MERRY AND BRIGHT

I found this little Santa Clause at my neighbor's estate sale last summer.  Among a sea of knick knacks, I had to take this little guy home with me.  It made me feel better knowing that in some small way their Christmas memories are living on.

I made this paper chain last year (see here).  My brother and I used to make a paper chain every year for Christmas and string it all over my parent's house.  I want to continue the tradition.

Wade bought me this carousel for my birthday a few years ago.  It reminds me of the one in NYC when I visited my sister and always makes me smile.

There is always such a rush to put up the Christmas decorations.  Bringing out the tree, the lights, and special ornaments are what tell us that this magical season is upon us again. 

It always goes by too fast.  That's why we end up leaving the decorations up wayyyyy past the socially acceptable date.  In my mind, there's no rush to take things down and box up the magic for another year.

So I wanted to share these pictures before it's too late and everyone has moved on to the next thing.  Once again, the pictures don't seem to represent how lovely it is in person, but at least it's a way to jog my memory for years to come.

Tonight we'll have my parents over for Christmas Eve dinner, like grown-ups (even though we're making my mom bring over the main course--it's better to not even try to compete).  Then we'll head over to my parent's house after church to spend the night and wake up in the morning like a couple of kids.  I love the tradition of spending the night at my parent's house on Christmas Eve.  Some things are too good to outgrow. 

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you, and I hope your days are filled with love and magic:)