Thankfulness Time Capsule

Originally drafted November 25, 2020. I found this digital equivalent of a scrawled-on scrap of paper at the digital equivalent of the bottom of my messy purse, and figured I'd save it from blog-post purgatory and finally just hit publish. Turns out this year-and-a-half old gratitude journal surfaced just in time for the back half of 100 Sparks of Joy. How's that for serendipity?

 

This morning I opened up my Timehop (one of the apps I use every morning while I procrastinate getting out of bed) and I saw a link to one of my blog posts from 2015. It was a "thankful-list", with a bunch of little things that don't really matter, but still bring me extraordinary joy. I've done these a few times in the past, and while I've never consistently kept up with any sort of gratitude journal, I think the practice is really valuable, even if the effort is only occasional. So here's a silly little list of some somewhat frivolous things that in this moment I'm really, truly thankful for:

• The kind of people who put out collections of lawn inflatables, have a life sized stuffed bear in a rocking chair on their porch, and dress a giant rooster sculpture in a sheet/ghost costume for Halloween. You are my people.
  
• My sourdough starter.
  
• When people actually sign our Little Free Library guest book.
  
• They way our littlest says "Chris-a-mas" (I will not be correcting her, and will glare at anyone who does).
  
• My new leopard sweater from Old Navy. (because two leopard cardigans just weren't cutting it)
  
• Our gas fireplace in the living room. (my first working fireplace!)
  
• Slushies and boozy popsicles (and regular popsicles...and boozy slushies).
• Dustin making the kids breakfast every day.
  
• That one time we were actually allowed to go IN the library.
  
• Masks in fun prints
• Instagram memes
  
• #jeeplife
• Spooky jammies
• Scooters, skateboards and bikes (and baskets and baby seats and bells!)
  
• The crazy amount of money we're saving on gas.
• Queso (the green bucket!)
  
• New playgrounds, old playgrounds, natural playgrounds...all the playgrounds.
  
• Friends who understand that my extroversion has no outlet right now, and just listen, listen, listen to all my pent up words.
  
• Slack, and Zoom and Mural
• A neighborhood where I can let the kids explore and play without fear.
  
• Coke Zero Cherry (yes...Coke Zero is on every edition of these lists. It's called loyalty, look it up.)
  

 P.s. You can check out a couple thankful-lists from the past. (You're going to want to click on that last link, if only to enjoy Fin's fat thighs. NOM NOM!)

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BOO(ks): Spooky Season Must-reads

There is just about nothing I love more than going ALL OUT for holiday festivities...so you know that when Spooky Season arrives, I have...as the kids say... zero chill. It's been basically a month of non-stop pumpkin scented everything around here, and I make no apologies. I'm here for all the crafts (and festivals, and treats, and matching jammies)...but especially: the books. I've been sharing our weekly/daily/hourly library hauls on Instagram, but thought it would be helpful to do a bit of a permanent "round up" of the books we just can't get enough of this time of year.

Our Top Picks:
The shelf staples (in no particular order)

• Spooky Pookie: Pookie is just the cutest. But Pookie in COSTUMES is even better.
• Seaver the Weaver: A story about a spider learning to do things his own way. Love his creativity!
  
• Gustavo the Shy Ghost: Lovely story about a ghost finding friends. Beautiful work by a Mexican author/illustrator. We tried the Wonderbook version of this one- the "soundtrack" made it extra special.
• Room on the Broom: A true classic (from the creators of The Gruffalo, so you know it's good.)
• Ghost in the House: What kid doesn't like a lift-the-flap book? This one has a surprise to guess on each page.
• The Monster's Monster: The characters here are irresistible, and the main guy has such a sweet spirit.
• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything: Even my littlest ones have this memorized. Do you remember this one from elementary school read aloud? I'll never tire of it.
  
• Pick a Pumpkin: Beautifully illustrated story about Fall. 
  

 

Honorable Mentions:  
If you have a liiiiiiitle bit more space on your shelf...or 5 more minutes until bedtime (for REAL this time) these are great additions.

• Bonaparte Falls Apart: Sweet guy just wants to fit in. And stay together.
• I just ate my friend: Simplest story ever, but makes us all laugh. The end is adorable.
• There's a Witch in your Book: Interactive tale that our three-year-old is obsessed with. Plus- it has a spell to clean your room, so I'm a fan. (There is a whole series of these!)
• Go Away Big Green Monster: Fun concept where kids get to "build" a monster by turning the pages. (and then get to make him disappear!)
  
