Sentiment

This is the time of year when people are making Hallmark moments,  sweet memories that they'll take out of the back of their mind and run through their memories.  Memories are sentimental charms on the bracelet of life.   People are pulling out all the yearly traditions set by their family in the years before.  Hot chocolate, ice skating, roasting chestnuts (we are going to try!), homemade ornaments, children's handprint ornaments, baking, caroling, opening that first gift on Christmas Eve, and hosting annual Christmas parties.

 

I'm usually bahumbug-ing my way through MOST of Novemember and part of December. So many people "over do it" by beginning their Christmas prep in July and then after the season, leaving their tree up until Cupid's arrows are flying around in February (this is my biggest pet peeve).  I despise when people skip Thanksgiving,  I despise the early  Black Friday shopping (though am guilty of having shopped some of the deals in the past), and I want to puke when Easter arrives and someone still has their tree up. 

 

Normally, in the average holiday season at my house, the tree doesn't go up until after my birthday.  It's the law.  I'm a December baby and I like to know my birthday is "reconognized" and not lost in all of the holiday spirit of over spending, indulgence, and greedy kids telling stuffed up skinny men pretending to be Santa what new and expensive with all these bells and whistles toy they want.

 

Once we get beyond Thanksgiving and my birthday, then I start looking forward to Christmas.

 

Except this year.  I found myself excited before Thanksgiving this year.  I think I just came down with a slight case of the Mistletoe Mumps...and I'm still reeling from the after effects.  It's like when you come down with a horrid cold and the cough just hangs around afterwards.

We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. We pulled out the special ornaments that represent a special memory or Christmas past.   Like this little elf...

 



Isn't he just cute?!  He is one of my favorite ornaments,
and I think he'd be fun to re-create with my kids!

He is probably the absolutely most adorable ornament on my entire tree.  He was made for my fourth child when he was probably 2 or 3.  I don't think the date is on him.  I love that a child's building block was used and the letter of his first name creates the body of the elf.  I think I should re-create more of these block elves for the rest of my children. 

Another sentimental ornament on my tree is this vintage glass lantern.  In Christmases past, this lantern hung on my mother in law's Christmas tree.  It's paint is rubbing off in places, and it's definitely seen a better day, but it just wouldn't be Christmas without this ornament on our tree.

We even have sentimental toys here. I love Melissa and Doug products!  They are very sturdy, child friendly, and the kids are occupied for hours!  This specific toy is great!  They can build...something...by attaching the pieces into little cuts made in the sides of the wooden pieces. Too large to be a choking hazard, while encouraging imaginative play.

There's Holiday baking this time of year, too.  Normally I try to make everything from scratch.  These brownies were delicious. I like how powdered sugar gives the illusion of a "dusting of snow".  It just so happens these brownies....

were from a box mix...and I would gladly argue the America's Favorite claim.....America hasn't tasted what I can make from scratch....(HA!)

 

The apple pie cookies on the other hand....

I made from scratch.  I went a little crazy with the apple pie cookies this time. I have a teeny, tiny, apple shaped cookie cutter....so I used it to cut apples from my apple slices for the center of the cookies...

 

 

 

 Something else I really enjoy, and holds sentiment for me, homemade, hand crafted gifts.  More specifically, crocheted afghans, crocheted slippers (shaped like rabbits from Aunt Linda),  and homemade flannel night gowns. I found an afghan online that I just fell in love with.  It had a beautifully designed edging, and well,  I don't crochet.  I sent the link to my friend Liz and she was quick to inform me that her mother could re-create the afghan, fancy edging and all, for me.   I gave them my color preferences, and just a couple weeks later this beautiful afghan was ready..

 

 

She will open it on  Christmas morning and I'm oh so thrilled.   I have a homemade afghan for each of my children.  My oldest two were both have ones made by Aunt Linda.  It was all important to me, that my children had something from Aunt Linda, as I have many Christmas memories of having handmade slippers, pj's, and even homemade pound puppies from Aunt Linda.

 

This Christmas we're focusing on sentimental memories.  Memories that we'll pull out later in life and run through the fingers of our mind like a string of favored pearls.  A lot of those memories include holiday related crafts, with a few messes on the side. 

 

I hope all of you are finding the sentiment. The joy in making memories. Hold onto them, because our time to make memories with eachother is fleeting.