Christmas Without a Tree

I may have mentioned this before, but my house is very small.  So small that we do not have space for a Christmas tree, at least not this year.  My solution?  Hanging wreaths on the wall.  I wrapped the wreaths in lights, and then simply hung the decorations on the wreaths.  They are up and (nearly) out of Turtle's reach -a few birds have had ruffled feathers, but so far no lasting damage has been done.

And finally, the decorating project that I didn't want to divulge earlier because I didn't know if I could finish it in time AND I wasn't sure how it would turn out.  Lucky for all of us I did finish the project and it did turn out!  I made holiday curtains out of white flat twin sheets and ribbon.  I was hoping to create a crisp look by combining red & white (my fave holiday colors this year).  The pictures don't do justice to reality! 

I was going to use the giant bells as pull backs, but I got lazy & didn't want to drill hooks into my window frame, so I hung them at the top instead

The peppermint candy ribbon fits perfectly in my Cardinals & Candy Cane theme this season.  DH was wondering why so many bird ornaments were making their way into our home, too  :)

I still need to make the Santa Key, but as I was pulling out the holiday decor I realized that the Santa Cookie plate was missing.  I have a nagging feeling that it was broken last year when we put things away.........

Holiday Grand Plan -Week Three

Christmas Dreams Art Print

I started out well last week, but having a guest coming to stay put the Holiday Planning on a back burner.  What a heavenly feeling knowing that I'm not behind as I have started so early!

I found a template for Christmas labels so I'm slowly but surely adding addresses to the labels.  When the time comes to mail them, I'll just put in the appropriate label paper into the printer and voila - that laborious chore will be finished!  I have beautiful labels with our own address to use as well.  I still have holiday stamps from last year, but of course the postage rate has changed since then.  I'm hoping that there will be holiday stamps in SMALL denominations so I can use these up.

We have a plan for holiday gifts as well, and I know what the menus for the major holidays will be.  We will be hosting Thanksgiving in our miniscule abode, and my sister will be handling Christmas.  At this point we just don't know if it will be in their old home or new one.

Holiday Grand Plan Week Three

Looks like it is time to gather supplies for homemade gifts!  I really like the idea of packing the materials together along with the directions.  Since our basement is now neatly organized, I feel like I can begin tackling this one.

I know what I want to bake ahead of time, but before I start any baking I need to clean out the freezer.  Time for the mystery meats, ice cubes in ziploc bags & pureed food made for DD to go!  Until then, there is no point in preparing food in advance as there is NO ROOM for anything else in the freezer.  It really needs to be defrosted as well.  Hmmm.........another project for DH while he's off this week?  I'll also be checking out the Freezer Cooking Guide.  Busy weeknights happen during the unHoliday Season as well.  I can only use my crockpot so often before becoming bored with the food too, so I'm looking forward to this line of enquiry.


Happy Holiday Planning everyone!

Enjoying the Holidays - The FlyLady Way!

One of the things I like most about fall is that it means the Holiday season is just around the corner.  In years past I have felt silly trying to prepare for the holidays before Thanksgiving, but this year I am trying something new: starting my plans NOW!  Thanks to Twitter pals @Luvschweetheart and @DianeDenmark I finally feel free to revel in the joy and excitment that the holidays bring.  This will be the first Christmas that DD will truly enjoy, so I want to make sure that it is a special time for her.  And that means not being up in the wee hours of the morning just because I couldn't get around to wrapping my gifts until the last minute or fighting crowds because I have forgotten someone's prezzie.

Christmas Tree, c.1958Art Print

Warhol, Andy
Buy  at AllPosters.com

A couple of years ago, I printed the FlyLady Holiday Control Journal.  I filled out a few of the pages, but that's it.  For me, waiting until the beginning of December to start ramping up for the holidays doesn't work.  DH is in retail which means between Thanksgiving and Christmas he works 6 days a week.  We have to arrange a time for our big family Christmas celebration by the beginning of October just to make sure he has the right night off!

Luvschweetheart introduced me to the Holiday Grand Plan.  It starts the holiday planning this week.  I printed off some pages and I am amalgamating it with the FlyLady Holiday CJ.  By following these two plans, I am hoping that December will be a relaxing, C-Joyous time!

P.S.  I already ordered gifts for my coworkers!!!!

P.P.S.  I'm really looking forward to the transatlantic baking session to make DianeDenmark's Christmas Cake!!!!!!!!!!