Christmas Review

All the festivities are complete, and the gifts are all put away; we may now recoup.  Although we have our tree up still and Christmas decorations out; which is unusual for us. I'm the type who wants the tree down and decorations put away right after Christmas. But, this year our daughters had requested that we leave the tree up for a few more days.We were blessed to be able to have Christmas with family. I love getting together with our family for Christmas, but I will admit it can get exhausting once the fun is all over. I never noticed this till I became married and a parent. I wouldn't change it for the world though.

   Santa, or should I say we did a good job this year. I absolutely love the priceless expressions on their faces as they open their gifts. Our daughters were pleased with their gifts they received this year.. After all the treats we snack ed on and the gifts we opened, the most important part was spending it with family and remembering Jesus's birth.

 

Myself as a child, did not believe in Santa ever. I was the one who would tell the other kids he's not real and make them cry. Therefore once our oldest started believing in Santa, I went along with it. I figured it would be fun as a parent, and it sure is. We even had Santa email our daughters this year a video of how well they were doing on the Good or naughty list. I'm sure the older they get, it will get tougher to keep them believing. And even though they believe in Santa, they do know the true meaning behind Christmas.

 How long do you keep your Christmas tree up after the holiday??

Gingerbread Man Crayons

I am not the type of mom who likes to waste things. I like to find a way to reuse them if I can. Ithink of it as saving money, recycling, and being crafty. For instance, my girls love to color. They have a box full of crayons. Every so often we go through the box and pull out all the broken crayons. In all reality who uses the broken pieces? I know my girls don't because they always seem to be sitting at the bottom of the box. Therefore we made a simple craft out of the broken crayons. I'm sure many of you already know, and may do this already. We melt our broken pieces into new crayons. They love them when they are finished.

Melting crayons. 

1.) Peel off the paper on all of the crayons. 

Sometimes we mix colors or make plain colors. 

2.) Make sure you are using a silicone baking mold.

3.) Put the pieces into the molds. You may have to break them even smaller. 

4.) Place your oven at 350 degrees. Once it's warmed up place your mold in the oven.

5.) It usually only takes a couple minutes to melt. So keep an close eye on them.

6.) Once the crayons are completely melted, place them in the freezer till they hard.

7.) Now you may pop them out and you have new crayons. 

My daughters love when their crayons are finished. They are excited as if they are brand new, and I didn't have to waste the broken pieces by throwing them away. Plus I saved money by not having to  buying new crayons. 

Tis' The Season

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas around here. Sunday we were able to go out and get our Christmas tree. I grew up with the tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree every year. I am blessed to pass the tradition onto my own family now. So every year we go to the tree farm and find that perfect tree to cut. To keep their tradition, my parents now join along with us. There are some years where one of us sick, and unfortunately that happened this year. Vivian's lingering cold took another turn, causing her asthma to flare up really bad. In this case we go to our local store called Horrocks to get our real tree. They previously cut, but we still get to pick out the perfect tree. This year I think we have bought the tallest of them all so far since owning our home. He he. I've always dreamed of having tall Christmas trees as a child. Now that dream has been full filled since our home has cathedral ceilings. 

Because we were unable to go to the tree farm, my parents came over to help decorate the tree with our daughters. Our tree this year was 9 feet tall. Therefore my husband had to get out his ladder to help decorate. The girls had a wonderful time decorating the tree along with the smallest Helen. 

On another note, I have started my Christmas shopping. Believe it or not, this is early for me. I am determined not to fall behind this year. My goal is to be done a week before Christmas. This weekend I was able to find The remake of fisher price's record player. I may just have done a dance in the toy isle! 

Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Or are you a last minute shopper like I am?