From the big stuff to a bunch of the tiny details..2014 was a good one.
Favorite Purchase for the House
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Wrapped up...
In keeping with yesterday's, "Christmas can keep going after the 25th" theme, I figured I could share a little more wrapping. I kept the alphabet stamped tags going...
Sean and I have a tradition of writing hints and jokes to each other on our gift tags, this year I used little envelopes, index cards cut in half and washi tape...which I think will be a new, easy tradition from now on.
I only ended up getting a little extra crafty with a couple of gifts, like this crocheted yarn wrapping...
And that's it. Part of me really wished I had found the time to go all out on the craftiness, but this year taught me that, no matter what, I will figure out a way to have a little bit of homemade in everything.
Christmas week...
It's late Sunday morning and we are in full-fledged holiday break relaxation mode. It has taken a couple of years, but I think I can finally say with confidence I have cured myself from my post-Christmas depression and total house rearranging madness. Instead I really enjoy the coziness of the Christmas tree a little longer and delve into manageable projects to freshen up the house...important stuff like reorganizing ink pads.
And there has been a lot of laying around catching up on entire fall season worth of favorite television shows.
And too many snacks.
And, as you can see by the photo, Paddington totally approves of this Christmas week plan too.
Merry Christmas...
Not my usual Christmas photo of the tree surrounded by gifts or a quick family photo before we head out for the night.
Tonight was filled with my mom's best friend's family and lots of really good food.
Then Sean and I stopped by Mac's dad's family's house (we had dropped Mac off there earlier) to open gifts, get an annual picture of Mac with his mom & dad and, apparently, to play some cup stacking game that involved lots of taunting. This photo is of Sean losing the game to Mac's dad and aunt.
Late tonight "It's a Wonderful Life" was on TV as I sat down at my desk for a minute to empty my camera card in preparation for tomorrow. I looked through the photos, like this blurry one, and cannot help but think, it really is a wonderful life.
Hope you have a Christmas that is filled with all kinds of wonderful too.
The 23rd...
We spent today filling the house with food, wrapping the last gifts and catching up on the merry making.
The 23rd is my favorite day of the year...I am all about the holiday anticipation and today is the height of it.
This year's gift tags...
I mentioned late last week that I didn't have any gifts under the tree until a week before Christmas. I also barely made gift tags. Some card stock, an old alphabet stamp set, and washi tape have been my best friends this Christmas wrapping season. I didn't even bother to always find a box that the gift fit into so it could be wrapped neatly...I just embraced the wonky wrapping look this time around.
I am pretty sure I have been a type-A person for most of my life...nowadays I might be turning a little type-A-minus.
Simple...Simpler...Simplest...
In 2012 I started making simple cards, last year was simpler, and this year was simplest.
Super thick white cardstock, a digital oval frame, a colorful font and a small photo popped up a little with foam tape.
As with everything this season, I was later than usual with these, but they were put together as the semester ended and were off in the mail last week.
I don't even know myself...
My entire life as an adult has included purchasing and wrapping gifts ridiculously early. It was unheard of to not have a pile to go under the tree on Thanksgiving weekend...let alone into December.
An empty tree a week before Christmas was truly unthinkable, but here was our tree this morning...
Not a gift to be found.
They have been upstairs for weeks...half wrapped and most waiting for some kind of gift tag type situation. As of tonight, after a busy freaking day in Santa's (done with her semester) workshop, there's a pile of gifts.
And order has been restored to my Christmas loving universe.
Cup of cheer...
Our street had it's eleventh holiday progressive dinner last weekend and this time around we hosted the dessert house. I decided I had to use pretty much all the ideas on Pinterest and put together a hot chocolate bar. We hung snowflakes from the ceiling and put our table in front of the sliding door in the kitchen. I added a print and gathered everything I had in my kitchen that matched the colors...oh and I needed two little buckets from the Target dollar spot since they matched. I made a big crock-pot full of hot chocolate, a quart of fresh whipped cream (that we served in a bowl of ice to keep cool) and dipped marshmallows in white chocolate and peppermint. We also had chocolate cookie sticks, mini marshmallows, candy canes, mini peanut butter cups, fleur de sel, and more crushed peppermint. I covered english toffee syrup, caramel sauce and white chocolate sauce bottles in snowflake patterned paper with labels.
After three houses worth of food, everyone often gets to the dessert house stuffed, but thankfully a small cup of hot chocolate seemed to be a good little something sweet to end the night.
If it works...
Since the semester was over yesterday, all Christmas, all the time starts today. Christmas wrapping, Christmas cards, Christmas shopping and shipping four boxes of Christmas gifts off to their various destinations.
One of the boxes included mason jar cups for my dad, his wife and my step-sister. I wrapped them in fabric bags, like I have before, especially since it's wrapping that travels well. If I find something works, I am never opposed to doing it over and over.