• We're Going on a Goon Hunt: Ok, so this parody isn't going to win any awards, but it's based on a classic, which was beloved for a reason. This is a fun Halloween-themed version, with a cute little twist. Kids love the familiar mixed with the new. 
  
• Junie B., First Grader: Boo...and I Mean It!: This girl is my all time fav so of course I adore the Halloween version.
  
• Trick or Treat Crankenstein: The MOST realistic tale of the monster we all turn into sometimes. (the original version is great too: Crankenstein) 
• The Night Before Halloween: We have EVERY holiday edition of this- seriously, even election day- but this is one of the best for sure.
  
• Creepy Pair of Underwear: The title alone is worth checking this out. Goofy story about...well....some truly creepy underwear. (We read Creepy Carrots too, and got a kick out of seeing the little references the author included to his other books)

 

And if that's still not enough (what even IS enough!?!) Here is the FULL list of what we're reading (and loving) this season:

Original Favorites
Unique stories...mostly new to me, maybe to you too!

• Monster Trouble: Points for diversity. Love that the monsters can be defeated with kisses!
• Bone Soup: Anything with a bit of an "ick" factor is a hit with my kids. This one has an actual recipe at the end...but contains far too many vegetables for my children to want to attempt it!
  Posey the Monster Slayer: Love the strong main character...she ignores bedtime to fight monsters...much to her parents' chagrin. They get increasingly upset, using her FULL name as they yell for her to get back in bed. We all got a kick out of that....relatable.
  
• The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt: Ok- I cheated. I have this on hold from the library, but haven't gotten to read it yet. But SURELY I'll love it, right?! The title alone!
• Jerry Seinfeld Halloween: If you remember his bit about Halloween- "Get Candy Get Candy Get Candy!" you'll love this illustrated version.
• The Spider and the Fly: Not going to lie- the subject of this one was a bit dark. It has a decent lesson...but still creeped me out a little. The illustrations are beautifully intricate and dramatic though!
• The Okay Witch: The first graphic novel my ten year old has tried...I can't personally vouch for it, but she begs me to stay up late reading it, so that feels like a good sign. 
  
• It's a Pumpkin: Animals solving a silly little mystery...what IS that thing?
  
• Stumpkin: Poor little guy just wants to be picked!
• Sir Simon: Super Scarer: Cute buddy comedy between a ghost and the friend who finds him.
• The Little Ghost Who Lost her Boo: Simple story about a ghost looking for her "boo". Good for little kids- especially if they love animal sounds.
• Ghosts: A loooong one. But fun concept about all the different types of "typical household ghosts" (and yes, my kids especially liked that there was one in the bathroom!)
  
• Los Gatos Black on Halloween: Fun to learn some Spanish vocab.
  
• How to Make Friends with a Ghost: Sweet story about making friends for life (and beyond). 

Classics
You get it.

• There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat: You either like these books, or you're desperately tired of them. (And by that I mean: you are either my kids, or me.)
  
• Spookley the Square Pumpkin: Hot take- this book is ADORABLE, and the movie is GARBAGE. Change my mind. 

  

Simple Stories
Not investment pieces but still fun, quick reads that kids will get a kick out of.

• It's Raining Bats and Frogs: Wordplay for the win.
  
• At the Old Haunted House: A counting book that even my older kids still like.
  
•  Wee Witches Halloween: This one has been in our rotation for years. 
• The Best Halloween Hunt Ever: Fun seek & find book that kids can "read" on their own.
  
• T. Rex Trick or Treats: If you have a dino-lover this is a winner. T.Rex just wants to be scary...spoiler alert- he totally is!
  
• Spider Sandwiches: Again- the gross-out factor makes this a big winner in our house. Fun little board book about some combos that might make you lose your lunch.
  

Non-Technically Halloween
(But still fun and spooky)

• I Love my Fangs!: A very proud vampire!
  
• The Leaf Thief: Cute Fall tale.
  
• Skulls: It's like the "Everybody Poops" for cranial anatomy.
  
• Yellow Time: Honestly- the kids think this one is boring, but I find it beautiful.
• Vampenguin: A vampire family visits the zoo...what could go wrong?
• Leo: A Ghost Story: Sweet story of friendship.

Fav Series
If your kids (or you!) have a fav author/series/charactore then these Halloween editions are sure to be a hit!

