Today I was thinking about the best Christmas gifts! I asked my husband what he thinks the best Christmas gift is… he responded with…”something homemade!” I usually make about 75% of the gifts I give for Christmas… from aprons and ornaments to PJ pants, blankets, and hoodies. This year that is NOT going to happen. I wish it was and it makes me really sad that I wont have the time to make all my homemade things…

After I had this discussion with him I asked… well…what do you think are the best store bought gifts? He responded with “food!” They say the way to  a mans heart is through this stomach. Guess they are right!

Anyway, here a few of my favorite things to give and receive at Christmas time!

1. Of course! Christmas ornaments! You already know why I love Christmas ornaments

2.PJs! Everybody should have a new pair of PJs for Christmas eve! Its been a tradition in my family! The past few years I’ve made everyone a new pair… but this year the store will have to do!

3. Books… well if you don’t know what kind of book they like grab a gift card! My husband and I can go and spend hours in a book store… (note to self: we haven’t done that in a while… must do soon!)

My favorite book! If you've read this one then you must read Half Broke Horses! Love it too!

OR

buy the nook! My husband and I have the old nook and love it! The new one has so many new and great features! Perfect gift for an avid reader!

But you know… I think the best gift of all is time… time to spend with the ones you love and to enjoy life… As an adult I am realizing how precious time is and how fast it goes by.

What do you think are the best Christmas gifts?

One of mine and my moms most favorite things to do is design center pieces for tables… especially at Christmas! You can make some fabulous center pieces for hardly nothing! The dollar store, Big Lots, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart all have great cheap decorative pieces.  About 90% of these pieces are from one of those four places. (Sorry the pictures aren’t great but I’m working on it.)

Table runner, two fiber optic snowmen from big lots, and a center piece with red balls from the dollar store! Super easy and fun!

We took some glass containers that were already around the house. Then we filled them with things from Kmart, Big Lots, and things you can find in your back yard!

SUPER EASY! The red balls are actually all on a string! You normally would put those around a Christmas tree or in some garland. She just alternated with the small green balls.

We were a little unsure of the red snowflakes in the store (Big Lots) but we bought them anyways. They ended up giving a great color contrast with the pinecones. The two red birds topped it off.

This is a coffee table one...I love this one... the little elves are so much fun to decorate with. Just grab a vase from under the counter and fill with Christmas balls or whatever you have left over from decorating your tree!

This piece is actually on one of my bathroom counters. Once again, just a vase with some left over dollar store ornaments!

This is in an entry way at my moms. The little red balls are actually Jingle bells with glitter... I love anything with glitter on it

Yesterday we decided to make one of my Grandma’s FAMOUS fruit cakes. Fruit cakes are a holiday staple at our house! We love them… but that’s a blog post for the future! Here’s a couple sneak peak pictures!

lol my crazy sister... you have to mix a lot of it with your hands... and well... she was our mixer!

Oh hello breakfast for the next few months! YUM! (You can freeze part of it and eat it all through out the year!)

Tomorrow I will be posting some Christmas center piece ideas that you can make fairly cheap! and at some point a tutorial for a great Christmas gift!

It was brought to my attention that I didn’t leave the best instructions on how to leave a comment to win the ornament. SORRY!! So, I am going to extend the deadline for the comments!

You have until 10 PM Tuesday to enter.Simply leave a comment under Win A Christmas Ornament! It doesn’t have to be about your favorite Christmas ornament… it can be whatever!

You have until 10 PM eastern time Tuesday to win! Simply go register and comment here ! Hope you are enjoying the Christmas season!

If you need to get into the Christmas spirit then these may be just what you need!

USC VS AUBURN! SEC CHAMPIONSHIP!

LETS GO COCKS!

Instead of heading down I-20 to the game I will be rushing down I-20 back home from work! I better be home by kick off! lol

This weekend I am going to try and post a tutorial for a great Christmas gift!

