Decorating for Christmas!

I absolutely love Christmas. It always has been, and will always be, my favorite holiday of the year. Although my favorite season is summer because I adore the warmer weather and outdoor activities, nothing makes me feel happier and more surrounded by love than the feeling and spirit of the Christmas season. I love the bright sparkly lights, the festive decorations, the smell of fresh pine, the holiday music, the yummy cookies, the shiny, pretty packages under the tree, the winter scarves and the frost in the air, the buzz in shopping centers and the smell of homemade goodies, the way everyone seems a little bit friendlier and lighter in spirit, and most of all....I love all of my Christmas memories and the extra special time I get to spend with family and friends.

My parents created many special holiday traditions for my sister and I when we were growing up, and although we've still held on to most of these within my immediate family, David and I now have the opportunity to create new traditions of our own with Zoey. We are so excited about re-living our childhood Christmas dreams through her eyes, and creating new special holiday memories together with her. Although she is a bit young this year to understand the true meaning of Christmas, and Santa, an presents,etc, she is definitely not too young to appreciate the bright, shiny things associated with the holiday season! She has already adopted a strong fondness for Frosty the Snowman, and points him out enthusiastically whenever she seems his image - too cute! And she loves to stare dreamily at our Christmas lights, and bobs her head to beat of holiday tunes. Yay for Christmas!

When I was growing up, my parents usually waited until the second week or so of December to get our Christmas tree and decorate the house - I think they probably needed a bit of time to relax after Thanksgiving before the NEXT holiday. : ) But David and I have started the tradition of decorating our home for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving, in order to maximize the amount of time the house can look pretty and festive for the holiday season. I also have some cute ideas of new traditions I want to create for Zoey.....which I'll share here as the season continues. : )
Our little helper
Holiday decorations are quite exciting to 4 cats and a budding toddler!
Our cute little Christmas tree - our compromise was to get a small fake tree (the $9.99 Walgreen's special!). Since we KNOW our cats would eat the tree, and/or knock off and break all the ornaments, and/or jump straight into it Kamikaze style, we thought putting a small tree high up on a corner shelf in the living room would be better than nothing. And after it was all setup and decorated, we LOVE it! A fake little tree is definitely better than no tree at all.....and I can always burn a pine scented candle to get the full effect. : )