This weekend marks the start of December and we are into the Christmas spirit full force. Tatum is at a fun age so we're looking forward to doing a lot with him. We have so many wonderful traditions that we look forward to plus a couple new ones this year.
Christmas Tree Picking & Decorating + House Decorating:
We've already checked this one off our list. We went to a local farm to get our tree and got it in the stand with lights. Tuesday night we finally decorated it. It was a slow process but the house is decorated inside as well as out now too.
Christmas Lights Night:
I love the night we do this. We'll either eat a fun meal at home or go out. We usually stop by a local park that's all lit up and Tatum can run around and look then we'll drive through a few neighborhoods including our own!
Christmas Giving:
Tis the season for giving. We enjoyed doing Operation Christmas Child for the first time - Tatum did four boxes. We always enjoy donating to the food bank especially this time of the year. We're hosting a Christmas Party in a few weeks and asking guests to join us in donating so we're hoping for a big drop off! We always love shopping for our angel tree gifts at church, in fact we're doing that tomorrow.
The Nutcracker & Other Date Nights:
It's such a fun season for date nights and we have a couple good ones planned. Like always we'll go into the city to see The Nutcracker and have a nice dinner - we'll probably spend some time enjoying the Christmas Village in the city before. We're also going into the city another night to see The Grinch on Broadway and hoping to squeeze in a date night too.
Santa Visit(s):
We're taking Tatum for his official mall Santa visit on Friday but like last year I'm sure we'll probably see Santa a few other times. We also take Tatum and Stella to a local Christmas Village in town on the "dog night" so Stella can go too! Tatum has a brunch with Santa and a Christmas train ride planned too.
North Pole Breakfast & Other Kid Things:
This is my favorite because it's all new to us this year! We had our North Pole Breakfast with our Elf already. Tatum's room is decorated and he has a little play tree as well as the little people manger. Tons of Christmas books and a couple interactive stuffed animals too. We'll show him how to move the advent calendar each day, do some crafts - hopefully some for gifts and have a little Christmas movie night fun for him.
Gingerbread House Making:
This was new for us last year and Derek & I had such fun making the gingerbread houses. We'll let Tatum "help" a little bit but he also has a Gingerbread Wonderland event at our country club too. We never got around to making gingerbread cookies last year so we're hoping to do that.
Local Activities:
So many activities and we're hoping to pack in as many as possible - tree lightings, a live nativity, Santa parades, a caroling hayride, Christmas lights at the zoo, Longwood Gardens - a place filled with gorgeous flowers and Christmas displays... The list goes on and on.
Christmas Cheer & Cookies:
We'll try to space the baking out this year - lots of cookies to be made. Christmas Cheer is our family's Christmas drink and it's delicious - I look forward to it each year.
Christmas Cards:
Our Christmas cards have arrived and it's time to just package them and get them in the mail soon. I ordered a new card display holder this year to display the ones we get - I love checking the mail this time of the year.
Hosting & Such:
We have a fun Christmas Eve Eve dinner with family and it's probably my favorite day of the year. Derek and I like to try to have an appetizer or take out night by our living room tree a couple times each season. We'll be hosting a Christmas party and I'd love to have an additional happy hour or family dinner.
I always look forward to our Christmas meals - Christmas Eve breakfast and dinner and same on the next day.
New York City:
We skipped this last year because of Tatum but this year we're going to take him with us and I'm SO excited. Taking him to see the tree, the newly opened FAO Schwartz, some good meals, a carriage ride and shopping are on the to do list.
Everything Else:
Gift shopping, cookie baking, music & movies, family Christmas dinner(s), wrapping...