Christmas Ramblings and GIVEAWAY!!

Hi friends,

Is anyone else out there excited about the upcoming holidays?!

In an attempt to draw you guys out of the woodwork here.. : )  I will be doing some Christmas and Thanksgiving Ramblings over the next couple of weeks…

I have a beautiful Christmas Ornament that I will give away to one very blessed individual who posts a comment on any of these rambles! (The pictures will be posted at a later time due to me not being able to find my charger camera difficulties)

I have not really been one to decorate for the holidays in the past years… I mean, yes we would put up a tree, but besides that it’s just too much work! Whew… as soon as you get all the decorations up and how you want them it’s time to pull them all down and put up the decor for the next season or holiday.

My mother-in-law and sisters-in-law are a different story!  They can take any few scraps of ribbon, an old vase, and some string and make it look like something straight out of a home interior magazine! I think they were all just born with this talent!

I think the main reason why I never decorated, was because I had a lack of storage space to put the items once the season was over with… you can only leave a tree up for so long.  (Actually, I have another sister-in-law who leaves hers up all year round, and decorates the tree to correspond with the seasons or holidays… sometimes it’s a 4^th of July tree, or a Valentine tree…etc.)

Now that we are in our new home, with a LARGE attic!!!  : )  I can store things out of sight once they are no longer in use.  A couple of Christmas’ ago, my mother-in-law made me a garland with Christmas bulbs and poinsettias to place over the large entrance from my living room to the hallway. She also made me a table setting piece with a flame-less candle in the center of a decorated wreath… I will have to take pictures to show you guys!!!  It came out beautiful!

I have a few other pieces that were handed to me here and there by my husband’s very talented sisters… and now when me and the kids decorate for Christmas, my living and dining room areas are transformed into a beautiful scene of dim flashing lights, greenery and shiny Christmas bulbs.

My husband LOVES the dark blue Christmas lights.  He told me once that they draw him in, like a moth to light. Lol… so needless to say, I usually use blue lights on my tree each year, just for him.  I decorate with a mixture of silver and blue bulbs and a sprinkle of handmade ornaments the kids create at school or church each year. We also have a couple of pieces the kids have seen over the years and just HAD to HAVE for the tree.  I’m thinking about maybe putting some light brown on the tree this Christmas season… I think it would look nice against the blue.

I have my favorite few decorating pieces though… you know.. the ones you can’t wait to pull out and put up when it comes to that time of the year… don’t tell me you don’t have those sacred few pieces you just love to stare at when they are in view.  Maybe it’s pieces that were made for you… maybe it’s a piece that was handed down and has sentimental value… maybe a piece that you spotted in a store and you just couldn’t resist purchasing for yourself!

So… my question… what is your absolute FAVORITE decorating pieces for the holidays? The ones you would not part with for anything in the world!

On side notes… my son is going to be turning 10 next week!  So next weekend we will have a bonfire party for him and a handful of friends!  I am open to any ideas you might have for that… we already have hot dog and marshmallow roasting down.

We have such a packed weekend coming up!  We have a Football wedding this Friday afternoon 11-11-11, all of my children and my hubby are standing in it.  My girls are all cheerleaders, my son is a football player, and my husband is a referee! We have a birthday party Saturday from 3-6, and a family gathering over Gumbo Saturday afternoon from 6-till! Sunday I have some shopping to do with a niece-in-law for her upcoming wedding in March (of which I am the Matron of Honor) we will be looking for a Jr. Brides dress for my little baby girl who will also be standing in the wedding.

I think after this weekend, I will need a break!