Christmas.

I can't believe Christmas is over. All the planning, shopping, knitting, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, excitement, anticipation and festivities are finished for another year. This Christmas was fabulous, as usual. My Mother-in-Law came to visit from BC and helped us to enjoy our family traditions.

The morning of Christmas Eve, I ran around town finishing up my shopping and we spent the afternoon quietly at home where we baked and decorated cookies for Santa.

We had a lovely roast for dinner.

After watching "The Polar Express," the kids did their Christmas Eve prep. We spread reindeer food on the front walk and Eli placed the cookies in front of the tree.

And then they were off to bed.... excited, but knowing that Santa wouldn't come if they didn't go right to sleep...... so they did (with strict instructions not to head to the Christmas tree until called in the morning). At 7am the next day, we woke up to a glorious sight! Santa had come!!

Chey's first view of the tree, Christmas morning......

Waiting, ever so impatiently, for Daddy and NanaB to come downstairs so that the presents could be demolished

Let the mayhem begin!

Santa found Chey a Lego Anubis (she's been obsessed with Anubis, and all things Egypt, since our trip)

Dale loved his handspun/knit hat and handknit socks

The kids gave me a beautiful charm bracelet and a charm each to start it off

Chey's new Monster Puppet

Eli got lego and more lego.... he has almost finished building it all already..... 

After opening our gifts and playing for a bit, we dressed up and went skating at the lake for an hour or so. The weather was fantastic!

And finally, our delicious (albeit simple) Christmas dinner....... It was a wonderful day.... I love Christmas.....

So until next year.... I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and will have a fantastic New Year!! 

And to end this post, a collage of my Christmas  knitting/spinning for this year..... not including the spinning I completed for myself on the 23rd..... 

On the slippery slope to Christmas

I'm in full Christmas Preparation mode here at Chez "Our House." The inside decorations are mostly finished, the outside decorations are as done as they're going to get this year, my Christmas gift knitting is complete (except for an add-on or two), I've sent most of my Christmas cards and we've gone to see Santa. I should be relaxed, right??? Well, I'm not..... I like to be DONE by this time at Christmas. I really enjoy the last couple of weeks leading up to Christmas when the last minute shoppers (or reasonable people, as some would say) are rushing around in a panic, looking for their perfect gifts, while I sit around with a self satisfied air.... I know, I know,  it's not an attractive trait of mine, but it IS my reward for being so.... uhhh... organized (I won't use the word you are all thinking... but I know you're thinking it.... ). This year, I'm behind. I've barely started my Christmas shopping and although I plan to remedy that tomorrow, I am still slightly stressed......

Back on the decoration front. I wanted to share a couple of cute ideas for Xmas decorations that I've come up with this year. Every year (well, every year since Eli was born) I send a Christmas photo-type card and I've saved a copy of most of them. This year, I thought it would be great to display them all together. I waited for a frame sale at Michael's and purchased a scrap-booking frame. Into this, the cards went..... and onto the wall (I try to replace my everyday wall art and photos with Christmas art)..... Neat eh?

Another thing I started last year was to frame all of the kids' Santa pictures together from every year (each frame holds three photos). This year, I had to start a new frame with only one picture, so I had the kids each draw a Christmas Picture to put in the frame on either side of the 2010 Santa photo. I love the progression of the photos... they make me smile.

My other idea for a Christmas decoration/wall hanging type item, is our Christmas puzzle. I tried to start a tradition of doing a new one every year, but we didn't finish last years (we'll finish it this year! I'm determined). But our first puzzle was glued and framed.....

And here are some pictures of my other decorations (quilted stockings and wall hangings are all made by me in years past)... I have yet to put up the tree (we do a real one, it's going up this weekend), but I think my house is looking great! The only thing my home is missing are a few handknit decorations.... which I shall rectify this year, starting with a Christmas Gnome (which I started last night and is over 50% complete)..... I also plan to do a garland of small knit mittens and socks, a knitted poinsettia decoration of some-kind and something else, that I thought of last year and would like to start working on......

A wallhanging to Welcome my guests
if I ever had guests....... 

From my front door.

Where the tree will sit

This wall hanging is one of my
favourite decorations.

I love the "Faux" wildlife on the mantle

I collect Dept. 56 "North Pole" Series Houses

And last, but not least.... my last knitted Christmas gift of 2010 (I only knit a few items this year).... A hoodie for my nephew (per his request this summer)... the duplicate stitch Alien face is in Glow-in-the-dark yarn.... which I cannot capture with my current technology, so you'll have to imagine how cool it is......