thankful for a new day...
let's move on, shall we??
i intended to do this post 11 days ago...on December 1...but more important things have taken priority (like water and...well, mostly water :-))
just some glimpses of christmas around our house.
this is our favorite Christmas tradition.
i wrap 24 things - a little over half of them are Christmas books and CD's we already own.
we read/listen to it the day we open it.
the rest of them symbolize things we will do that day - we open a jar of sprinkles on the day we are going to make cookies, we open a small box of lights on the day we're going to go walk around and look at Christmas lights, we open the gingerbread house the day we are going to make it, we open candy canes and hang them on the tree.
it takes some planning.
i sit down the weekend before Dec starts with a calendar of Dec and plan every day out.
and sometimes i end up having to switch a couple of the gifts.
they take turns opening it each day.
{the same person gets to open the gift, open the chocolate advent calendar AND turn the lights on outside each day...}
this was joshua opening the gift on Dec 1!
it was the candles for our advent holder.
{we light them every night for the candle - it's how it got it's name!}
ok. moving on.
i LOVE the staircase at night...garland with lights ALL THE WAY!
it's so beautiful!
one of the grandma's gave rebekah this YEARS ago...still a favorite decoration to put up and play with!
the chocolate advent calendar...a tradition for my mom to give this to the kids - we always had one growing up!
love my ornaments hanging in between our dining room and living room
another countdown - remember this from last year? didn't buy it again...but had the numbers left...
let the kids decorate this little tree in our dining room.
and i haven't fixed it.
the ornaments are STILL like that! ;-) all at the bottom!
we have pictures on our mantle from every year...
i LOVE Christmas music.
my favorite Christmas CD for the last few years has been Michael W. Smith's "Christmastime"...but Chris Tomlin's "Glory in the Highest" has officially taken over! LOVE IT!
the kids made these a couple years ago (maybe last year, too?) just clear votive holders with tissue paper and glue.
i really simplified our decorations this year...got rid of 2 TRASHBAGS of decorations! i love the things i do put out...but can't stand the cluttery feeling...so it feels much better.
and the tree...
there you have it...Christmas around the Cassada household!
8 comments:
awesome traditions!
Last year I said I was going to do your daily gift opening thing but I forgot to start it this year!
Hopefully I'll remember next year!
Looks beautiful, I know your heart is missing the two who can't be with you, but think of the joy for the ones you have and the for the two who will be with you next year, the joy that will bring them and prayerfully new experiences. Like the gift idea that's so cool.
Thanks for the tour around the Cassada's with your Christmas traditions. Fun to see.
And, I liked your last post too. Every woman cries from time to time. Sometimes more than others ☺
love the tour around your house at Christmas! Such fun traditions! A lot of them are the same as at our house!! :) And i love the ornaments hanging between your two rooms! What a cute and creative idea! Praying for your "crazy brain" and "crazy heart". Just praying for you guys!
fun fun fun and more fun!!!!
dang - that reminds me - i keep meaning to take pics of christmas at our house! hmmm...maybe i'm just waiting for it all to be clean :) ha!
everything looks so festive - love it!!
i love your traditions too. so much work, but so many memories. how do you decide who gets to open first? and the order?
i love it - it's all so beautiful...and special!!!
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