Christmas Home Tour 2012

What can I say...I love Christmas.  I have since I was a little girl.  All of my kiddos love Christmas.  So, we really decorate every nook and cranny around here.  (I just didn't photograph every one :)  Here is a little peak....

Our tree.  He's a little skimpy in places but the kids really loved picking him out and cutting him down. They loved decorating it too.

I especially LOVE vintage decorations.  So, when I came across a bag of these Santa's at a garage sale over the summer, I was very excited. 

I found this Santa blow mold from the 60s over the summer as well.  He cost me $1.  Love it! 

Our mantel.  I saw the idea for the photo garland in a magazine so on a lazy Saturday this past fall I made one for myself.  I also made several of the mason jar snow globes too.  Those are a lot of fun! 

The jar in the center is full of ornaments from my childhood.  Those are treasures :)

This is another new addition this year.  I found this truck at Hobby Lobby this  past summer with the Garden clearance!!  I think I will put pumpkins in the back during the fall.  So cute. 

A little Christmas village with our ceramic light up tree.  

The Little People that my kiddos love to play with...

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! 

Linking to:

The Nester's 2012 Christmas Tour of Homes

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

We made our very first attempt of making "homemade" gingerbread houses tonight.  I have never baked gingerbread.  And as Sweet Brown says, "Ain't Nobody Got Time for That!" Sooo...I opted for the graham cracker version.  As I was browsing the internet for an idea, I came across a post somewhere that said you could use a creamer box for the base of the house.  I thought...what a great idea!!! I just happened to have TWO little boxes of cream in the fridge.  (I accidentally let them expire over Thanksgiving and never used them.)  So, I poured out the creamer.  Rinsed the carton.  And began the building process.  (I had already put the two Littles to bed so it was okay that I only had two.  I just wasn't sure what this process was going to be like, so I was afraid to let all 4 of them do it at once.)  So...I used a tub of frosting for the "glue".  I had also bought one of those cans of icing that I used in the crevices.  So...it went something like this:

The Players:  Candy.  More Candy. Graham Crackers. Frosting. Icing. 

I used a serrated knife and just kind've measured and cut as I went along - gluing as I went. 

This is the final product.  I put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes first - to let the
icing harden.  

While it was freezing - we enjoyed some "Grinch Punch" -
Lime Sherbet and Sprite!

I also cut a piece of cardboard to use as the base.
I used frosting to "glue" the house to the cardboard.

The creativity is flowing....

Gingerbread House #1

Gingerbread House #2

This really ended up being a very easy craft for the older kids.  They both really enjoyed it and kept talking about how much fun it was.  For us, it honestly didn't end up being any cheaper to do it this way.  Because, by the time I bought the icing, frosting, graham crackers and all the candy I spent a little bit more than I would have if I would have bought a $10 kit.  But - we had enough for my husband to make one. (He was a pro and didn't need a creamer box! :)  Plus, we had some candy left over.  AND - each kiddo had THEIR VERY OWN to decorate.  So, that was worth it to me! 

O' Tannenbaum

We recently set out on an expedition to find the perfect Christmas tree.  This year we decided to try cutting our own down rather than buying a pre-cut tree from Lowe's or Home Depot.  We all had so much fun.  They had free hot chocolate, coffee and candy canes.  There were SO MANY trees there.  It was difficult to make a decision.  Once you cut a tree down, you couldn't change your mind later!  We searched and searched and finally after about 45 minutes we found one.  Daddy cut it down and we brought it home.  We decided to wait until the next morning to decorate it (Momma was too tired from staying up all night Black Friday shopping. :) This year the kids really wanted to decorate the tree. I pretty much let them do all of the work with the ornaments.  Daddy did the lights and i put up the higher ornaments.  They had so much fun.  

"O Christmas Tree...

O Christmas Tree...

How lovely are thy branches."

Remember - only YOU can prevent forest fires!

This was just one tiny section of the tree farm...

Momma and her sweet babies!

Look!

Peek-a-Boo!

Taking the tractor back to our van

Just getting started...

They were so excited about EVERY ornament !

She would NOT take off her new coat!!

Ta Da!!  The finished product.  So pretty!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!