This year flew by! I can’t believe we are already in December. It’s not looking too much like winter yet around here, but it is slowly but surely getting there. Although, yesterday was 50 degrees, so crazy for Michigan in December.
I am getting all ready for the winter holiday season! For me, that means decorating the house for Christmas, including putting up our Christmas tree, making cookies, buying presents, and reading and watching holiday themed movies. I love to go all in. I am trying not to overdo it this year, but I do have a three year old, so some overdoing will be done. I love to see the surprise and excitement on his face, and it makes it all worth it. Our family decided to only buy for the littles a few years ago, and so that cuts down on my shopping and wrapping. Billy and I buy a few things for each other, and of course, I do remember the grandparents whether they want gifts or not. Wyatt has a team of people that are so involved in his life, his teachers and therapists, and this year I bought them the cutest handmade ceramic acorns. I am in love with them. I plan to give the acorns to them with a note of thanks for helping our little acorn to grow big and strong.
This year too, I want to make sure that we give back to our community, even if we just manage something small. I think it is an important tradition to start with Wyatt, to be charitable and compassionate to others who might be struggling. So we are going to find a small act of service that we will do as a family. For Thanksgiving, we filled a local Blessings Box with food together, so maybe for Christmas we will do something similar.
We are also celebrating Yule or Winter Solstice this year, to acknowledge our awesome planet and the nature and creatures who share our world with us. I think we are going to create a wild Christmas tree, with edible ornaments for our local birds and squirrels (and occasional possum). I am still working on this idea a bit, so if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!
And of course, we will be watching all of our favorite holiday movies, all snuggled up under our blankets as the temperatures begin to fall. Drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies and popcorn. Visiting Santa. Doing all the traditional Christmas things. I have a few picture books about Christmas traditions around the world and about Hanukkah that I plan to share with Wyatt as well. And, I will be reading my own wintery books. Like I said, I am all in.
What do you do for the holidays? Any special traditions?
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 
That sounds like a great idea 😀 this year we’re trying to go plastic free by wrapping presents in newspaper rather than wrapping paper… we’ll see how far we get though!
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oo I like that idea! Still wrapped so the paper can be torn, which we know is fun lol, but environmentally friendly. 🙂
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I love your plans, Erin, especially the wild tree idea. And what a great gift for the team in Wyatt’s life; I love acorns.
We usually celebrate Christmas with my ohana on the 24th and then on the 25th the four of us will open presents in the morning. When my brother and I were kids, we’d open gifts at midnight at our mama’s.
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I’m really excited about the wild tree! I need to do a little research on what I should put in it, but I am guessing orange garlands, cranberries, suet, etc. I am hoping we do it and then I come outside to a tree full of animals! Lol.
They were so pretty, I couldn’t resist them in their basket!
A midnight gift opening sounds really magical! Our actual Christmas is pretty similar, with time divided between our families. We are learning how to navigate Christmas with a three year old – it was different without a child! Lol.
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I love th whole Christmas season. We have our tree up with lights but haven’t decorated yet. And your idea of a wild tree is awesome and cool way to help the animals! I hope it goes well! And enjoy the season!
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If fall is my favorite season, winter is a close second! I’m waiting for snow over here. It is supposed to really drop in temperature tonight, so maybe we will get snow soon.
I think this year is the earliest we have decorated – the Sunday after Thanksgiving we put the tree up and decorate the house. 🙂 I am really excited to celebrate this year. I am also super excited about our wild tree! And thank you – I hope you fully enjoy this season as well! 🙂
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It is crazy how fast the year went by.
A little overdoing can be fun 🙂 Ours have been quieter the last couple years but I’m hoping to do some decorating this weekend (we’re having our first snow of the year they think). Should be a good time 🙂
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