• A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster: I have an eight-year old girl, so this series is an obvious win. The goat...I mean...unicorn IS pretty cute though.
  
• The Bad Seed Presents: The Good the Bad and The Spooky: This one felt a little long to me, but forgivable, because this is such a fun and unique series.
  
• Duck & Goose: Honk! Quack! Boo! (we also have Find a Pumpkin): These stories are a little dry at times, but are nice classic kid reads.
  
• Click Clack Boo!: Cows getting into trouble again!
  
• Pig the Monster: Little vulger (I mean...for a 5 year old) with some naughty prank-behavior, but a pug in costume is pretty cute.
  
• Little Blue Truck's Halloween: If you have a toddler or preschooler then you've read the classic version 8,000 times. Might as well spice it up a bit!
  
• Fright Club: We found Fangsgiving and got hooked on this author! Fun and quirky stories.
  
• Vampirina Ballerina: I'm not familiar with the Disney channel series etc. but this original story is beautifully depicted (feels vintage!)
  
•  How to Scare a Ghost: We have the other versions in this series (How to babysit a grandpa/grandma etc.) so this one was a fun edition. My six-year-old was a little skeptical of these tips, but loved reading about it!

So, there's a virtual hayride full of my opinions. But what about you? Any other favs in your pile? What winners did I miss? And is anyone else up to their earwigs in spooky stories and LOVING IT?

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The One With The Gratitude Games

Unprecedented. Unparalleled. Unwanted.
2020. The pandemic. This version of Thanksgiving.

If this Thanksgiving was an episode of Friends, it would be: The One Where We All Quarantined.

Or...The One With the Masks

Or...The One With All the Zoom Calls

Thanksgiving is pretty much my favorite holiday (yes, I say that about all the holidays, but it's MY truth, so just accept it) so I refuse to have a little thing like a global pandemic (and non-mandatory but still very much recommended "Turkey in Place" order) dampen my seasonal spirit.

Thanksgiving isn't cancelled! Fun isn't over! It's just...umm...reformatted.

At our house, Thanksgiving 2020 is going to be a combo of distanced celebration and virtual gathering. My parents, siblings and I are all going to make a few dishes, and then swap so we all end up with a full feast. (I'm in charge of my usual: brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes, plus two kinds of pie because I'm nothing if not ambitious!) After the Tupperware handoff, we'll all go back to our separate houses and toast and eat together via Zoom. Not ideal...but sort of a lemonade out of lemons kind of deal. (And bonus: Thanks to my mom, I still don't have to learn how to make a turkey!)

After dinner, it's usually time for a nap...but also- GAMES! If I was making a list of the things I love about Thanksgiving, it's pretty much EVERYTHING- but playing group games is near the top of that list (in an 87 way tie with eating too much, watching the parade, that indescribable warm feeling that just magically comes with the holiday...etc. etc. etc.) There are a few things I can't recreate virtually (mostly hugs...don't you miss hugs?!) but games? Surely there is a way to make games still happen!

Awwwww yeah there is. You know what they say, where there's a will, there's a powerpoint. Or something like that. So I got real dorky on Saturday night, hunkered down with a Hoegaarden and a Hallmark movie, and made our fam a little deck of games to play virtually. I won't lie to you and claim there are any original thoughts in here (even the deck format is a default PPT template, so don't judge the design...or do, but know that I take no ownership)- it's all compiled from the wonderful world of Pinterest. It's not fancy, and it's certainly no substitute for the magic of actually being together. But it falls in that very important bucket of "Things We CAN Do Right Now" (also satisfies the: "Things Courtney Can Pour Energy Into Instead of Just Crying and Eating More Bread" need, and checks the "Things to Focus on as Point of Distraction From Other Crappier Stuff" box).

And because it's thanksGIVING, after all, I figured why not share with all you other good-time guys and gals looking to get your socially-distanced game on.

Click to download the powerpoint presentation. 

Despite all the changes and moments of "it's ruined. everything is RUINED" I'm still excited to celebrate. This Thanksgiving will definitely be memorable...but I'm hopeful we can all find ways to make it the good kind of special. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Ta-Da! It's Christmas!

Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year!

I know it's officially January now, so most of the world has moved from Christmas to restrictive eating...but, technically it's not Epiphany yet, so if the Wise Men are still on the road to baby Jesus, I figure I'm still well within bounds for some Christmas reflection.

