AND ... more traditions

Wayyyyyyyy back when we had so many Christmas Decorations (I am a bit of a shopaholic when it comes to Christmas) they didn't all fit on the tree or in the house.... so I decided we would have 'themed' Christmases... drove my kids/family crazy. 

OF course breaking up the decorations into themes meant we didn't have enough decorations -- so I had to buy more ..... or my favourite - MAKE more.  One theme I remember that my girls HATED was when I decided we would do a 'pioneer' Christmas.  We dried oranges and apples to add to the tree ... I made cross stitch ornaments on unbleached muslin... but the best of all was no store purchased wrapping paper.  I purchased plain brown wrapping paper at the post office and had the girls help me do apple prints all over the paper....... rolls and rolls of paper .... hours and hours of stamping !! 

My girls are used to "Mom's Themed Christmases" by now.  So it didn't really surprise me when youngest daughter asked me at the beginning of November 'so what theme is it this year ??'  

Confession time -- I didn't really have one.............. 

Surfing the net one day I saw this really pretty Christmas package... it was wrapped in paper that looked like birch bark and had greenery and twine used to finish it off... 

EUREKA!  this year's theme was settled......... a Nature Christmas !!  All I had to do was find birch bark like wrapping paper..... make some greenery bows to add to them... and find some 'nature' ornaments to hang on the tree........ Right -- like that was all going to happen!!

Well one day I was at the drugstore picking up some meds and I wandered down the Christmas aisle -- I was just browsing not really looking for anything specific... when good lord!!  what did I find ?? wrapping paper that looked like birch trees on a background of snow!!  it would work!!!  Then -- bitten by the success bug -- I ran to the Dollar Store and hunted for greenery and pine cones that could possibly  -- maybe -- be glued together to make 'bows' for the gifts....... 

One day I sat in the kitchen and cutting the branches off the cheap garland.... separating the pine cones from the garland they came on......... and then hot glue gunning them together to create.............................

a bow!!

One night Sir Steve and I went to the mall to grab a coffee while we waited for the lil one to finish dance class and I wandered into a gift shop that had this sale on last year's Christmas stuff....... and lo and behold found a birch bark candle that would fit into the theme and look gorgeous on the coffee table in the living room........ 

And so my nature themed Christmas is coming together............ Sir Steve and the lil one just smile and nod at my additions........ but who knows .. one day when the lil one is all grown up  she might ask me one November ...... "what's the theme this year S?"

Life is good when the simplest things make memories........