twelve days of Christmas

wow!  it's December 6th already.  the season is flying by just like i knew it would--and i am still determined to get the most out of it that i possibly can.    

i definitely didn't mean to be absent from here for so long but life kinda took over--i'm sure you all know how that goes!  but i'm back today and ready to go!  i've still been crafting away behind the scenes and in the coming days and weeks i'll be showing you cards, tags, ornaments, an advent calendar, and more!

this morning i have a simple list to share with you.  you know about the 12 Days of Christmas, complete with the partridge in the pear tree, right?  well, i put my own spin on it and came up with 12 things i MUST do this season.  

we got our (REAL!!) tree on Saturday so there's one thing down.  i've made a few ornaments to go on it, too, so there are two things down.  wow!  look at me go--off to a running start!  (i'll be sharing the ornaments with you in a few days.)  we've also been going out for walks after dinner with Mr. Bagubian so he can see the Christmas lights.  he loves our evening walks and now that people have lots of decorations up, i think he enjoys them even more.

{yum!}

number 10 probably sounds kind of silly, but i seriously have a desire to Christmas shop at night with a Peppermint Mocha.  i don't know why--it's just a feeling, i think.  i love the Christmas lights, too, and we have a couple of big outdoor malls in our area with lots of them.  plus, like so many others, i crave Peppermint Mochas at this time of year and in the evening, they help keep you warm (and awake:).  when i told Hoss this was one of my Christmas season "dreams" he laughed but agreed to it.

{season's greetings}

the most difficult thing to do will be sending out Christmas cards.  that probably doesn't sound difficult, but if you do it each year, then you probably know it's a time-consuming task, especially if you want to make them extra special.  being that i make cards, it's hard for me to send out the photo cards you get from Shutterfly and Target, et al.  i have absolutely nothing against them--and may even break down and do that this year.  i guess i just feel like people might expect something handmade from us.  maybe they don't, i don't know.  maybe they'll just be happy to get some actual mail from us since it's been 3 or 4 years since we've sent one out!  the other thing about the cards is that i'm trying to fit in so many other tasks and projects that a Christmas card will inevitably keep getting pushed back while i finish up the other stuff and before long it will be February!  but since it's on The List, maybe i will get them done before Christmas. 

{paper garland}

the second most difficult thing will be making 25 projects and sharing them.  i've got a few done already, but making 20 more, photographing them, and posting about them...well, i remain hopeful about this one!

{candy cane cookies}

i can't wait to make cookies!  i'll likely wait to do those until just a few days before Christmas and i'll probably only do a couple of kinds so it shouldn't get out of hand.  and if i can enlist Hoss and Gooby to help decorate them, that will just be fun!

Gooby is getting very into the holiday this year and Hoss and i are loving it! he's like a sponge, absorbing everything Christmas related and then spitting it out later.  he understands that he has to be good or Santa won't bring him the "huge train" that he wants.  he keeps saying "hi" to the Christmas tree and every morning when he sees it, he gets excited like it's the first time he's ever seen it.  and he's been singing "Jingle Bells" incessantly.  after we put him to bed the other night, we heard him singing it through the baby monitor--no lie, he sang it over and over for about ten minutes straight.  his favorite part is the big "HEY!" at the end!  

{rudolph!}

so we're looking forward to taking him to sit on Santa's lap.  i think he will be a little shy at first, but hopefully it will be an experience he'll enjoy.  i also think he'll enjoy watching the Rudolph and Frosty cartoons and even if he loses interest after a bit, i'm still going to watch them!  i love the sense of nostalgia that comes from seeing them every year as an adult.  it takes me right back to being a kid and the innocent excitement i had back then.

{pretty packaging}

{kraft tags}

i also have high hopes for making this year's gifts look fun and festive and beautiful.  the problem there will be narrowing down a color palette...gold and silver?  gold and teal?  kraft and red?  decisions, decisions.  

but more than anything else on The List, i just want to enjoy this time of year.  we have a very fun 2 year old who is taking great pleasure in this holiday and i don't want to get so caught up in all of the other things i want to do that i miss the way his face lights up when he sees a Santa image.  i don't want to ignore his Christmas carol renditions.  THERE WON'T BE TIME TO DO EVERYTHING.  i know that and i must accept that.  (it's taken 3 days to write this blog post, for goodness sake!)  but there SHOULD always be time for the important things--like listening to Mr. Bagubian singing his version of "Jingle Bells" (which is actually single bells, single all the way!).

so i'll be back with my projects and List accomplishments...but if a few days go by in between and you don't hear from me, well, i hope i'm enjoying my family and starting some new traditions.