We had just the best holiday season this year....Maybe I say that every year, but regardless of comparison, it was just so lovely. You might even say it's the most wonderful time of the year! :)

I always love Christmas, but this felt like one of the calmest holiday seasons I can remember. That might be because we had fewer kids than last year...or maybe because this is our first year with all "big" kids...but in any case I just felt much...lighter this year. I was less pressured, less overwhelmed, less frantic. It was certainly a full season, with a packed calendar, and a ton of a fun activities and events, but it didn't come with the stress level that I felt in previous years. I'd love to pinpoint why, so I could share my wisdom (and replicate this again and again), but I'm sure it's a complicated combination of factors. One of the main things that shifted for me, was refusing to do things out of obligation. I know lots of people struggle with this, especially around the holidays- all of the things you "have to" do. Well...it turns out, when you get down to it, there really aren't that many mandatories in life. I'm fortunate in this area, because I'm not naturally a people-pleaser, but I struggle with my own expectations and need for achievement, saddling myself with a lot of "shoulds". I feel (/create) pressure to do and be all the things...to provide a magical season for my kids-  to see the sights, to plan the outings, to savor every second of the season... And while that makes for a lot of festive memories it also makes me a wee bit nutty.

I didn't consciously set out to do things different this year...(I kinda wish I did...then at least I could brag about how well it turned out!)- I think maybe as I get older my standards (and energy) are just naturally getting lower. Somehow I just settled into a perspective/approach that I can only describe as: "Let's do it!...if we want to." Truly it's that simple. If it sounded fun- we did it. If it didn't...skip! Now, it may sound incredibly self-centered and entitled to just do whatever you want all the time, and I agree if it's not a great life strategy in general. But for the holidays? A time that's supposed to filled with love and fun and wonder? Well why bring guilt, shame and obligation into that? It's a season designed for love and happiness...so keep it as simple as it should be, and do things you love and that make you happy.

I saw a lot of "seasonal bucket list" type ideas on Instagram this season, and while I'm no stranger to a to-do list (oooh I love me some check boxes) this time around the idea of setting up a bunch of must-do's made Christmas fun feel like more of a challenge than a pleasure. So I entered the season without major goals, real plans, or formalized itinerary. There were a few events I knew we'd get to, and some traditions I'd never want to miss, but for the most part, I approached things as they came, and went with the flow. Not my signature style, but it suited me just fine this month.

So in lieu of a Christmas To-Do list, I've retroactively summarized our season into a list of Ta-Da's! All the things we actually did...which turns out was quite a lot! Funny how with LESS striving, MORE can feel JUST RIGHT.

The details:

• Get a tree: We got our tree earlier than we ever have (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) which is fine with me- more time to enjoy it! The place we went the last two years has closed now, so we tried out a new spot- Cackler Family Farms which we really liked! We saw a donkey, rode in the sled, enjoyed the 50+ degree weather and got a good fir (Douglas? Fraiser? Who knows?) Piper complained that we were too pick and that the whole process took too long (she's not wrong) but everyone was in mostly good spirits (the "sandbox" full of corn, and the free candy canes didn't hurt). Despite all the hassle and mishaps that come with cutting down your own tree, it is still one of my absolute favorite traditions and I'm glad we made it happen.
• Send out Christmas cards: Another love of mine this season. We took a break from mailing these last year but are now back in the game. I managed to get this down super early as well, using photos pulled from our recent family video session- I ordered from Chatbooks and got them before Thanksgiving (which gave me extra time to address and send the before things got too busy) I got 100, not knowing exactly how many we needed, which worked out to be just about right. I think we received more cards than ever this year...which I attribute mostly to people reciprocating our mailing- which I'm fine with! It makes me so happy to see all the fun art and smiling faces displayed around our home.

