The holidays are officially here! Once the calendar reaches November, everything holiday related is fair game. Christmas music is a must. Christmas books fill my TBR list. Mid-November the fall décor gets swapped for Christmas. But don’t think that Thanksgiving gets forgotten! We’re coming off of three days of gatherings with family and friends. My fridge is full of leftovers and pie is on the menu morning, noon, and night. We are definitely grateful for the joy this season brings!
A highlight of November was the Operation Christmas Child shoebox assembly party we had with our homeschool co-op. Our group donned a mix of Christmas sweaters, Christmas pajamas, and comfy clothes and we blasted Christmas tunes. Instead of doing our own gift exchange, we opted to make filling shoeboxes the main focus of our Christmas party this year. We played a few Christmas games and nibbled on yummy treats. The boys love Operation Christmas Child. It’s always exciting to see where our box ends up each year. The kids prayed over their boxes as they selected what they hoped would be the perfect gift for a child across the world. It’s such a joy to share this experience with my kids and to do it as a part of our co-op.
We decorated for Christmas the weekend before Thanksgiving. Some people have strong feelings about when Christmas décor should come out… but I am not one of them… I love getting a full month of Christmas cheer out of our decorations. Every year the boys put up little trees in their bedrooms. These trees are filled with their annual ornaments. Opening each ornament box is like a walk down memory lane. It’s sweet to see the things they’ve loved over the years. Mickey Mouse, Daniel Tiger, Thomas the Tank Engine, Super Mario, Buzz and Woody, LEGO creations – they all have a space on the trees. This year the ornaments were Minecraft themed which fits with their birthday celebrations and Halloween costumes. I love the extra light the Christmas tree gives our living room during this dark time of year. The house always feels so cozy once Christmas is in place.
Our family has been watching our friend, Megan, compete on the Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network. Megan won week two with a peanut butter honey cinnamon pie and Jeremy declared this was the pie he was going to make for Thanksgiving this year. The boys were equally excited to create Megan’s winning pie so it became a team effort. I documented because there can only be so many bakers in the kitchen. Jeremy was committed to following the recipe precisely and the results were spectacular! It’s no wonder Megan won with this beauty. It was neat to connect with Megan and the show by recreating this recipe at home. It was also special to share the pie with family and friends who are also watching the show and cheering for Megan. This pie certainly evaluated our Thanksgiving dessert table this year!
It’s hard to believe that December is here! Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and Christmas is full steam ahead. We have a month full of Christmas commitments. For church, we have a Christmas musical weekend and a float in the local lighted tractor parade. We also have a couple of church Christmas parties in the mix. We only have a small amount of Christmas shopping done as we prepare for family celebrations at the end of the month. We have a few family adventures planned as well. We’re going to be hopping through all the holiday festivities! I’m looking forward to all the ways we get to celebrate this Christmas (especially if we can be healthy and have dry weather – fingers crossed and prayers appreciated)!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 