It's Christmas Time Breakfast

I worked very hard on Saturday to get the Christmas decorations up.  I knew I needed the breakfast room ready for our biennial "It's Christmas Time Breakfast"!  Yes, biennial!  Why?  Well, our elves only come every other year, and we welcome them at our "It's Christmas Time Breakfast".  Yep, I cannot handle elf fun EVERY year, so my poor kids are elf deprived every other year!  It is ok.  They really lose interest after the 1st week (and so do I), so it works for our family!

I really try to have fun on this special breakfast morning!  Northpole cupcakes, snow covered doughnuts, peppermint hot chocolate,  bagels & cream cheese,  granola & yogurt parfaits, and real bacon (to satisfy to oldest child)!  I am sure glad it is Sunday and we are off to church!  Sorry, Sunday school teachers for the sugar high!!

After church, Tyler helped me put out the yard decorations and hang the window wreaths and garland. JM made it home from work to help us decorated the breakfast room tree.  It is full of the ornaments we have been given over the years or the kids have made.  The kids love to find their ornaments in the boxes and hang them. 

 The tree is actually decorated pretty evenly now that I have kids of all heights!

 The tallest of them all decorated the star!  Let it be noted that I really don't like it, but it is not worth the effort to get it down!!!  Therefore, we have an Auburn Star on top of the tree!

I hauled our big, formal, 6-year-old-pre-lit tree to the curb last year after battling the lights for the entire month!  When half of the lights did not work on Christmas morning, I said get it out of here!  We decided to give the real tree thing a shot this year.  We have not had a real tree since 2003 in Baltimore when we went out and cut down our little tree.  In my mind that was the plan for this year, but our busy life with teenagers got in the way.  I gave up and called my friend whose husband owns one of the tree lots in town.  He picked it out, delivered it and set it up for me!  That is what friends are for!!!!!

I LOVE IT!  It has not bothered my allergies, it looks beautiful, and it is not losing needles!  It is perfect!  We will definitely keep buying a real tree for the front room!  Maybe next year we will even go cut our own tree!

A Few of My Favorite Christmas Things

#1 Simply wrapped packages under the tree.

 #2 Santa praying over baby Jesus. 

 #3 Stocking hung on the mantel over a FIRE.

Merry Christmas to JM & me!

 #4 Nativity Scenes…I just love them. 

 This one was given to us from JM's Dad.  It was JM grandparents, the Vermillions, nativity.  His granddad made the stable, and the figurines are all hand painted.

#5 Nativity Scenes...

Yes, I have many of them up this time of year.  This Willow Tree was my FIRST nativity scene.  I wished and dreamed for this collection for years!  I sent JM many hints over the years!  He finally got it for me, and I love it so much that I leave it up YEAR AROUND.  

#6 My festive, Santa adorned, breakfast room.  

This room is just about the sparkle and fun of Christmas time.  I love to share meals in this room with my sweet family.

#7 Stockings

The stockings on our chairs are from JM's other grandparents, The Treadwells.  They hung stockings in their house for each of their 3 kids & spouses, 8 grandkids & spouses, and numerous great-grandkids.  A few years ago, they gave each family their stockings as a Christmas gift.  Each stocking is different.  The grandkid stockings were each handmade the year they were born.