The Halls were Decked....Part One

Well December was quite a BUSY month....lots of fun and exciting things that made it magical for me and my family.  So instead of boring you with lots of words...I will shower you with picture overload...I mean some of my favorite photos. 

These photos are the cliffs notes version of our December....the basics....

The House....

Welcome to my home....

A look from the entry...I was completely obsessed with twinkle lights...the kids LOVED them :)

I am pretty traditional with decorations....I like red/green/gold combo and this year was really special for me.  My mother gave me some of her Santa Clause's that she has collected for years and was able to display them in my home.  My FAVORITE is our dining room table Santa sleigh and three reindeer....I remember it as a child and I am glad that now my kiddos get to play with it.  We also added a kid-friendly nativity set.  I have looked a nativity sets that are beautiful that I would love to purchase...but with 4 kids 4 and under...I am going to hold off and let them enjoy the hands-on one that we purchased this year.  Another add-on was the set of three small lighted trees...this deterred our kids from playing with the ornaments on the big tree...we turned the three small trees into candy cane trees that they could take off and on all the time.

The Tree....

Oh our tree....I would love to keep it up year round...I forget how much I love how the twinkle and glow from the lights makes me feel warm and fuzzy...and the little tears I get when unpacking the ornaments that spark up a nostalgic memory.  Every year we always add a few personal ornaments and I grow our basic collection by hitting up 50% at Hobby Lobby. 

We recieved a sweet pillow with Austin's name on it from his teachers at school and KK made the sweet tree.  The balls were for each boy because they LOVE playing with all balls...the one that looks like a white blob (forgive my picture taking...great camera...bad skills LOL) was the first ornament Kev and I bought together for our first Christmas...this year it displayed an 8 to represent our 8th Christmas together and the one in the center was a new add this year, a birthday cake for Jesus :)

After adding all our presents to complete the look of the tree...(this was taken Christmas Eve after Santa left)

The presents....

I have LOVED the wrapping paper I have used the past couple of years...and fortunately I had enough for this year!  Also, thanks to a blog I read, I got the idea to use my children's first initials as decor...they LOVE letters write and now and recognize their names so I thought it would be fun for them as well.

The activities....

During the season we like to do as many activities as possible with the kiddos...short, easy and fun because we know attention span is short and we want it to be fun and not stressful for all parties involved.  So we made gingerbread houses and ate the icing...colored puzzles with snowmen and Santa, baked cupcakes with lots of sprinkles and painted ornaments for their teachers.

The lights....

Every year, starting when Kevin and I dated, we load up to look at Christmas lights.  We have a few places here in Oklahoma worth driving around to see.  I think next year when Austin is two (that almost makes me cry typing it!) we will probably get out and walk.  But for this year we stayed in the car and listened to Christmas tunes.  I did not get pictures of the actual lights...however, this is the crew before we loaded up...and let me say that this just might be my FAVORITE picture of my four kiddos...

The projects....

So....I got a little crazy...the tags for the presents were a great idea...and then I realized...how do I make them??  Well...you break out the good ol' Cricut that's how...so I spent my day on the bed and surrounded by paper...

I also decided that this year I would make gifts for people to help save on some $$ so I made wreaths and then bows for my oldest niece and tutus for my youngest nieces.  It was fun and I was pretty happy with the turnout :)

The Singing....

My sweet girl sang Christmas carols at school...the sweetest was by far "Away in a Manger"...timid little voices and the sweets hand motions...it is a shame this is the only picture we got...obviously on a bad setting...the guy's hand in front of us, clear as day...my little girl and friends...blurry as can be :)

A New Tradition.....

Thanks to Pinterest, I had plenty of ideas to look at for traditions to add to our family.  Having a young family, I love the idea of starting new things that they will look forward to each year.  I have taken some from my family and my husbands, but creating our own is very special.  So this year, we did Santa's Key for Jesus.  Attached is a note that says,

"Dear Santa, This magic key works just for you, Please open the door and come on through. Thank you for coming to our house tonight. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Thank you Santa for the gifts you bring.

Thank you Lord for everything. "

Katelyn found it on the tree when we got home Christmas Eve and we read the note together and she placed it on the front door.  Next year we will include the brothers :)

Sorry...picture overload at it's finest....so...hopefully you enjoyed seeing what led up to Christmas for our family and  I will have only one more post regarding Christmas Eve & Christmas and then we will welcome the New year!!