Making the Holidays Fun Again

For the last few years, I've felt indifferent about the holidays. I think a big part of it was that the grandsons are no longer small children. So this year I decided to change things up with the hope of making the holidays fun again.

The first step was doing something different for Thanksgiving. In the last post, you can read about our holiday weekend in Branson with my daughter's family. It was so much fun and really helped get me out of my holiday funk.

Since then, I've been busy making some changes to my holiday decorations; doing a new Advent calendar with my youngest grandson; and enjoying new-to-me holiday foods and drinks. All of wish are definitely making this year's holiday season a lot more fun!

Our new family of deer replace a small
snowman that used to sit on our porch.

Our table-top tree full of owl ornaments
got a new tree skirt, which is a tthrow
we've had for years.

The mantel decor is completely different
from previous years all due to the precious
deer canvas I found at Pier 1. Although
the trees, stocking holders, and stockings
where all part of the old decor, too. 

My Jim Shore Santas used to just sit on that
white linen towel. This year I added
the limited-edition framed triple-matted
Santa print I scored at a garage sale years ago
and a sled I found at Pier 1.

This display case still holds my Jim Shore
nativity scene as well as my Lego Holiday Village sets.
(This year's set is the train station, which is on the bottom
center shelf.) But this year I added lights to each shelf
and a white faux fur throw to the chair.

After much research, I finally found
an affordable Advent calendar, made
more affordable as a Cyber Monday
Target special, that didn't include candy.

Each day is a different 3D cardboard
holiday image. This tree was Day 1.

Here are just a few holiday items
I got at Trader Joe's yesterday. Between
yesterday afternoon and this morning,
I've tried all of them and am very
happy with my haul. 

After seeing stroopwafels on YouTube
for several years, I finally bought them.
I heated my first stroopwafel over my
peppermint tea as it steeped. I had to use
my cake tester because my mug was
so large. You don't want the stroopwafel
to fall into the drink. It was delicious!