My Christmas To Do List

It's now the 6th day of December (already?!?!?! Wasn't it just Thanksgiving? Why am I still eating Thanksgiving leftovers? Is that weird?) Let's see how I'm doing on my December goals:

1) Actually put up Christmas Lights (unlike last year) : DONE!!! Hip Hip Hooray!
2) Decorate my whole house: Getting there, slowly but surely
3) Bake presents for neighbors
4) Create family holiday recipes
5) Donate to a food drive
6) Pick a Christmas Angel to buy presents for
7) Get all our holiday shopping done BEFORE Christmas Eve (unlike the past 5 years Braden I have been together)
8) Play Christmas music all day long: My kids know about 10 songs by heart now (except Olivia says/mumbles 70% of the words wrong. "Oh Christmas Reef Oh Christmas Reef, mmnmhhmnmnhn branches!")
9) learn how to play at least one Christmas song on the piano with my kids
10) Go Christmas Caroling (my favorite thing because I can't sing) & have hot chocolate
11) Do Secret 12 days of Christmas
12) Go to Midnight Mass
13) Watch the Grinch movies with the kids
14) Read them a Christmas book every night: Not every night, but we're getting there
15) Make an advent calendar for the kids to play
16) Write letters to Santa
17) Make Santa cookies
18) Make gingerbread houses & people: We made the dough last night and will cut out our shapes & bake today! I used this recipe, they taste fabulous
19) Watch The Nutcraker: We're combining this with the one below
20) Have a Sugar Plum Fairy Tea Party with the girls I can't wait for this one! I'm gathering inspiration & supplies and it will be amazing!
21) Get a real Christmas tree & decorate it with the kids Yay! We did this one last week and it looks so good! And Hip Hip Hooray for shatterproof ornaments!
22) Get mini trees for the kids rooms
23) Do Christmas pictures
24) Send out Christmas cards BEFORE Christmas (are you seeing a pattern?)
25) and last but not least, ENJOY the season this year instead of stressing and missing out on the spirit of the holidays. Not doing well on this one. I've had a stress headache for a week now, but I'm trying to breathe through it all.

We still have a ways to go, but I'm determined to have fun this week, and get even more stuff crossed off my list. I'm stilll trying to decide on what gingerbread house I want to make. I'm thinking a 60's post-modern gingerbread house designed by some Scandinavian renowned architect


Or I should go buy this book




Oh the choices. All I know is it's going to be fabulous. Mark my words.