It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

After a lovely Thanksgiving, a little Black Friday (and Saturday) shopping, and some much-needed family time, we decided to drag out the Christmas decorations and get to work filling our house with holiday cheer. Since the weather was cold and rainy, Jake decided to skip putting up Christmas lights this year and opted to help me put up our 9' tree in the living room instead. And thank the Lord, because I have no idea how my pregnant self would've done it without him. After assembling the big tree, we put Taylor's little tree in her room. I learned my lesson about putting ornaments on her tree last year, so we decided that lights and a star topper were enough and, of course, she loved it just the same. Sometimes simplicity really is best.

Later that evening after we put Taylor to bed, Jake and I hung the advent calendar. After all of our advent fun last year, I couldn't wait to do it again this year! I must admit that most of this year's activities aren't near as time consuming or strenuous as last year's, but I certainly don't want my lack of time or energy to hinder the tot's holiday experience. Tis the season for giving after all!

This year, we decided to hang the calendar on the far wall of our kitchen right next to Taylor's dry erase board, a place she is certain to visit every day. For those of you searching for a practical yet fun gift for your little ones, this easel is one of Taylor's favorite gifts ever. It has a dry erase board on one side, chalkboard on the other, and it also holds a paper roll which is perfect for crayon and marker drawings. It retails for like $15 at Ikea making it a cheap and useful toy that your little ones are sure to love!

We're already 4 days in to our advent fun, and I can't wait to share our first week's activities with you soon. I'd love to hear what traditions your families do and maybe add on to ours over the years to come. I plan on incorporating more activities geared toward the true meaning of Christmas as the tot gets older, but for now she's still too young to understand (or really care).

I should note that we also have an Elf on the Shelf, but Taylor could care less about him so he is perched on our fireplace and will likely remain there until Christmas is over. Hopefully, we'll start that tradition next year, but for now the advent calendar will have to do. Besides, we all know that I'll never remember to move that thing every night anyhow.

Happy holidays, everyone!