We are READY for Christmas over here at the Miller residence!!  Having kids during the holiday season makes everything so much sweeter.  I have thoroughly enjoyed creating traditions for Aylah to look forward to each year and to share together as a family.  Here are just a few of the traditions that we do around here:
– Lego Advent with Daddy when he gets home from work
– “12 Days of Christmas” books … Unwrap a new book each night before bed and read it under the tree
– Christmas Eve … family unwraps new jammies before bed
– Christmas Eve … Aylah unwraps a new special stuffy (we love Jellycat in this house!)

And of course the Activity Advent Calendar for the month of December which contains a ton of our traditions.  Some really fun mentionables are …
– Bake Cookies with Nana
– Drive around and look at Christmas lights (in jammies, with popcorn)
– Family Game Night (unwrap a brand new game)
– Decorate Aylah’s special tree for her room
– Christmas music dance party before bed
– Make and mail Christmas cards for friends
– Stay up late to watch Charlie Brown and the Grinch (with popcorn)
– Decorate a gingerbread house
– Have pancakes for dinner
– Set up the nativity with Gramee
– Special shopping dates with Mommy and Daddy to pick out a gift for the other from Aylah

December is a VERY busy month for us … and I wouldn’t have it any other way!!
I love sharing these special memories with my baby girl … and I hope she will carry on some of these traditions when she has a family of her own.

Here’s a look at our festive cheer around the Miller residence …

I really get a kick out of the fact that I can buy the exact same gift for my 5 year old daughter and my 36 year old husband and I know they will play with them together … LOL!  #kidatheart

Found this beautiful advent calendar at HomeSense last year … it’s exactly what I was looking for!!  This will stay in the family for a long long time!!

So I’m a bit obsessed with Christmas trees … our total count this year is 6, and I don’t promise that number won’t be higher next year, lol. #doublenegative #sorrynotsorry

I get to look at this beauty in my office while I’m working every day …

This is my mom’s special silver tree that’s in the loft just outside of her room.  Her grandma had a silver tree when she was growing up and it was always a special part of her childhood.  They have become very rare nowadays but I managed to get my hands on this guy a couple of years ago when we first got keys to this house. Craig and I decided to surprise mom with it for our first Christmas in our forever home.  Her and Aylah decorate it together and it is made up of a mixture of old sentimental ornaments and new homemade kid crafts … it’s perfect.
Also … there may or may not be a small cat face hiding underneath, lol.  Molly LOVES sleeping under this tree!

This is Aylah’s special tree that’s in her bedroom.  Growing up I remember having trees with these candy coloured lights.  As an adult I prefer the timeless and classy look of all white lights, but I really love the nostalgia I get from Aylah’s little tree.

Aylah’s tree is filled with special ornaments that she gets from each of us every year.  She is just this year starting to really value the sentiment of them and it’s beautiful to see her carefully unwrap each one from it’s protective tissue and gently hang it far back on the branches so the “cats don’t get them.” Lol

I’ve always dreamed of having a staircase I could drape garland around.  Putting all of this up is a pain in the rear but I enjoy looking at it so much and I’m so grateful that I have the right space to do it now!

Sneaky little trick confession …

Last year I lit it all with those battery operated strands, it worked okay, but the lights were kinda dim, and got dimmer by the day as the batteries wore out (and it took 20 AA batteries to do the whole staircase I might add), and each unit has 4 mini screws on the back for the batteries … Who has time for that nonsense.  So I got creative this year.  I wanted to figure out a way that I could plug the whole operation into the wall, BUT that strand on the right is pretty much in the middle of no where … these is no wall outlet anywhere near it without running the cord straight across the hallway floor.
SO … I ran the lights from the right side over to the left side at the base of the stairs and covered it with a spare piece of baseboard I had lying around.  Temporarily tacked it up, and Bob’s your uncle.  Problem solved.  #worksmarternotharder

Stay tuned on my Facebook Page later today where I’ll be having a little Christmas tree contest with some great prizes!