Friday, December 9, 2016

December Wishlist


The same amount of time as every other month and this one always flies by.  So many things to fit into this joyful season.  Our wish list of things to do this month is always longer than the rest - how can you not love this time of the year??  

We're a decent bit into December and we've already done a bunch of the classic things we love - get the house decorated (inside & out), have some Christmas shopping dates (we aren't done with shopping - but getting close!), watch all of the christmas movies, enjoy the tree all lit up, moving the advent calendar day to day, 


  • Christmas Lights Night:  We love packing Stella up, sipping hot chocolate, listening to Christmas music and driving through the neighborhoods to look at all the displays finishing up at a big display that a local park does.
  • Hosting:  It's our last Christmas in this house and while I can't wait for our first one in the new house, I still want to host a few times here - a few different friends nights, Christmas Eve Eve dinner with family, and big family football night.
  • The Nutcracker:  We started this last year and are hoping to make it a tradition each year.  I was in the Nutcracker growing up so after many years of not seeing it, we finally went last year, saw some of the Christmas city sights and had a nice dinner - same itinerary is set for this year.
  • Stella's Santa Photo: It's stupid, it's not needed but I love it.  This is the second year we took Stella to get a picture on Santa's lap and it's always quite the experience.
  • Wrapping: It's not for everyone but I love wrapping up all the gifts - I try to start early so it's still fun and not rushed.  We set up a little wrapping station, I pick out a theme each year (the container store has the best paper!) and pick out my ribbon for the bows.
  • Bowl Games: We have a family bowl pool with about 20 or so of us filling out a bracket for the college football bowl games.  This year Penn State is in the "grandaddy of them all" and we're headed to Pasadena to see them play in the Rose Bowl! 
  • Another City: I love seeing all the decorations and am always wanting to visit another city in December - with all there is to do this month, we rarely travel but usually make it up to NYC for a night, which we're hoping to fit in! If not, we'll take in the California decorations!
  • Lazy 26th: One of my favorite things is having a lazy, stay in pj's all day, look back at your gifts, watch movies, eat a good warm meal kind of day on the 26th.  After all the chaos it's nice for a quiet day and we always plan just that the day after Christmas.  
  • Everything Else: Baking cookies (I've picked one Friday with no plans to get some early baking in!), a carriage ride, final shopping - no matter how early I shop, I always end up in the mall that final week it seems, angel tree gifts, Christmas movies night, sending Christmas cards (already checked off the list!)

I'm definitely most excited for the main event - I'm in charge of Christmas Eve breakfast - a crockpot casserole and cinnamon rolls (this recipe is so easy and requires no yeast!) dinner at our favorite restaurant then walking over to church on Christmas Eve, time spent opening presents under the tree with our favorite Christmas brunch after and a big family party with everyone that night to finish off the day. 

If you're still in need of gifts to give checkout my full Christmas gift guide here, splurge vs save gift chide here, stocking gift guide here and gifts for the home/hostess here.

What are you most looking forward to this month? xx

10 comments:

  1. I love that you're going to the Rose Bowl this year! That's going to be an amazing trip - jealous! Happy Friday :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE driving around looking at lights, we still so it with our teens!! Such a precious time of year! Happy festive weekend girl!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. One of my favorite things about the holidays used to be driving around looking at all the lights. Now I just go to one of the theme parks for lights haha! And yes to all the Bowl Games! We're going to a crappy one this year but at least we made it to one! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are all great traditions!! We have several similar ones and we always look forward to them. Is it just me or is this year's Christmas season flying by?! We have a lot to fit into the next two weeks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the idea of your lazy 26th and of course Christmas Eve-Eve dinner. Awesome traditions <3
    Green Fashionista

    ReplyDelete
  6. I absolutely love everything that you've done already and everything that you're hoping to do! I might take Finn to PetSmart tomorrow to meet Santa ... I'm a little nervous how he'll react (lol), but I think the photo op is too good to pass up!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's so excited you guys are making it out to the Rose Bowl! I love everything you have on your wish list, and hope you get to check everything off! Wrapping presents in my favorite, and I like to get it done as early as possible to enjoy them under the tree. It's so fun you get Stella's picture with Santa - I bet that is an experience. Happy Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. There is always so many fun things to do in December and not enough time to get it in! Y'all have a fun list - hope you have a great weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. We have very similar bucket/wish lists. We love driving around and looking at the lights. We are doing that with my girls tomorrow night. And santa photos are a must. We used to do them with Walter and I want to take him out and do that again. Stella is your pet child and you should do it yearly!!! Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I used to always go to the Nutcracker when I was little and it is always a treat to go now and watch the show. It is just magical and festive. Jess at Just Jess

    ReplyDelete