This time though I got lids from the Mason Bar Company. I have been completely obsessed with these lids in the last few months and took advantage of their big cyber Monday sale to purchase a few gifts...and a rainbow of lids for myself since I am using them everyday. I'll stop talking about them in a second, but just let me add that they have amazing customer service too.
I purchased straws from this Etsy shop and they had fantastic customer service too.
Speaking of using ideas over and over...an office tag, a stamp, the typewriter and twine. If it works...
All done...
Today I finished grading the 225 finals. Today I hugged a lot of students and was super lucky enough to get some thoughtful gifts. Today I caught a couple students cheating...that's pretty much awful to deal with. Today one of the students from my first class ever stopped by after her last final to say goodbye. I watched it really occur to her that she had just finished college and she burst into happy tears. Today was the last day of my fourth semester as a teacher and I am already excited about semester number five.
But I'll still happily take the 37 day break until then.
Prepared to be unprepared...
Remembered to get Mac's cheer coaches a gift just an hour or so before the cheer team Christmas party this afternoon...good thing I always have too many crafty supplies (and this time some cute gift bags) to quickly make up for my forgetfulness.
Papers...
I only have 225 final exams to grade before I get to play with this paper. Countdown's on...
Merriest place...
The three of us went to Disneyland yesterday using this past September's batch of free half-marathon volunteering passes, like we did last June. We watched the Christmas parade, rode Big Thunder Mountain and ate too many corn dogs.
I'm pretty sure I am too cynical to be at Disneyland in general, but even I was taken in by the Disney magic when everything was lit up at night.
Christmas light retirement...
I am a big fan of old fashioned Christmas lights...our electric bill loved them too, as it went up and up this time of year. The lights would also burn out quickly, leaving dark empty spots every few days. So, it was more than time for their retirement, much to my dismay. Even though they have been replaced by efficient LED lights, I saved all the old fashioned ones still. We re-strung a red, white and blue strand for the 4th of July and an orange, green and white strand for St. Patrick's Day. There were still plenty more, though, which I had planned to pile into a big jar at Christmas time.
Then, as we were unpacking decorations this year I decided I was tired of our engraved brass stocking holders. Way back when Sean was starting as a teacher, he was a long-term substitute and didn't get paid over the break. Therefore, he took an extra job at the engraving store at the mall. The employee discount was significant, which meant we ended up with several engraved items that Christmas. We have used the brass stocking holders for fourteen years and I wanted to try something new.
I didn't want to invest in buying new stocking holders in case I changed my mind again quickly. We also did not have much crafting time over Thanksgiving weekend. That combination of factors somehow ended up meaning I filled quart size mason jars with lights and immediately had new stocking holders. I used some painters tape on the mantle to reinforce the ribbon strung through the stocking loops and set the jars on top of it.
It cost nothing, I got to use my favorite lights and it was done quickly.
Merry Making...
It's back...my noncommital version of a Christmas countdown. Just some little activities, snacks, games or other traditions that are just wrapped up so that they are even more fun. I would go into more specifics, but occasionally there is one blog reader around here that I don't want to blow the surprises for. This year I came up with a dozen, but you can do any amount.
In addition to making some tags and raiding every green wrapping paper I have, I made a cheat sheet again so I remember what everything is and can roughly sketch out dates.
If you want to join in on the merry making here are the tags and planning sheet... Download Merry Making Cards Download Merry Making Activity Sheet.
Here's last year's (with different tags to download), little sewn packages to tear into in 2012, and the original one way back in 2010.
Clarence...
Last year two full-fledged adults got an elf on the shelf for no reason whatsoever...."he" did things like go on a train ride on my desk and take selfies with Mac and I while we were sleeping. This year he is off to a strong start...he hopped on top of the tree in my craft room and in the Christmas village downstairs.
He was waiting for me in the car yesterday morning as I left for work...too bad we couldn't take the carpool lane.
Then he was hanging out with the cold brew coffee in the bottom of the fridge drawer this morning.
Wonder where he'll be next...
Learning: 06
The fall semester starts to wrap up next week, but being on the lookout for new class resources never, ever ends.
An explanation of the cultural ideology sociology instructors are up against.
We just discussed yarn bombing last week and this cute story was on tonight's news.
And "No Gender December".
Making a list...
This past weekend included yet another edition of my to-do list creating as a form of procrastination. This time it's a holiday version made with a free printable reindeer from Cathy Zeilske's newsletter and digital patterned papers I could not resist buying.
Here's a PDF in case you need a seasonal task list too... download Holiday To Do List
There was a time...
Once upon a time I would arrive at December 1st with most gifts purchased, wrapped, tagged and under the tree.
Those days are long since over. Somehow I will get to wrapping soon and, when I do, I took the time to organize a cabinet of holiday wrapping supplies.
So, as you can see, I use the time I do have very wisely.
