Christmas Crafts and Cookies

Yep, I was the person who put up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving.  Everything but a Christmas tree and stockings were up and ready to fill our home with holiday cheer before the calender said December.
I put the "boys" in charge of decorating the front.  Shortly after the assignment was given, Arthur and his mini me, Jake, marched outside.  They quickly came up with a plan, and after one trip to Lowe's they were off.  Well, Jake did get a little distracted by musical Christmas decorations, but after we pried the guitar playing cowboy, singing "Holly Jolly Christmas," from his hands then they were off.  We got home with little white lights and golden bows (all Arthur's idea), and within 40 minutes the front was done.  I love Arthur's efficiency.  So efficient, in fact, the front was done the week before Thanksgiving...so we were those people too.
My decorating took me a little while longer.  Decorating a new space takes a some trial and area.  But as I was finishing up, Arthur made some comment about how Baby James could come now because the house was ready for Christmas.  Maybe I should have waited a few more weeks.
I had big plans for the rest of the month.  Lots of baking, Christmas themed crafts, trips to the library to load up on sweet holiday bedtime stories, and decorating our first Christmas tree.  All of this, of course, to be complemented with my favorite Christmas music as the sound track for the month.  With James' early arrival and his two and a half week stay in a NICU nearly two hours from our house, I thought all of that would have to wait till next year.  Luckily, Arthur and his dad kept Christmas going at our house for Jake, while I was with James.  It warmed my heart, as I sat by James bed, when Arthur sent me this picture.

 

While, I was a little sad (okay so I cried) that I was missing this Christmas tradition, I was so happy Jake wasn't.  They even kept Jake busy with his Christmas coloring books and hot coco (not to mention all the time, attention, and toys his Apa and Daddy showered him with).

 

While, the magic of the season was still going on at home, I was missing it.  Not even a picture with Santa can make a NICU feel merry.  So between trips to the hospital, I stocked up at Joanne's and Michael's so we could hit the holiday ground running when I got back. 
Our first project was painting.  Since James wasn't home yet, I had a hard time getting into it, but Jake did a great job!

By our next attempt, James was home, and Jake and I made ginger bread cookies.  It was just like I had imagine it would be.  Arthur was snuggling with our new little one on the couch while Jake and I measured, poured, and mixed.  Thanks to Pandora online, we even had beautiful Christmas music filling our home.  Nothing is more prefect than listening to Jake giggle through Christmas Don't be Late by Alvin and the Chipmunks and then having it followed by Josh Groban singing Oh Holy Night.  A little something for everyone.

 

 

 

It was close to a perfect night...what I hadn't counted on was three "perfect" nights of ginger bread cookies.  After two nights of mixing, cookie cutting, backing, and decorating, I was loosing my love for this little activity.  So it was lucky that the missionaries showed up on the third night and wanted to join us.  We had a great time.  Although, we did have to watch Jake pretty close with the sprinkles...he can get a little crazy with those.  Apparently, Jake doesn't consider his cookies complete unless there is a small mountain of red or green granulated sugar on top of each one.

My favorite craft of the season was our stockings.  I not only saved money by not ordering some from Pottery Barn, but I also felt pretty creative for coming up with the idea.  It was a pretty simple activity, but we all had fun..all except for James, who was not very into having his feet covered in craft glue...but how else was I suppose to make the glitter stick?

I love them because they are the perfect representation of our little family at Christmas of 2010...and because the have lots of glitter.  Maybe that is where Jake gets it from? ;-)