• Drive to look at lights:  Ok...guess what...this is ANOTHER one of my favorite things to do each year! It doesn't rank too high on Dustin's list, but he's become much more tolerant over the years, and barely even muttered a bah humbug. We did it up right this year, making popcorn and hot chocolate for our outing (with fancy Christmas tree marshmallows!), and pulling out a bunch of blankets to snuggle over everyone's carseats. We hit up all the houses we know that typically do a big show (though several seem to have gone into full or semi-retirement from the lighting game) and checked out a new house which ended up being a big hit (their lights coordinated with music, and they had Santa on a big screen through the window!) We did an encore night with friends after hearing about a neighborhood near us where all the houses sync up to a custom radio station. We also went to Franklin Park to see their lights and gingerbread house tour. Dustin was out of town for that (conveniently, as he didn't really want to participate in another light-related outing), so my mom and I took the kids, and loved it. Light up flamingo topiaries AND a rainbow light tunnel? YES! And for the first time, we attended the Westerville Tree Lighting Ceremony...which left me, in a word: underwhelmed. (What we didn't do? Wildlights at the Zoo, or the Fantasy of Lights...maybe next year!)
• See Santa: twice! Much to Dustin's chagrin (are you sensing a theme? He's not a total curmudgeon, but I will say our Ta-Da list would be a wee bit shorter if he were leading the charge) we trekked downtown for a Santa sighting which ended up being a super fun day (Crafts, face paint, a band...!) It wasn't the most convenient location (downtown parking + rain) but the Santa was legit, and it was such a lovely kickoff to the holidays.
• Set up a train: I picked up a train on super clearance after the holidays last year, so we surprised the kids with it after we set up our tree. It's nothing elaborate, but it's a fun little addition to the set up this time around.

• Craft, craft, craft: oh DID WE EVER. I became the unofficial art teacher of our unofficial home school, as the girls requested endless crafty activities. (Every time Miller went down for a nap, Fin was immediately by my side raising her eyebrows and asking what I had planned). We tried salt painting, (so easy!) mirror decorating (so borderline dangerous!), Gingerbread ornaments (fun process, terrible results), melted beads in cookie cutters (it probably goes without saying that was a disaster), shrinky-dinks (total fail- maybe I'm not qualified for oven related crafting?), and wood+marker ornaments. Between all the supplies and resulting "masterpieces" I didn't see the my countertops for a month straight, and it was equal parts awesome and stressful. We had a blast making it all, but then I was almost as happy to sweep most of those treasures into the trash.
• Read books: oodles of books! Stacks of books! A different Christmas book every night! Some favs: Mooseltoe, Santa Mouse, and Gingerbread Mouse (apparently my kids have a thing for animals). I've never met anyone who complained their parents read to them too much when they were little, so I give myself permission to go all kinds of crazy on bedtime stories, especially at Christmas.
• Make Christmas lists and send them to Santa: Another double check! When we visited Santa downtown there was a special craft station to make letters, and a big mailbox to send them to his workshop. Piper mailed hers then, Fin insisted on bringing it home for later, and Miller jumped back into the line to show Santa right then. Our town also has a fancy Santa mailbox that we've visited the last two years, so we headed there early on Christmas Eve to drop off some drawings (I didn't want to do lists that late in the game...can't have them springing new things on Santa last minute- even if he is magic!)

• Snowflake Castle: This is a big event put on by our town, but I've never been, or really even known much about it. All I knew is people go crazy for it, and tickets sell out in minutes. So...naturally I figured we needed to go! I set an alarm on my phone and logged on as soon as sales opened up...and still only weekday mornings were available. So- Thursday at 9AM it was! (We let Piper go to school late that day...hopefully she won't suffer too much academically from her mom's misplaced educational values). Turns out it was totally worth the hype...we got to meet Santa (and Mrs. Claus!), sit in his sleigh, and build+paint wooden toys in his workshop.The kids were so proud of their creations...Piper even wrapped hers up to give to G'mi (the other two were displayed through the holidays but might have gotten swept up in the post-Christmas purge). Everyone there was so nice, and really went all out to make it special, and it was a really fun little memory to share together. 
• Candy Cane Lane: Fin's school runs a market for the kids to shop for gifts for their families and it's the CUTEST. I got to volunteer for the first time this year, walking kids around helping them pick out gifts for everyone on their lists. Fin wanted to shop for Miller and Piper, so she chose a PJ Masks stuffed animal (Catboy!) and some American Girl Doll clothes. She was so excited to wrap them up, and could barely wait to give them to her siblings. We had to put them in the basement so she would stop asking every ten minutes if they could open them now! She managed to wait until Christmas, and both gifts were a big hit. 

