Thanksgiving was clear last year, but for my own record I wanted to post pictures of the day. Thanks to Brother in Law Matt we got some 'before' shots of both the grown up table and the kids dining room... above tablecloth was compliments of the WalMart fabric department, simple ticking fabric
each napkin was tied with a label that our guest used to write something he or she was grateful for.
we enjoyed have several families join us this year, and let them bring part of our delicious dinner. John and I each cooked a turkey; mine was roasted and John's smoked. Both were absolutely delicious. Above you see Brother in Law Dean look on as my older brother Aaron helps John with the massive mound of mashed potatoes.
Sisters Jessica and Jen brought delicious veggies; the brussel sprouts were seriously so good, I'm craving them as I write this.
We've never sat so many for dinner, and it was great to find out that we could swap furniture from our library and piano room, making space for our large swedish dining table right in front of the piano room's picture window. I loved this setting for a dinner party and I'll use this arrangement again and again now that I see it can work.
AND NOW ON TO CHRISTMAS!
My entire goal this year was to make decorating more simple and impactful. I didn't want to spend so much time putting up or taking down 'the season'. My hope was to give away an entire box of decorations, and I almost made it. It was still a beast to take down, but it was easier than in years past so I'll keep working on it to pear down and simplify year after year.
The feather trees are a huge addition this year, as I've decided to stop having a 'formal tree' upstairs and a 'kid's tree' down. Next year these white vintage trees will hold some of the most sentimental ornaments from the 'formal tree' and I'll let go of a tradition that became more cumbersome than valuable.
Our advent buckets continue to be the prized tradition-probably because it means that for an entire 25 days our children begin each morning with a piece of candy :)
I love this tradition because each day's bucket not only reveals a sweet and special treat (I begin collecting 'different' kinds of candy all the way back in October.) but there is a message or a scripture or an invitation for our family to come closer to a Christ centered Christmas in some way. This year we also added 'giving days' where an extra bag of candy was found in the bucket and we thought during our morning scripture time of someone we wanted to share it with. The kids then delivered the little treat with an anonymous note of gratitude to that person. My favorite recipients were some neighbors we dearly love and our school's secretary...fun to hear the kids decide who needed a little lift that day, a little extra sweet 'Merry Christmas'
Our snowmen are still actually on the mantle. Today I'll replace them with Valentines hearts, but they stay up 'all winter' and have become a fun collection for me. When I see a just perfect snowman I bring him home to become part of this little collection.
This year's other additions were several boxwood wreaths. I gave away several other wreaths I've had for other homes in year's past and just put these small ones over our pictures and mirrors, tied with apple green satin ribbon. I really liked the simplicity of this decoration, and I'll use it again and again.
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