Tis' The Season...

It's the holiday season once again! Tinsel, lights, garland, carols, angels...I see and hear them everywhere.

Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Quiet, cozy and traditional. Just the way we like it. Lots of good food, plenty of crafts, a gingerbread house to make (which has been eaten all the way down to it's cardboard-flavored foundation) and turkey leftovers galore.

And then there was Black Friday. The day of death. I always get so excited for this day to roll around, and then am left wondering why it is that I even partake. Ah, yes, the deals. The great deals. Of which I did happen to partake of. Yes, I am one of those insane Black Friday shoppers whom awakes at the crack of dawn (actually, it was looong before the crack of dawn...), waits in line for a half an hour to even enter the store (in the bitter cold, might I add), and then another forty minutes in line to purchase items. All the while asking myself, "Is this all really worth it?" Surprisingly, I didn't come across even one overly grouchy shopper. Not including myself, of course. Still recuperating from that dark day of doom...But, oh, the deals I found...

When Hubs and I were first married I believe our Christmas decorations consisted of a handful of ornaments passed down from our mothers' collections. And a very sad Charlie Brown tree that we bought the day before Christmas. Tinsel can hide a multitude of sparseness, in case you weren't aware. We were thrilled. Thrilled to be together, to have each other. Decor mattered little. Over the years I purposed to buy at least one article of Christmas decor to add to our growing collection. We also grew our family over the years, so as you can imagine our house is rather full of the holiday spirit. And so, all this week I will dedicate my posts to the festiveness of Christmas.

Black Friday also seems to coincide with the official decorating day in our home. I get home from trompsing all over town buying gifts, and then further punish myself by hauling box after box of ornamental goodness into the house. Why? I'm not really sure. I blame the retailers for displaying all their twinkly, sparkly lights and playing all the festive music. By the time I'm back home I can't wait to dive into our own. And so, as soon as I unloaded the van and hid all the treasures, up went the tree. The tree that was the source of much conflict within our family dynamics. Yes...."the fake tree". Said children of such dispute were rather impressed with how life-like it really did look. And once I lit the pine scented candle we had the full effect. So...it's all good. Phew. (P.S. New addition this year...that fabulous little train underneath that choo-choo's itself all around the tree while singing Christmas carols. The girls like to give Littlest Pet Shops rides or tie grief-stricken Polly Pockets to the tracks and watch the train de-rail as it runs them over. Is that hilarious? Or sick? I'm not sure which one...)

Another tradition we have in our family is Christmas trees in the girls bedrooms. The love it. We hand them the box, let them assemble, decorate and display it however they should choose. And every year, we gift them with a new ornament to add to their own personal collection. Here's Jilly and Lexy's tree: (As a side note: in my younger years, my anal nature would have to fix those two blue bulbs that are hanging WAY lower than the rest...I still WANT to now...I just don't HAVE to. Baby steps equals progress.)

And lastly, Kaytlin's tree: (And because she tends to be a mini-me, not only are her ornaments perfectly spaced and bows perfectly aligned, but she so carefully wrapped toys of her own to make the whole scene complete.)

They love going to bed looking at the festive lights. And I'm pretty sure they have visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. Whatever sugar plums are. I'm sure they're something good.