Decorating for Christmas

All of our Christmas decor is in storage.  Not that we have a lot, I gave away almost all of it.  However, even the stuff we do have isn't really worth getting into.  So I decided to take the kids to the dollar store and we just bought a few things to brighten up the place.  The kids had fun loading the cart up and picking out treats.  The dollar store is one of their favorite places. 😄

The kids were excited to get started hanging the decorations.  We did a little tinsel and some cute hanging decorations.  

Next we put a few little statues on the steps.

Then Charlie and I decided to hang some lights around the door.  There were a lot of lights left over so we zig-zagged them next to the door.  We both stood back and at the same time said, "that looks terrible".  We laughed about it and then went back inside, leaving the terrible looking lights up in place.  Oh well, it was freezing out there, so maybe on a nicer day we will try to fix them.  Or maybe not.  Sometimes the stuff that doesn't turn out is the stuff we remember the most.  

                                  They look even worse turned on at night  😂😂😂

The kids made some cute decorations at my mom's house this past weekend so we taped them to the mirror.  There isn't a lot of wall space so we have to get creative.  

The one thing I really miss is our manger.  Every year we have a wooden manger and when the kids do an act of kindness we put in a piece of hay.  We try to get it all filled up so that on Christmas morning baby Jesus comes and sleeps in the manger.  The kids love it so much.  I'm trying to figure out how to make it work, but getting the baby out of storage may be impossible.  My mom made this nativity scene out of rocks and put magnets on the back, so we are using this since all of our nativity scenes are also out of reach.  I love this one though so much.  I think it is by far my favorite one we own.  

And last, we made a tree.  There isn't any room for even a very small tree.  My sister, who is the best, let the kids decorate a tree of their very own at her house.  We spend Christmas at her house so this works out great.  However, I still wanted them to feel like we had a tree they could see everyday.  So we made a flat one on the wall.  I just used construction paper and then the kids made ornaments for it.  They said it was better than a real one because they could make it however they wanted.  I love children and how they look at the world with such simple innocence.  Even in our big house, I tried to let them be part of the decorating and let them make most of what we did.  Someday when they are grown and it's just Brian and I decorating, then we'll make it all look perfect.  And I will miss the miss matched Christmas that I love so much. 

I really miss our stockings.  They are at my sisters, all ready for Santa, but they are one of my favorite things we own.  When I was little my mom made all of us stockings.  The year I got married mine went missing.  I was so heartbroken.  I still am.  Brian didn't have a stocking so it gave me the opportunity to make us both stockings.  We had Charlie that year also, so he got one too. Which meant both girls got one when they were born.  I am in no way a seamstress.  I wish.  My aunt is and I idolize her for it.  Anyways, they are not perfect, but they are made with so much of my love.  I loved seeing them hanging on the mantle all season.  I certainly miss them this year. 

Here they are at my sister's house
Waiting patiently for us.

Miles of love,

Stacey