- Lights and garland and ornaments...OH MY! -

Disclaimer:  We never ever ever put up the Christmas tree until Thanksgiving has passed; in fact, it's TRADITION at our house to put it up on Black Friday!  But womp wompppp.........this year I got roped into working Black Friday [which was a v. v. unexpected plot twist], and as a result, a very small soft spot in my heart gave the kids permission to put the tiny tree up in their bedroom the weekend before Thanksgiving!  Their box of purple decorations has just the right amount of balls to keep everyone's attention to span the entire decorating process and just the right amount of glitter to make the continuous month-long mess that every mom dreads!

But! It's up, and it's beautiful!  Trimming the tree with happy hearts...THAT'S THE WAY OUR HOLIDAY STARTS!  

In no time at all, it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and all five of us got to work decorating the house for Christmas!  It's the most wonderful time of the year!

 

^^ Twinkle Toes always returns the day we decorate our tree, and the girls are allowed to play with him THAT DAY ONLY since he doesn't have his magic yet!  It's tradition to read the Elf on the Shelf book that night, and then he flies to the North Pole each night thereafter to give Santa the 4-1-1 of what he sees inside our humble abode.  So far, everyone has been on extra good behavior this holiday season, most definitely cautious of what T.T. might be telling his white-bearded boss! ;) :)

After a full day of decorating, we took a break to visit Santa at the local children's museum!  Unlike both of our other children at age 1, Juliette didn't scream her head off at the mere sight of Santa, but was also not jumping at the chance to sit on his lap...  She preferred to give him the stare-down from afar and stayed cozied in on Harper's hip for the duration!  Scarlett told Santa she wanted model magic clay for Christmas while the other two sisters just stared at him like mutes [although, later Harper said she knew he wasn't THE REAL Santa and was instead just a helper since Santa can't be all around the world for sightings while he's prepping all the toys for good girls and boys, and THAT.IS.WHY she did not want to waste her time rambling on about her list. Meh, I'll give it to her.].

After visiting Santa, we stayed around at the museum to play in their "Into the Arctic" exhibit.  I absolutely loved watching the girls build an igloo, go ice fishing, and take care of the dog sled team.  This is such a fun little place to play and I love how it encourages imagination and wonder!

Later that night, I read Harper's diary entry and realized that both older girls thought "decorating day" was Christmas Day... This also explains why Scarlett was begging to open the one lowly gift that I put under the tree! L to the O to the L.

After hot chocolates for everyone and a family Christmas movie night, the kids were nestled all snug in their beds...

...while visions of Twinkle Toes danced in their heads!  Because what whattttt?! On Sunday morning, he had made his grand return and was found hanging from the living room chandelier with a marker in each hand and a blank Santa's workshop to color down below!  Juliette FaceTimed all of her grammies to squeal at the screen in delight and point to the weird-@$$ elf hanging from the ceiling. GIRL, welcome to crazy: the fun times of this holiday season are just beginning!

Whether you are far or near, we're sending you cheer... May you revel in all the magic and blessings of this wonderful Christmas season that is upon us! 

xoxo