December. Why does it feel like that was a lifetime ago? It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, as they say, and I think the days just go by so quickly. It was definitely a hustle and bustle December for me, but it was lovely. Here are a few of the things I loved.
Gift Guides
I had just about talked myself out of doing gift guides this holiday season. I don’t know why; I just couldn’t really get in the mood to think much about it. It’s also a lot of work to create these types of blog posts with the links and the graphics, so I was thinking of taking the lazy way out. However, I’d been trying to figure out a way to feature something local on my blog, and the idea came to do a local shops gift guide. I was able to work with lots of shops around town, and the gift guide came together perfectly. I ended up putting together nine gift guides in all, and I’m glad that I did it. They aren’t all Christmas-themed so visit them anytime you have the need to buy someone a gift. There’s a little something for everyone.
Creating these gift guides, especially My Wish List, turned out to be a pretty good idea. My family really used it, and I got some good stuff from it. You’re never too old to create a Christmas list. 🙂
Christmas Decor
Christmas decorations go up in my house at the beginning of November. Most bloggers do this because they want to get their home tours photographed, but that didn’t happen here, so here’s a little peek at what it was like this year. Basically the same as last year. I loved it so much that I didn’t want to change much of anything. I did add the bowl of red ornaments for a festive pop of color on the coffee table.
Our sweet city of Greenville was also looking mighty fine all decked out for Christmas.
Four Food Groups of Elf Surprise
Two of my dearest friends from Louisiana, Rochelle and her daughter Rhianna, love the movie, Elf, so very much. We usually text quotes from the movie to each other this time of year, but these two amped it up a notch and sent the sweetest package of the four basic food groups to elves: candy (which I ate most of before I took this pictures), candy cane, candy corn, and syrup. How clever and cute is that!! This is why I know we’ll never not be friends. Well, that and our love of the Oscars and Broadway musicals. 🙂 Thanks again, girls!
Christmas Eve and Day with Family
My brother and his girlfriend got engaged this year! That was another favorite thing about this month. 🙂 So getting to spend our first Christmas with her was very special. Christmas Eve dinner with Paul’s family always kicks off our celebrations. Then we head over to my parents’ house for wassail and presents. This year mom got me these super extra pjs. They are basically shinier than sequins in person and just a little bit too much. Naturally, I love them.
Christmas Day is all about the family time and food. We had the best time celebrating with our families.
Friends-mas
Paul and I were invited to a friends’ Christmas celebration where we were supposed to wear tacky Christmas sweaters. Well, we showed up in some tacky stuff, and only one other person did. But Paul killed it.
We played a fun game of Dirty Santa where I ended up with an awesome insulated coffee mug, and Paul got a bottle of gin. Pretty good night!
Reading
Okay, enough Christmas stuff. I did a lot of reading, which always happens during a break from school. I started with Origin by Dan Brown. I’ve been wanting to read this since before it was released. I saw it in the library and quickly scooped it up. If you’ve ever read his books, you know he’s a tad controversial, and Origin is full of controversy. However, it was a wild ride that I didn’t want to put down. I also listened to two audiobooks: Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman and A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I just finished listenting to The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine and Lynne Constantine two days ago and WHOA. I recommend all four books highly.
New Year’s Eve
This is the third year Paul and I have celebrated New Year’s Eve with my brother. We always have the best time, and this year was no exception. We celebrated in Montgomery with he and his fiancee, Anna, at her house. Lots of fun was had by the guys as you can tell.
And I got to ring in another year with my favorite guy.
So how was your December? Did you travel for the holidays? Did you eat too much, too? What’d you get for Christmas? Tell me all the things.
