Christmas

It's inevitable, the holiday season is here and the frenzy of shopping and gift giving will could consume us.  Let's take the crazy out of shopping with the 2015 Holiday Gift Guide! In the guide, you'll find 1. Gifts for the KIDS in your life and gift ideas for...

  It's late September and that can only mean one thing. It won’t be long until you hear the first faint strains of Christmas music at the mall. One moment you are browsing the summer sale racks and the next...

Is this couch taken? Good, where to start… My holiday blues are are at an all-time high, and here's why: 1) I hit the drive through for both McDonald’s and Burger King… in the same day… before 2 pm. 2) I...

We race to the mailbox in December because we love receiving Christmas photo cards from friends and family. Every year we hang gold ribbon in our kitchen and staple all of our Christmas cards (not just the photo ones) to the ribbon...

My little guy was due on January 7th and I thought, perfect! He will be here after the holiday craziness is over... But on Christmas Eve of 2004, I woke up at 3:30 AM feeling horrible. Sure enough, I was...

We have what I fondly call a "hodgepodge" Christmas tree, decorated with all sorts of ornaments that we've collected over many years.  Each Christmas, I love unwrapping the tissue paper from every ornament and remembering its origin.  Some of our ornaments graced...

This morning, while checking my email, the strangest thing happened. I got an email from my husband's cousin's family out in California. Getting an email from them is not strange - It's what's inside that made my mind wiggle. I...

"Different families, different rules," is my simple explanation when it comes to why our family's rules are not the same as other families.  A modified version of this saying applies to Christmas, "different families, different traditions." To wrap or not to wrap...

There was a teacher in the checkout line behind me at Michael's Craft Store on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  I know this because I overheard her talking excitedly about the hand print craft she was going to make with her preschoolers as...

It's begun. The festive lights, the peppermint mocha obsession, the brain numbing madness of shopping, trimming the tree and all that jazz. The 'spirit of giving' is the phrase of the season. The month of  the year when we...

Almost everybody knows of the classic movie, A Christmas Story, which first aired in 1983 and was written by Jean Shepherd and directed by Bob Clark. If you’re not sure you know it by its title, you’ll most assuredly...

 My husband and I adore the holiday season. Having a sweet toddler around makes this time of year even more special.  We want to build beautiful memories for our daughter. We would also love for her to carry on...

We are starting a new tradition this year in our household, one that I hope will continue for many years to come. My husband built a rustic advent calendar and we filled each bucket with an activity to do each...

There’s no shortage of holiday events in Central Florida! From city parades and tree lightings, to holiday movies under the stars, to Santa sightings all over town, and many other events, there’s something for everyone this holiday season. Did we...

Despite my "pinvy" (pinterest envy) of everyone else's designer holiday mantles and the total calendar upheaval of holiday season, we're now entering my favorite time of year. As we gear up for Thanksgiving, it's hard to believe we're already...