Decorating for the holidays!!

I am a huge fan of decorating for the holidays, and I can't wait to start this year! I know some people that have already setup and decorated their house for Christmas; I personally, think that's too soon, but to each is their own.. I like to decorate for Christmas right after Thanksgiving! I posted a picture the other day of our Christmas tree last year.. I can't wait to get it up! This year I am going to do some fun activities with my son to incorporate into decorating the house. I got a 8 pack of green glitter felt Christmas trees and we are going to either use yarn or fish line (haven't decided which yet) and make it into a "banner" style decor over my lit up garland over the fireplace. Can't wait to see how it turns out, how I'm picturing it will be adorable. Also, I'm going to have him make and decorate gingerbread men out of felt, glitter, googly eyes, etc. and hand out with our Christmas gifts this year! We are trying to focus more on gifts for our children and each other, rather than everyone else. It might seem sort of selfish, but we don't have much extra to spend anyways and why struggle? I'm not going to... in fact I would much rather make my kids happy! I am putting together little gifts for each of our aunts and uncles, mother and father in-law, my mom and Nana, that's it! It really adds up when you do a little here and a little there for so many people in the family. We are trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, rather than just the "stuff". My son mentioned to me today when we heard Christmas music on the radio, that he couldn't wait for Christmas so he could get presents... I know as a kid that is what you look forward to most, but I had to explain the meaning to him. I want to make it a time where as a family we spend extra time together and have a lot of fun! Every year as a family we look forward to making our own creative masterpieces, and this year we're going to do gingerbread trains. We didn't get to build a snow man last year, so my son is really hoping for a lot of snow, I must say, I am too :) Especially on my birthday (Dec. 16th) and Christmas!

I think these days, more than ever, it is crucial to distill the meaning of FAMILY. Having routines and looking forward to spending time together. I didn't have a whole lot of structure when I was growing up, and although holidays were fun, they could have really been memorable.. I want to make those lasting impressions on my children and create traditions that they pass on to their kids.