Most of the fun about Christmas comes from all of the little magical things that lead up to the big day! I LOVE the festive stuff.
I can't talk about FESTIVE without starting with my big tree. I have really been in love with it. I started with a smaller version 13 years ago in my old house. When I moved to my current house I started crying the day we put up our tree. I have a giant window in my living room and a tall vaulted ceiling. My little 7 foot tree just wasn't cutting it. We ran out and got a 10 foot tree but it wasn't pre-lit. I spent years winding lights onto that thing and buying decorations on after-Christmas clearance so I had enough to make it full and elegant. Then I got my beautiful pre-lit and I was so happy for many years. Until...the lights started going out in sections and it developed a bit of a lean. This year I added a few strands of lights to fix the dark spots. Russell propped a few books under the front end to make it a little more straight.
I still had a beautiful tree when all was said and done but I have to admit that this year I had the thought that perhaps it is time for a new tree with some new colors and some new decorations. I am hoping to get a whole new living room this next year so we will see what the future holds for the big tree.
I have made it to the Festival of Trees two years in a row now! I like to let Mason do some of the kids activities and he gets to pick out a treat.
We spent one Family Night Christmas shopping for our cousins and each other. It was a fun night that ended with cookies and hot chocolate at Kneaders. How excited I was to see Santa there! Nothing says festive more than a family pic with Santa! The lighting is bad but here we all are, everyone happy for the most part. Douglas clearly thought his head would be cut off so he decided to make himself small. He regretted that decision once he saw the picture since it made him look shorter than his dad!
My most favorite festivity of all was the night we spent at Temple Square and ice skating. The weather was doable, the crowds were light and downtown was sparkling.
The Gallivan Center has an outdoor rink. We used to go to Murray Park's outdoor rink on Christmas Eve when I was a kid. It has been 22 years since I have done that but I LOVED it. It was Russell's work party and families were invited. There were Christmas carols playing, lights in the trees, Santa and donuts and hot chocolate. What a fun night!
Our most rewarding tradition is choosing a family each year to do The 12 Days of Christmas to. We picked a cute family this year but it was so hard to deliver the gifts! They often had their front window open and we even had one of the kids come looking for us. We always remain anonymous but it brings us joy to try to deliver joy to someone else.
We did a bunch of the other festive stuff too...old tv specials, gingerbread houses, puzzles and the prize box. Between our Elf and the prize box Mason could hardly sleep past 6:00 am each morning. We all had a great time leading up to Christmas! I'll end with another Santa shot and my handsome boys by our tree.
I can't talk about FESTIVE without starting with my big tree. I have really been in love with it. I started with a smaller version 13 years ago in my old house. When I moved to my current house I started crying the day we put up our tree. I have a giant window in my living room and a tall vaulted ceiling. My little 7 foot tree just wasn't cutting it. We ran out and got a 10 foot tree but it wasn't pre-lit. I spent years winding lights onto that thing and buying decorations on after-Christmas clearance so I had enough to make it full and elegant. Then I got my beautiful pre-lit and I was so happy for many years. Until...the lights started going out in sections and it developed a bit of a lean. This year I added a few strands of lights to fix the dark spots. Russell propped a few books under the front end to make it a little more straight.
Our family elf makes an appearance on December 1st. I'm not sure we officially named him last year but this year he was called Stark. (Mason got that from The Avengers. That is Iron Man's normal person last name:)) He did a few funny things. After the syrup episode Mason was always worried about the syrup being left out. He didn't want Stark to drink it again!
I have made it to the Festival of Trees two years in a row now! I like to let Mason do some of the kids activities and he gets to pick out a treat.
We spent one Family Night Christmas shopping for our cousins and each other. It was a fun night that ended with cookies and hot chocolate at Kneaders. How excited I was to see Santa there! Nothing says festive more than a family pic with Santa! The lighting is bad but here we all are, everyone happy for the most part. Douglas clearly thought his head would be cut off so he decided to make himself small. He regretted that decision once he saw the picture since it made him look shorter than his dad!
My most favorite festivity of all was the night we spent at Temple Square and ice skating. The weather was doable, the crowds were light and downtown was sparkling.
The Gallivan Center has an outdoor rink. We used to go to Murray Park's outdoor rink on Christmas Eve when I was a kid. It has been 22 years since I have done that but I LOVED it. It was Russell's work party and families were invited. There were Christmas carols playing, lights in the trees, Santa and donuts and hot chocolate. What a fun night!
We did a bunch of the other festive stuff too...old tv specials, gingerbread houses, puzzles and the prize box. Between our Elf and the prize box Mason could hardly sleep past 6:00 am each morning. We all had a great time leading up to Christmas! I'll end with another Santa shot and my handsome boys by our tree.
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