Christmas Prep

Last Christmas we were on vacation in sunny California. I really enjoyed that Christmas more than any other. I think the warm weather played a part in it, but mostly it was because it was completely stress-free. We didn't put up any decorations, we didn't have to juggle family parties, and didn't even buy presents. We simply spent time together as a family. It gave us a lot of time to just sit and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

This year, we decided we needed to spend a Christmas at home and enjoy the company of our extended family. However, I really wanted to avoid the stress that typically comes with Christmas. My goal was to have all the shopping done and house decorated by Thanksgiving. No black Friday bargain hunting and no last minute runs to Walmart. That way I could just sit back and try to enjoy the holidays. So, I decided to do all my shopping online and the presents were delivered to my door this morning...exactly one day before Thanksgiving!

After school, I solicited the help of my little elves and we got the whole house decorated before Jeremy got home from work. We started with the Teddy Bear tree. The kids love this tree because they get to put up all their ornaments they made in previous years.

Livi loved this tree because she could put the bears wherever she wanted...



and then I can fix it the way I want...



Then we moved on to the "formal tree" in the front room. The kids were really good at straitening out the branches together.



Then on to the stockings!

and finally our pint-sized Tigger tree for the basement.

I think this is going to be a stress-free Christmas afterall!