Ready for Christmas

Can you believe that we only have four more days until Christmas? The past month has flown by, hasn't it? Life in the Nagle5 household has been so busy this past month...broken bones just seemed par for the course. Still, as Christmas fast approaches, I find myself in the unfamiliary position of actually being ready. Really! Can you believe it?   Let me repeat this for you:  I am ready for Christmas.

Our Halloween spider became a Christmas spider...doesn't every home need one?

The last of my Christmas cards were mailed off today and one last present made it into the mail, as well. The presents are wrapped and waiting to be placed under the tree Christmas Eve. The food for Christmas has already been planned and purchased. Even our dress-up clothes are selected and ready for Christmas Day. All we have to do is clean the house and we're good to go.

Weird, isn't it?

The pumpkins on the cabinets were replaced with Christmas trees.

I must confess, this never happens to me. We're the family that wraps presents Christmas Eve and sends out a New Year's letter because I never quite got my Christmas cards out. Will this happen again next year? I doubt it...lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice very often, now does it.

The Fall-themed decor gave way to beloved Christmas decorations.

Superman is on his way home to us as I type this. Yes, my hero will be home for the holidays this year. The whole family is so excited, we can barely contain ourselves. 

Christmas cards get hung on the door as they arrive...
mistletoe can trap the unwary guest, too!

So, with two days to wait before he gets here, I decided to share a little of what we've been up to this last month.

I even used the Silhouette machine to make gingerbread men...too fun!

The Santa-fication process is definitely complete...there isn't a room in the house that has been left untouched.  Now, if  Christmas would just hurry up and get here!!!

I'm so NOT that woman...

If you are the kind of woman who makes beautiful hand-made Christmas cards, I am so in awe of you.  Seriously.  I am not you.  Not even close.  I admire you tremendously.  I used to have grand plans for somehow being organized and inspired enough to make beautiful Christmas cards for all of the people on my Christmas card mailing list.  This summer I finally let go of those visions of myself...I shipped all of my scrapbook paper to my sister...and let go of the pressure.

None of this means, however, that I don't want to send out pretty Christmas cards, even if they're store bought cards.  Every year, at the After Christmas sales, I buy my Christmas cards for the next year.  I've learned to put them in with the pre-tree household decorations, so that I have them when I'll actually need them.  (Oh, and if you're wondering if I've ever lost Christmas cards by doing it this way, the answer is YES.  Putting them with my "pre-tree" decorations means they come out when the initial Christmas decorations come out and they're ready for me to use at the beginning of December.)

Last week, I pulled out the Christmas cards I bought after Christmas last year and thought they were, well, plain.  Boring.  Ho-Hum.  Then it occurred to me that I could be like that woman who has that cooking show that is about half home-made (or something like that--I haven't actually seen it).  I could have store-bought cards with a little bit of home-made sparkle.

One dollar and half an hour later (a half hour during which I watched/listened to the Sing-Off with my kids), I'd embellished my Christmas cards.  Glitter was successfully added to Santa's hat, sleeves, and coat.  I love the way they turned out (even though the pictures are terrible!).

So, I'm not that woman, the woman I secretly long to be, but I am the woman who took the time to add a little oomph to my family's Christmas cards.  As compromises go, this one definitely works for me.

Cut yourself some slack and "cut corners"...semi-home-made is good enough...really!