Denver and I wanted to share some of the Christmas spirit with you guys! We went yesterday and picked up a few of our favorite Christmas items. From now until Christmas I will be giving away some great Christmas items! Most of the stuff is duplicate of something we have in our house and love!

So here we go!

I think Christmas ornaments are the best gifts ever! They are something you can treasure and keep forever.  My parents have always put movable ornaments on their tree. My favorite Christmas ornament is of a boy and girl sliding  down a banister. The boy and girl move up and down the lighted banister. We’ve have had this Christmas ornament for over 20 years. The reason why I love this ornament is because it reminds me of my cousin Bubba. My cousin Bubba was my first best friend growing up. We are 4 months apart and were joined at the hip. We were like peanut butter and jelly when we were little. I liked the crispy part of the chicken and he liked the inside.  We loved to get into the baby powder and cover ourselves in it… and I’m ashamed to say that we got caught playing in the toliet not too long after we learned how to walk. We both loved Christmas trees when we were little (and still do )I remember sitting with Bubba and watching the boy and girl as a toddler. We would always say “That’s Bubba and Flossy getting in trouble again!”  (and usually we were getting into something!) I think of those days every time I look at that Christmas ornament and it just warms my heart.

So, whats your favorite Christmas ornament? You can click on comment link below and post your answer.

By posting your answer you will be entered to win this Christmas ornament:

We have this ornament on our tree. It is of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. The light bounces off of it beautifully and would look great on your tree! We chose this ornament because it reminds us of what Christmas is truly about… the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

You have until Sunday at 10 PM eastern time to enter for your chance to win! You can enter up to 3 times and a winner will be selected randomly. (You might have 3 favorite ornaments… lol)
In order to post, you’ll need to register here and then post a comment.

REAL OR FAKE???

This past weekend we got our very first tree! Denver and I have always had a disagreement about getting a real or fake tree. Denver has always had a real tree… I have always had a fake tree… Well, we ompromised. We went to the tree farm and got a real tree and I went to Wal-Mart with my mom and got a fake one too. lol I have to say the real one is prettier than the fake.

Ever since I started dating Denver we have gone out to Papa John Tree Farm and picked out a tree for his family. They are the nicest people and we love buying a tree from them.

They had the PERFECT one!

Denver found this one and fell in love!

My family has always had a 9ft Christmas tree. When we bought our house with the tall ceilings I knew my family tradition would carry on.

We went out Papa Johns and picked out one of the biggest trees they had… An 11ft Frasier Fir… they looked at us like we were crazy when we pulled around Denver’s Jeep, but they managed to fit it on there.

Luckily, Denver didn’t mind the big tree because it has always been his dream to have a big real tree… We were so EXCITED!

It has been a tradition to go by the Bantum Chef for dinner after we pick out a tree! We carried on that tradition with a delicious burger and some wings to go! We really enjoyed the wings while we watched the Gamecocks whip up on our rivals! Go Cocks!

We carried the tree into the house and had an interesting time putting it up… but we managed It took us 2 hours Saturday night to just get it up and it took 7 hours to decorate it. It was a lot of work but soooo worth it! Somehow we managed to not kill each other in the process!

Yesterday I decorated the fake tree! I got a flocked tree from wal-mart.  It looks like it has snow all over it! We love it! (but not as much as the real tree). I still have to make the bow for the top but otherwise it’s pretty much finished. I’ll post a picture after we get the bow on top!

I love to decorate for Christmas! I think I get it from my mom. Every year she and my dad would make the house look like something out of a story book… it was always so magical. I just got off the phone with her and she said she has every corner of the house decorate! I can’t wait to go see it! I hope that I can carry on that tradition with my family.

Denver is going to be working on the outside of the house this weekend while I’m at work… I can’t wait until he gets everything decorated!

We got the tree up this past weekend…. or I guess I should say trees… We are so excited!! I’ll post more about it tomorrow! and I have some things to give away! I am in the Christmas spirit and will be having some Christmas items to give away between now and Christmas! Make sure to stop back by for a chance to win them!!