A Bit of Evergreen

Our neighbor Alisa decorates the outside of her house so beautifully with live Evergreen.  She adorns it with lights and pinecones.  I love the rustic elegance it provides.

She fills her set of lanterns with the same pinecones and adorns her chairs with wood stars.



Love the Evergreen wreath and wood star hanging on their wooden fence.  Thanks Alisa for the inspiration and beauty of your aesthetic!

Christmas Tree

If you didn't buy your copy last year, then you definitely need to purchase my family game "Christmas Tree!"  My grandpa created it 50 years ago, and it has been the best Christmas Eve tradition in our family ever since.  You simply must add it to your family's celebration! 

Go here to purchase it online or you can contact me directly.  The complete game for 16 players is $18.99 plus tax. You can come pick it up from me if you live close by. 



Here we are six years ago playing the game.  Porter was just a little baby bump at the time!  Can't wait to play it again this Saturday!  Bring on the dice!

Christmas Tours: Kallee's House Day Two

Today, I want to show how Kallee decorates her statement furniture pieces throughout her home.  I love how she adds decor to the top of her china cabinet and inside it with the Christmas sign.

 Her armoire is always my favorite.  I love how she uses her existing decorations of every day and adds flair with the Christmas decorations! 

We talked just the other day how a pick can fill a hole perfectly.  Hobby Lobby has all of their picks 50% off right now.

Her tree is darling.  I love the "let it snow" sign and the picks at the top.  If your tree is looking a little sad this year, add some picks and large balls near the trunk of the tree.  It makes such a difference!

Nothing brings the holiday spirit more than decorations throughout the house.  Kallee is an expert and does such a great job!  Thanks for sharing with us!

Christmas Home Tours: Kallee's House

Our friend Kallee is so good at creating vignettes all throughout her house.  No table or nook is left undone.  Here are some of my favorites.  I love her side table decor and the ribbon tied to the lamp.  It adds that extra touch and makes it perfect for Christmas.

Trays are really inexpensive, especially at Hobby Lobby with the coupon.  Love how Kallee filled hers with ornaments and signs.

Love the mix of the glass, candles, red filler, and boxes.  Don't be afraid to mix and match.

Love this tray with the glass apothecary tree jar.  TaiPan has these and looks great filled with ornaments and ribbon.

Who doesn't need a touch of mistletoe?  Love this hanging from the ceiling fan.  Check back tomorrow for more of Kallee's great ideas!

A Table of Jars

This year, I wanted to do something different on my table for Christmas.  I saw a table full of apothecary jars in Utah Valley Magazine and thought to try it at my house.  I love all of the glassware and only had to buy mini candy canes and the small green glitter balls.  Everything else was somewhere in my house.  Look around this Christmas and reuse items in a different way!

Fun Find: Rod Works Christmas

Last week, I headed to Rod Works to build a vignette around my great $8 santa tray from TaiPan.  I love how it turned out.  The sparkle trees were the perfect height and whimsy with the red ornament.  I loved the print with the pick and the Santa News tube.  It finished the table perfectly.  This week Rod Works is having its annual food drive sale.  Bring in 5 cans of food and save 10% off your purchase.  Happy Shopping!

Packed away for next year...

Time to say goodbye to all the red and green in our homes!  Here are a few tips to make it organized and ready to be put back up next year! 

#1 - Organize decorations by each room in your house.  On the outside of your bins write which room it belongs in.  Next year you can decorate room by room as you have time!   

#2 - (Thanks to Lisa for this one!)  Take a picture of the set-up of your decorations before you take them down and tape the picture somewhere to your storage bin.  If you loved the way you displayed certain items, this will help you to replicate the same design for next year!

#3 - Gallon sized Ziplock bags work great for keeping like ornaments together...especially those with glitter to keep everything else in your bin from becoming sparkly!  I wrap fragile ornaments in one piece of tissue paper before placing in the bags to give a little extra cushion.

#4 - We all know now is a great time to buy Christmas items for next year!  If there's something you wanted to do this year but didn't want to spend the money, start looking for those items now!  One great idea is to let your kids decorate a small tree in their rooms.  The little aspen trees are usually at least 50 percent off now along with cute ornaments and picks.  You can have it ready as a December 1st Christmas surprise for them! 

#5 - Make a Christmas card memory book!  I always keep one of our Christmas cards to put in a memory book.  I've kept it simple and just mount our card on cardstock and will buy a nice photo binder to put them in.  What a fun tradition to pull this out as the years go by!  If you don't write a Christmas letter you can also write bullet points on these pages of the fun things that happened each year.

Now take some of your gift money and fill your Christmas void with a fun new decoration!

Fun Find: Supplies to put Christmas away!

So...hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  This week we'll all be saying goodbye to our Christmas decorations until next year.  Thought I'd share Target's deals on Christmas bins.  Lisa had a great thought to use orange and black colored bins for fall and Halloween decor and green and red for Christmas (clear with colored lids also works great!)

$4.50...

$5.00...

$7.00...

Tomorrow I'll be sharing a few tips on how to put Christmas away to make it easier to get out and set-up next year! 

The Ornament Tradition

I married into a fabulous Christmas tradition.  Every year on Christmas Eve, my husband's family gives each other ornaments.  Davy got a truck every year, so we have quite the truck collection.  I loved this idea and have carried it on in our family these past nine years. 

 Each year, I get a new santa ornament.  Below is my favorite!

 I love seeing what the santa will look like from year to year.

 For Davy, I pick an ornament that represents something from the year.  This is from the year he graduated from the U of U.

 This is from our 2nd Christmas.  Basketball is his second love!

