Okay, I have to come clean. We didn't celebrate Santa's birthday on July 25th like I had planned. Due to a scheduling conflict with an activity at our church, we had to bump our birthday bash up a day so that we could fully enjoy it. And what a day it was!
We were blessed to have in attendance, my oldest son's best buddy which made the day even more fun! The kids awoke to find a gift and letter from Ralphie, our Elf on the Shelf, wishing them a Happy Santa's Birthday. A special breakfast of "reindeer donuts" and fruit followed. We decorated a small Christmas tree, which would later house our homemade ornaments, listened to Christmas music, and got to watch Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. Once our special guest arrived we dove in to our ornament making. I must interject how thankful I am that Pinterest has entered my world in the past year. It has been a lifesaver! (If you need an invite, leave me a comment w/ your email address and I'll send one to you a.s.a.p. Pinterest will change your life)
We tackled two ornaments this year, one out of cinnamon dough, which went better than I expected. The other was a Santa face made out of a handprint. Most mother's of small children will go to great lengths to capture their child's growth by making anything and everything out of hand, foot, and fingerprints. I am one such mother.
Lunch consisted of grilled cheese sandwiches in the shape of holiday bells. We had a rousing game of Pin the Red Nose on Rudolph, enjoyed our delicious Santa cake, watched Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and played our new game, which included elf bowling- definitely our favorite! It was a busy day, but full of memory making. I can't wait until next year!
It's almost here! Recently, I was given the privilege of writing a guest post about it on one of my favorite blogs. Stop by Christmas Rapping to check it out!
I woke up this morning with a slight Christmas in July hangover and a mild sadness that the weekend is already over.
Friday night was a blast! My mom and I plopped ourselves on the couch at 9 pm, ate our fill (and some other people's) of our favorite Christmas snack and our family's traditional Christmas butter cookies, and loaded up on coffee to make it through the kick off of Christmas in July. Somehow we managed to power through until 3:45 before Mom seized the opportunity to turn in. I braved another hour to catch one of my favorite artisans, Jim Shore, before falling asleep.
I am using the term "sleep" loosely here as I only managed to drift off a few times only to be awaken by various noises and clocks ringing throughout the house (note to self: next year, bring ear plugs and do not attempt to sleep on the couch). It's been over 9 years since I've lived in my parent's house and apparently by body is no longer able to ignore these lovely sounds in the middle of the night. I woke up at 6:00 am and immediately headed to the grocery store to pick up breakfast for my birthday boy. I entered the house just before 7:00 am and was greeted by three grinning kiddos asking for donuts.
I did my best to catch as much of the programming on Saturday as I could, in between cleaning and decorating for my oldest's birthday and completely rearranging his room. Because of the busyness of the day, my afternoon nap was shortened to about 35 minutes. Not at all what I had envisioned! Somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to host a party, during which I maintained the ability to engage in comprehensible conversation, and finally fell into bed after 9:00 pm.
Sunday brought more preparations for our own Santa's birthday celebration (coming up this week) and the opportunity to catch some more Christmas in July programming while I worked from home for a bit.
Despite the fact that the weekend was busy, I'm sure I gained 15 lbs, and I could probably sleep until Thursday...It was totally worth it! Oh the fun things that will be arriving at my house this week!
Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch. Here in Arizona it is, quite literally, the most horrible time of the year. Today we are expecting a high of 110 degrees. What that means, on a practical level, is that it's too hot to go anywhere. The kids will be couped up again and I will be frantically trying to keep them busy so that they will not annoy one another and make me crazy. Oh how I love summer!
But there is a bright side. This weekend, we get to beat the heat. It's Christmas in July on QVC! What Christmas in July means on QVC is a weekend of Christmas programming highlighting Christmas decor items, gourmet food, ornaments, and gifts. It's a chance to get a jump start on your holiday planning and shopping at great deals you won't see the rest of the year. But, for my mom and I, it's also a chance to light those delicious holiday candles, sit around in our pajamas, sip coffee, eat those Christmas goodies we froze last December and think nothing but Christmas. It's a way to escape the heat and monotony of the summer and it naturally launches us into our Fall holiday preparation.
This year we will be starting around 9:00 pm (MST) and pulling an all-nighter for the first time in hopes that we won't miss out on the "good stuff" like we did last year and, quite frankly, because all of the programming we really want to see is on in the middle of the night.
Care to join us? Whip up your favorite Christmas appetizer this afternoon and snuggle in for Christmas in July tonight. If you're on the east coast, it begins at midnight and will last through Sunday. Check out the program guide to see what shows you might want to catch. Hope you find some great gifts and get some fun ideas. Most of all, I wish you a very merry Christmas in July!
It's that time of year again! We've enjoyed 6 full months of Christmas-free living. Well...maybe YOU have. My brain never actually strays from planning and thinking about the holidays. But, it has been a nice break. Now, it's time to hit the ground running. And what a way to get started!
One of my favorite blogs and the inspriation for Countdown to Christmas is having it's first ever giveaway.
Please head over to Christmas Rapping and join in the fun! While you're there, like or follow the blog. You'll be so glad you did!