• Kids' program at church: When our church called for volunteers for the elementary school Christmas program my girls were pretty emphatic about what they wanted to be: Piper wanted to be Mary (and nothing else) and Fin wanted to be a King (because they wear crowns and don't have to talk). Apparently the competition for Mary was fierce, but Piper's name was drawn out of a hat, so she won the coveted honor. Fin's role came with a stuffed camel to hold, so she was equally thrilled. They both performed their walking, smiling and not-speaking flawlessly, and even learned sign language to one of the songs. But Miller pretty much stole the whole show by wearing a bow tie and looking all around adorable in the preschool performance of Oh What a Glorious Night. (Dustin gets a shout out for helping to run sound, and we had an extra bit of fun leading worship together before and after the program.)
• Watched (terribly) good movies: I fully embraced the cheese this year with a bunch of "Hallmark-esque" Christmas movies on Netflix. "The Princess Switch" was exceptionally good, "Merry Kissmas" was nearly unbearable and there were a few sappy/fluffy gems somewhere in between. 
• Wear festive jammies: I'm a sucker for spirit wear, and had stocked up on a few new sets after Christmas last year, so the kids were all decked out. They love having special pj's, and might have worn them just as much in the day as the did at night. 

• Decorate (and undecorate) the church: because you can take the girl out of visual merchandising, but.... I've volunteered with the decor team each year since we moved here and it's always way too much work and a ton of fun. We all agreed to keep things simple this year, and very nearly kept our promise. I roped Dustin into tying strings on 300 custom paper ornaments, got my kids to help bake four dozen cookies, and helped manage the set up team for a frenzied weekend of manger staging, tree fluffing, garland lighting, and photobooth building. It ended up looking beautiful...if not for the smell of the gym lockers, you'd barely know our sanctuary is actually a middle school! 
• Advent calendars: This had to be the easiest win all season- reusing jokes from last year's advent calendar! The kids even actually understand them sometimes! I also had Frozen themed advent calendar stashed away from last year's clearance sales (another theme to our holidays- stockpiling discounted merch!) which the kids tore into every day at breakfast. 
• Read the Bible: My absolute favorite new tradition. I printed out the Jesus Storybook Bible advent plan and clipped it to a garland above our dining table so we could read an entry each day while we ate. We weren't perfect, so some nights had us catching up on an extra story or two, but the kids really got into it. It was such a sweet time to spend reading about the different stories and events leading up to Jesus's birth, and talking about it all together. Miller still asks me to read the bible during dinner, so it might become a more regular event. 

• Hot chocolate: We embraced hot chocolate in all of its forms- with marshmallows, an ice cream float, frozen yogurt, special flavored m&m's and limited-edition cookies. Plus the kids' Christmas Eve gift was a wooden hot cocoa set that has already gotten about 12 million hours of playtime. 
• Give gifts: What's Christmas without the presents?! I gave some cat-related gifts to my coworkers (gotta celebrate working on a pet brand!), made teacher gifts at midnight because sometimes that's just the best you can do, and did another year of Secret Santa gifts with the kid cousins. (Fin and Hailey got each other...Fin was over the moon with her unicorn mask and fuzzy socks. She's barely taken it off since). 
• Snuggle: We did our fair share of this each evening, but the most noteworthy snuggle-sesh had to be meeting my brand new baby niece. Nothing like that new Christmas baby smell. 
• Class parties: I read a book to Fin's jammie-clad class at their "Cozy Christmas Eve" day (Dustin supplied the cut out sugar cookies for the kindergarteners to decorate), and played games with Piper's class (I picked up Holiday Spot It for the occasion because I just didn't have a homemade Pinterest-level idea in me...it ended up beloved by all!)

• Catch up with old friends: bonus- I didn't even have to travel- they came to ME! I partied with a friend I've had since my preschool days, and stayed up WAY too late with high school buddies. (I also had outings with moms from Piper's kindergarten class, and my monthly Supper club. Make new friends, but keep the ollllddd!)
• Go to Christmas Eve church: This night always has a very special place in my heart. 
• Listen to Christmas music: all day er'y day. The kids particularly enjoyed "I" (even though they can't never say it correctly enough for Alexa to play it), "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" (that Kacey Musgraves version is actually tolerable) and "I Have a Little Dreidel" by Bare Naked Ladies (because spinning and "naked" are endlessly funny). Piper also learned a few Christmas songs on the piano: Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Jingle Bells (with TWO hands!) and Good King Wenceslas. She's working on Go Tell it On The Mountain (might get there by Valentine's day). 

