When your kid asks for candy cane fingernails and this is what you get.  Wow, sometimes I forget how hard it is to paint a toddlers nails.  The smear everywhere game makes me want to avoid this for another year.

We are already fully immersed in Christmas over here.  I just wanted to leap right in a couple weeks ago.  Maybe it’s because I want it to be cold and cozy and Thanksgiving was in the 80s this year.  At least, I was able to host my guests outdoors on the big farm table!  So, I couldn’t wait another second to get my tree once Thanksgiving was over.  We found a nice local tree lot, with cowboys cutting our trees and lots of huge beautiful spruces to choose from.  I forgot the wonderful smell of a Christmas tree filling my house; the last three years we had a fake one.  I just realized I need to water my tree.  Uh oh, that’s going to be hard to remember.

My favorite part about getting the tree home and opening up all the boxes of decorations is letting my little Christmas elf go hog wild around the house.  She decorates like no other and watching the ideas shift around is hilarious as a mother.  Like having mystery candy canes in Uggs and a candy cane hunt.  Or my little pony camp outs in the Christmas tree.  I should journal those.  What’s your favorite kind of tree?  I have to say this one is lighting my fire from the cover of Better Homes and Gardens!

Those glittery house ornaments have my name on them!

Don’t forget if you have little ones to do salt dough hand and foot print ornaments.  It’s the easiest craft and makes the sweetest ornaments.  Willow’s is showcased above on our tree in green and gold.  I have several on the tree and they are by far my favorites.  I paint mine with acrylic paints after they bake and cool and sprinkle glitter in the hand print indentation.  It helps to make it stand out.

Happy Tree Hunting!