 This was Khloe's ornament from last year.  When I saw it, it reminded me of her and her love for puppies.

 This was Porter's from last year when we went on the Polar Express.  He talked about it all season long and was a one-time memory.

The Village Christmas store at Gardner Village has an amazing selection of ornaments.  I hope this gives you an idea of a simple way to reflect on the year and create a memory.  Also, when your kids leave the nest, they will have their own ornaments to decorate their trees.

Stuffing the Stockings

Here's a list of 10 ideas of what you can fill your kid's stockings with...usually my last piece of Christmas shopping! 

Books... (a few favorites and recommendations from my Mom the kindergarten teacher)

1.  My 18 month old walks around with this book in hand most of the day.  A must have for every children's library! ($6, Target and Walmart.com)

2.  This book is so sweet and fun to read even to the tiny newborns.  ($8, Target.com)

3.  The Magic Tree House series is great for both boys and girls ages 6-8 (early chapter book level, $7 for the first four books, Walmart.com)

4.  The Rainbow Fairies series is popular among little girls 6-8 ($4 per book, Walmart.com)

Movies...

5.  The Leapfrog DVD's are great for preschoolers in learning the alphabet, early reading and math skills.  If you're going to get just one, get the Letter Factory...they are frequently at Costco for $6 each but you can order from Target.com for $10 each or a set of 3 for about $25.

 6.  The Scholastic Storybook Collection is a great price at Costco right now...$50 for 100 stories on DVD.  It's great to also have the book out and follow along with the DVD.  Even in the book order it's usually about $80.

Other fun ideas...

 7.  The Disney figurine sets are so cute and you can open and wrap each individual toy to make the gift giving last longer (without having to buy more!) ($12.50, Disney Store)

8.  Give a date with your kids!  Buy a certificate to McDonalds (or their favorite place) along with two movie tickets.  Plan a date with just the two of you.

9.  Make a CD of your family's favorite music and give it to everyone.

10.  Use their stocking as an opportunity to replace all the necessities...sippy cups, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, bows etc.  While they may not shout for joy at these things, you'll be spending money on worthwhile things instead of little junk toys you'll throw away in a few days!

This and That

Here are a few things I have around my house that add an extra Christmas flair:

 I bought these round topiaries after Christmas last year at Michaels for $2.50 each.  I debated what to do with them earlier in the season and recently created what you see.  Just tied together and finished with bows made of different ribbon.  I guess I found a way to use the plant hanger left by the previous owner after all!

 This picture of Santa is actually scrapbook paper from Roberts!  I'm no longer a scrapbooker but will now start looking for alternate uses for cute paper! 

My friend Stephanie made this darling banner for me a few years ago.  I LOVE it! 

 Each letter is embellished so well!  It's a plain triange shape layered with a smaller triangle that has been accordian folded (I'm thinking they used the roller machine that creates the accordian texture).  Next layered with the accordian circle and sparkly letters!  These banners are great for spaces you don't want to rearrange but need something festive in the room!

Lastly, had to show one of my 50 percent off purchases from Rod Works.  I loved this Santa...he was $7 and the JOY was $3.  With their store having been 50 percent off Christmas for a few days now I'm not sure what they'll have left, but I love the purchases I've found!

Fun Find: The smell of fresh pine

The downside to an artificial tree is the fake, plastic smell that comes along with it.  My friend Kallee introduced me to these wonderful smelling satchels from Scrooge and Marley's...

For $2 each you too can have your home smell like fresh pine.  Lovely...

I hope you are thoroughly enjoying yourself this holiday season.  If its been too much hustle and bustle so far, take some time today to sit with your family around the Christmas tree, listen to Christmas music and drink hot chocolate!  Lisa and I love sharing this part of the holiday, but we also want you to know we appreciate and cherish the birth of our Savior and what part he plays in this season...

A Few of My Favorite Things

Just thought I would share a few of my favorite holiday decorations.  They are simple and inexpensive ways to dress up your home this holiday. 

I made these wreath for about $10 with items purchased from TaiPan.  I hang them on my outside lights.

This is the first year I bought poinsettas.  Lowe's had them the day after Thanksgiving for $.98.  I found these darling red ceramic pots at IKEA for $1.99.

I couldn't believe my luck when they rang in that cheap!  IKEA is the place for cheap finds!



I bought these items from Rod Works.  This santa is my favorite as he is resin-carved and was only $13.  The sign was $9 and the ornament $2.  Rod Works is having 50% off one Christmas item and still have lots of great things.  Don't forget to check Monday's post for my favorite Christmas game!

Setting the Table for the Perfect Holiday Party

 My Christmas table is my favorite of the entire year.  I got the placemats, chargers, and goblets at TaiPan for about $2 a piece.  I used my own red and white plates. 

 The berries came from TaiPan for about $6 a tube.  (They are twice the price at Rod Works.)  I use three tubes for my table.  The silver branches came as a two-dimensional tree from TaiPan.  I hated how it looked, so I cut it apart and put it in a tall vase that I already had.  I love how it is now three-dimensional and adds a bit of whimsy to the table.

I got the green balls from Rod Works for about $3 each.  I love the color and texture.  You can't go wrong with layering lots of texture and patterns to your holiday table.



I made the wreaths for about $4.  I bought the wreaths and berries at Roberts.  Tying them to each chair just adds the extra touch I was looking for.  Again, you can buy premade wreaths at TaiPan for about $7, but with a little hot glue and time, you can make your own for less!  Stay tuned for Friday's post about hosting the perfect party this Christmas.  Don't forget to check Monday's post for the perfect game to play at your holiday parties!