Christmas this year has been very low-key in my household. For one, I have been so busy with work and haven’t had time to fully decorate and immerse myself into my usual Christmas routines. Secondly, my kids are a bit older now and they don’t get as excited over some of the Christmas traditions we are accustomed to doing as a family. And finally, many of you know about my big move in the summer to a much smaller home. Well, I honestly still haven’t quite settled into our new home, many rooms are still pretty bare, and so the usual Christmas decorating bug didn’t hit me quite as hard this year.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still very much in the Christmas spirit, we are just celebrating in a much different way this year.
One major reason for the change in Christmas routines is that my family has gotten a bit bigger this year. I met a new beau a few months ago and we have been dating since August. I am finally meeting his two children for the first time, and so they are spending Christmas at my home. I really wanted them to immediately feel like they are a part of my family, and so I waited to decorate, so they could help pick out a tree, decorate it and put up lights etc. I decided to step back and just let them have fun decorating the tree without worrying about what it will look like afterwards. It is very difficult to do that when you are a Decorator, but I think they did a great job 
Here’s what they did:
Christmas Tree and Mantel Decor
We went from three stockings to six at the mantel. The kids added the live garland with lights (with my help) and they got to pick out all the ornaments they wanted to use. We even went shopping for a family ornament together. One that we’ll use year after year. It is a mini cloche with a bird on a branch…..very cute.
Family Ornament
They were so excited about decorating the tree! I went out shopping for last minute gifts and came back to the this:
Stair Rail
The kids strung lights up the stair rail. They are officially excited to be here! Yay!!! That’s all I really wanted!
Of course both my nativity scenes had to be prominently placed by the fireplace hearth. This one was a gift from my late husband about 12 years ago. The Shepherd broke a few years ago, but I still put it out every year….usually with a bit more decorative pizzazz. But it wouldn’t be Christmas in my home without it.
Nativity Scene
This other nativity scene was also a gift from a friend. In years past, I would have placed it in a bookshelf or a table top, but this year I left it by the fireplace.
Nativity Scene
We are planning for the next few days leading up to Christmas to do some super fun stuff! Saturday afternoon we went ice-skating (at least the kids did. Sunday we went to church and then for a nice lunch, and tonight we are planning to go look at Christmas lights around the city – that should be fun!
So we are finally ready for Christmas Day…..although there are just a few more gifts to wrap. The kids are all super excited to open their many presents. I am really excited just to see their reactions. The most important gift that I would like to share with them while they are in my care is the true reason for why we celebrate Christmas. The special heavenly gift that was so lovingly given to mankind over 2000 years ago, is still as important and relevant today as it was back then.
Ever since my kids were very young, I would read them the Christmas story from The Bible (Matthew 1:18-23) before they open presents on Christmas Morning. I don’t care how old they get, that tradition will always remain and hopefully passed on to the next generation
In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, I did manage to make a short Christmas video for my clients, fans and followers on social media. Take a look, and please give a thumbs up if you liked it.
I will do my best to keep blogging for the rest of the year, but I will be mostly working on mapping out my plans for my business for 2014 and beyond.
What are some of your big plans and goals for 2014?
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all the best the season has to offer. Hoping the new year will be filled with love, joy, peace, good health and prosperity.
Please feel free to connect with me and contact me here. You can also find links to my online store and my design portfolio there.
Have a marvelous Monday!
Be Inspired!
Veronica Solomon