Hello and Merry Christmas!

I didn't even look to see when my last post was on this blog, probably at least a year or two (or three) ago.  I really should just combine all my blogs into my Whimsical Mom blog.  I don't post frequently on there either but it's definitely more than on this one or my Halloween blog. 

Anyway, our elves arrived on December 1st with an early Santa present...a Wii U.  My husband is deploying very soon and he wanted to see their faces when they found it and he wanted to play it too.  Our elves have been having some fun so far this season.

 They were found "testing" out the new Wii U to make sure it was up to North Pole standards before we got a chance to play it.

They snuck into my closet and pulled out the bracelets I had made for me and the kids to wear during Chad's deployment.  They were caught wearing them so we took them back and started wearing them ourselves. 

 Apparently they wanted to test their skills on crossing great divides. 

They were just hanging out this morning having a jolly old time on our large ornaments. 

CIJ Day 6

For those on your list that have iPods or any other music listening device that requires headphones, a neat gift idea. 

An earbud pouch!  The link has the tutorial.  It even has a key ring so you can attach it to your keys so it's always accessible.

CIJ Day 5

Again, browsing Pinterest this morning I found something very cool.  How do you do presents?  Do you put a tag on each with which child they are for?  Do you have a secret code that you write on each package? 

The idea I found on Pinterest was to wrap each child's gifts in different paper.  Then you place a scrap of the paper in the bottom of the child's stocking, so they have no idea whose presents are whose until they go through their stocking first.  I may do that this year, although we usually do stockings last. 

Usually I write their initial on the back of each package, very small and in a hard to see spot.  We also use gift tags some years. 

CIJ Day 4

I found this on Pinterest this morning.  It's an Advent Pocket Calendar.  You make a big wall hanging calendar with cardstock and scrapbook paper and then put a different activity in each day.  Very neat!

CIJ Day 3: Yarn Christmas Trees

I've had these yarn trees bookmarked for quite a while and still haven't tried them, but i'm hoping to this year!  You can see the tutorial at Pretty Ditty.

How many of your holiday decorations have you made?  Or do you prefer to just use store-bought decor?

CIJ Day 2- Cute snack idea!

I have had this in my favorites for quite a while.  It's from the blog Cookies and Cups.  It's called Santa Hat Party Mix.  It is a super cute idea for a kids class party or for a holiday party!

Happy First Day of Christmas in July!

It's the 1st of July, which means Christmas in July has officially started.  I have absolutely nothing prepared to share on here but i'm hoping to wing it until I have time to get some stuff together. 

Last year I participated in an ornament swap for CIJ and I made these Sparkling Ice Crystals.  They were pretty easy to make and pretty when they were done.  The hardest part was finding the right beads in my area.  Of course, I waited until as late as possible or else I probably could have ordered beads online.