful. She’ll be taking back more of my parents’ things that she wants to keep. I hope to get home this spring…if I can get moving and finish going through things!!! Loved your mom’s post today…explains my inertia!!
Not complaining, but you mentioned before that you were working trying to get rid of the light colored font on your blog. I hope you are successful with that soon. It is kind of hard for my old eyes to read.
Our Christmas traditions include baking lots of different cookies, plus fudge, divinity and peanut brittle if we are lucky enough to get some cool dry weather!
Sure enjoy reading about Carver’s and Gannon’s escapades. Praying you get Gannon’s genetic test results soon.
When our children were young, we gave them gifts but after they left home, they were adults. No more gifts. Our grandchildren have everything they really need, we give each of them $20, not a huge amount of money but enough to put towards something they really desire but don’t need. I do limited decorating, some winter quilts that stay up all winter, a wreath on the door that stays there until February. We do have a nativity, I let the grandchildren set it up and they are allowed to play with it. There are several lego people in the barn along with all the regular participants. Baking cookies is fine but I get very tired of people bragging about how they made 20 varieties of cookies, 10 dozen each. Don’t get me wrong, baking cookies if fine but if you get stressed, why do it? Christmas is about the birth of Christ, not the silly romance movies on the Hallmark Channel, it’s not about overspending, trying to outdo the other grandparents in gift giving. If decorating or gift giving causes stress, then don’t do it!
Awesome, awesome and more awesome! So much fun!
The Christmas ambiance is so much more than fairy lights and tinsel. “It starts with the kerb appeal of your home – outdoor lighting and a big, au-naturel wreath,” says Ruth Monahan of Appassionata Flowers, who says a lot of her clients like their wreath to tell their house decor story. She suggests foraging for holly and other greens, cutting some pine bra e nches off the bottom of the Christmas tree and buying other foliage from florists to create the green base. She then adds dried lavender sprigs, dried fruits, ribbons she keeps from gifts received, and sprays some twigs. Rose gold is on her shopping list this year. Then she gets the kids involved, spreading a newspaper on the kitchen table to keep the mess contained.