• Enjoy new toys: Santa brought the must-haves of the year: a "cry baby" (yes, her face actually leaks), American Girl doll Jeep, and a PJ Masks car. But there were lots of other favs, like messy crafts: bath bombs, hair chalk, slime necklaces, and paint your own squishies. Classics like playdoh, magnetic tiles, and their first set of LEGOs (With a storage bag, because I'm silly enough to think I'm not still going to continue to find pieces to these underfoot for the next 15 years). We tried to rein in the gifts but still probably ended up spoiling them (it's so hard to resist!). Each kid got around 6 things- but a few of those were necessities like pajamas, jeans or socks. There were a few gifts for them all to share, and of course they were extra spoiled by extended family. All in all though, they were thrilled with everything, and were as grateful and non-greedy as you can expect youngin's to be. (Funny side note: I scored 4 sets of Lego Friends on Facebook Marketplace- because I refuse to pay 97 billion dollars for teeny tiny puppy shaped pieces- but when we were missing a couple pieces, I had to confess to Piper that they had been "Pre-played with". She totally saw the value, and happily announced, "Mom, when I'm a grown up, I'm going to get all my kids used toys!" Atta girl!) 
• Eat yummy treats: There was NO shortage of eating this season but the highlight may have been a triple bread bowl. YOU. HEARD. THAT. RIGHT. It's not technically Christmas-related in the traditional sense, but it does teach that dreams really do come true. 
• Giggle: Non-stop. Well...unless we were arguing. The Bowden sibs pretty much have two speeds. 

• Get fancy: It doesn't get much better than a Christmastime wedding. We were honored to be a part of Jennie and Mark's big day. 
• Deck our halls: Kept things REAL simple (yeah, right). I bailed on garland, and embraced (ok, went nuts over) ornament collecting. 
• Cheers: We shared a flaming cocktail for a bestie's bday, enjoyed a beer or two (or maybe more) together while we wrapped/quilted/worked/vegged out, and toasted in the New Year with beloved friends. 
• LOVE: so so so so much. 

And just to round it out- we also....Set up a giant gingerbread house, watched Fancy Nancy Christmas in the bathtub, celebrated a bunch of birthdays, put too many sprinkles on cookies, ate out for too many meals, weathered some tough times with some great friends, forgot we left food on our porch for the reindeer, and watched the Netflix fireplace (birch log edition) on a near endless loop, and stayed home together for 12 straight days and lived to tell. A Very Merry Christmas indeed!

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Christmas Vid-mas

Somehow it's turned into an unintended decorating palooza around here...feels like all I've shared recently are decor oriented posts. But this stuff is fun for me to document- I like being able to look back on how our spaces changed (or didn't) over the years. And a Christmas tour has been a tradition on some level since the early days of Bowdenisms. I don't share every year (it'd be pretty redundant sometimes...) I did it up big for our first Christmas in Columbus, but then didn't share another full photo tour until last year (mostly it was more of the same in between there...just amassing more and more trees over time). And if you go way back- I shared what Christmas looked like in the early days: 2008, 2010, 2012).

I sort of flip flop between totally LOVING decorating for Christmas, and not wanting anything to do with it. Back in my retail days I was super scrooge-y, but after setting up 10 jillion trees for work before it was even Labor Day, I wasn't exactly eager to do it all again on a personal level. Since then things have balanced out a little, and I've gotten back into the spirit. A few years I've actually (admittedly) gone a little overboard...I got a little carried away when we first moved in- moving into a new house had me all sorts of inspired, so I dressed this place from top to bottom. Then last year we had our foster girls, so I wanted to make Christmas SO SPECIAL for all of the kids.

This year I've landed back in the middle somewhere. I'm super excited for Christmas, and can't wait to do all the activities, eat all the snacks and make all the crafts, (as you know...Christmas is basically my Halloween) but I don't necessarily feel the pressure to go all out with the decor part of things. That might sound silly coming from someone who has set up 7 trees this year, but "how much is too much?" is pretty subjective. Basically, I'm putting up anything that makes me super happy (trees! Christmas cards! lights! more trees!) and skipping anything that feels like more work than it's worth (greenery...and...um...figurines?)

We normally use Thanksgiving weekend as our decorating time, but it was super early this year and I thought it would be nice to have a bit more of a break between the madness of Halloween and the chaos of Christmas. So I thought I'd wait until December to decorate  But then...about five minutes into Black Friday, I realized three day weekends don't come around often, so if we wanted to get things done, this was probably our time. I still thought we'd wait to get our (real) tree until later in the season. But then...we had a Sunday with no plans and the world's most perfect weather, so we just went for it. ("Get while the getting's good" tends to be my motto with children).

