Deck The Halls!

Can you believe Christmas is only 2 weeks away?!? I can't!  This year went by so quickly, and the busyness of the holiday season is making Christmas approach rapidly!

It's our family tradition to begin decorating the day after Thanksgiving. We like to fully celebrate Thanksgiving, let the excitement build Thanksgiving evening, and get started on Friday.  We usually put the tree up, including lights,  on Friday or Saturday, then decorate it on Sunday. 

We didn't stray from tradition this year.  The decorations started going up on Friday, and the lit tree went up on Saturday. On Sunday evening, after dinner and baths, we all gathered in the living room to decorate our tree.

Over the years, we accumulated quite a collection of ornaments.  Some are from my childhood, some are from Grant's childhood, some belonged to grandparents, some are from ornament exchanges, some are lovingly handmade (my favorite!), and each child has their own set of ornaments. Every ornament on our tree has a story.  I love it!

We take our decorating roles seriously!  Grant sits on the couch, carefully unwraps each ornament and hands it to the person it belongs to or chooses a person to hang it on the tree if it doesn't belong to one particular person.  He also hides the pickle ornament on the tree (a German tradition!), and lifts the child who is putting the star on the tree.  I of, course, take pictures, and I help the kids by putting breakable ornaments on the higher branches. Each child participates..even Liam! The kids look forward to decorating our tree every year. It's a fun, memorable night for all of us!





















By the time we finished, the kids were exhausted.  Especially the littlest elf! We decided to skip putting on the ribbon, and chose to admire our tree instead.



We turned off the lights, and the room fell silent.  After a few seconds of quiet admiration, the kids went over to the tree and pointed out their favorite ornaments.  They were so proud of their hard work!

The Christmas decorations really have a way of making life seem happier, cozier, and more perfect! We enjoy this view every night!



This time of year is so magical and beautiful!

We just need to protect our tree from Liam!  It's wrapped in ribbon now, and it's a Liam magnet. He is on a mission to take that ribbon DOWN! Hopefully our tree, and the rest of our decorations, can withstand Hurricane Liam!