So...that's how I found my house fully (but not FULLY) decorated for Christmas by November 25. Wasn't the plan, exactly, but I'm loving it. We've had Christmas music playing pretty much non-stop since then, and I've already burned some pretty big puddles in my evergreen candles. It's good stuff.

As for the tour- honestly, not a lot has changed since last year, so instead of sharing a bunch of nearly identical photos, I thought it would be fun to do a quick (relatively speaking...nothing is ever actually quick with me) video tour instead. This way you get a sense of the space, some of the "color commentary" on different things, and a couple cameos of my kids being wildly unsupervised.  

I give you: The Bowden Home: Christmas, 2018

Sharing Christmas- 2018 from Courtney Bowden on Vimeo.

And now, a couple of notes for posterity- really just for me to look back and fact check myself when I'm setting things up next year:

• I had to rewire my beloved silver tree after two strands went out (and no amount of replacing fuses was fixing it). It took two trips to the store because I underestimated the number of lights needed (Christmas lights follow the military mantra "two is one and one is none", which just means I've learned to buy twice as many as I think I'll need, and it will always be just barely enough). At Home (the worst name for the BEST store) no longer sells this tree or my other "favorite" (they're all my favorite) gold tree, so I've been trying to be a little more conservative with how much I use them. That is to say, I keep them on only about 18 hours a day instead of my preferred 24.
• The aforementioned "7 trees" are as follows: Bedrooms: 1-4, Kitchen, Living room (our only live one), and a modern one without lights in the bathroom. That one isn't shown in the tour, but is a lovely little silver number that wiggles and shines whenever the kids mess with it. Which is always.
• We keep it simple outside, and just do a wreath with white lights on each of our 3 main windows, 1 over garage, plus a red and a green spotlight. But after years of being on the fence on these tacky/awesome light projectors, I've determined I'm totally in the market for a snowflake version, so we'll see if that gets added to the mix in the next few weeks. I did had to rewire one of the wreaths- which I'm nearly sure is the second one in two years. I should probably spring for LED strands so I don't have to keep up this song and dance every year, but to get them to match I'd have to rewire all 4....so...no thanks. 
• I am trying really really (really) hard not to buy any more decorations, and for the most part I'm staying strong- unless you count the glass food-shaped ornaments that keep finding their way into my cart on regular errands. (New on my kitchen tree: a taco, burger, french fries, popcorn and pizza. Also a flying pig, which isn't edible, but still delicious in her own way). 
• I'm also rendered completely powerless by Christmas books and tiny priceless-artsy-memory-making-but-will-want-to-throw-away-nearly-immediately-upon-completion crafts. So....those are filling any of the void left by my lack of garland. And then some. (This is technically supposed to be a note to future me, to explain that we're all set, and I need to chillllll, but if I know anything about future me, I know that she's not prone to listening to that kind of fun-killing sensible advice, so...yay books!)

Once I get going here, I kinda can't stop, so I'll force the wrap up here, and just say that if you want to see more...COME OVER! It's a cluttered-up, loved-in, wonderland of beauty and nonsense, and we are so very blessed to have it.

OH- and while we're getting all multi-media with things, here are a few of the playlists and songs we've had on rotation year:

My go-tos: 
Acoustic Christmas (so much goodness. The Oh Hellos. The Civil Wars. Other great bands that start with The) 
Christmas Songs (a pretty standard pop playlist that is picking up where my expired Pandora subscription station left off)
Branches- Songs for Christmas (gimme banjo all day)
A Johnnyswim Christmas (because I don't say #goalz but if I did, they'd earn it) 
What a Glorious Night (One of the songs from our kids' Christmas programs that I just CAN'T STOP SINGING!)
Olaf's Frozen Adventure Soundtrack (I forgot this was a thing and legit squealed in delight when I stumbled upon it again this year)

Some new mixes I found by @BevCooks (full of non-traditional awesomeness)
Twinkline Tinsel and Evergreen Mix
Cookies and Milk and 'You Serious, Clark?' Mix


P.s. For all things merry, check out all of our posts of Christmases past here on the blog, or on Instagram: #bowdenschristmas. And if you're here for the quality film making (sarcasm emoji!)- you can catch up on our other videos on Vimeo.

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