"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

May you feel His peace today and always!

I had to share this lovely post from Sandy, Reluctant Entertainer. What a beautiful way to preserve family memories.

Sandy writes......

When my mother passed away, I inherited a large box of some of her Christmas decorations. After a few years of lugging this box in out and out of the attic and re-taping it each time, the box literally started falling apart.

So last year as I was getting ready to recycle the box, I cut out my Mother’s precious writing of “Christmas” from it and tucked the piece away in my hutch for an entire year.

I couldn’t wait to pull it out this year, because I knew I had plans for this cardboard piece. It also reminded me of this song, and the power that heirlooms can hold in a family. When Amy Grant sang this popular song years ago, my good friends Debbie Meador, Jane Houston and I also sang it at our Christmas service. Little did I know, a few years later, the impact of these words after I lost my mom to cancer.

Up in the attic
Down on my knees
Lifetimes of boxes
Timeless to me
Letters and photographs
Yellowed with years
Some bringing laughter
Some bringing tears

Time never changes
The memories, the faces Of loved ones, who bring to me
All that I come from
And all that I live for
And all that I’m going to be
My precious family
Is more than an heirloom to me

Wisemen and shepherds
Down on their knees
Bringing their treasures
To lay at His feet
Who was this wonder, baby yet king
Living and dying
He gave life to me

Time never changes
The memory, the moment His love first pierced through me
Telling all that I come from
And all that I live for
And all that I’m going to be
My precious savior
Is more than an heirloom to me

My precious Jesus is more than an heirloom to me
(Sung by Amy Grant, here.)

My Mom, Millie, is very dear to my sisters’ and my heart, as we miss her very much. It’s very special how the memory of a loved one can live on through heirlooms, pictures, videos, letters, and even writing.

So this year, this is what I gave my sisters for Christmas.

I stenciled Mom’s writing of “Christmas” with a black Sharpie marker onto stencil paper.

Then I cut it and glued it onto a white glass plate.

I poured a high gloss finish onto the plate.

And used a hairdryer to get the bubbles out.

They are not perfect, but I think they turned out nice.

One for my sis Di, my sis Linda and me, with black plate stands to display and to keep Christmas alive, through our mom, in years to come, which hopefully we’ll pass down to our kids!

More than anything else, I’m thankful for my family at Christmastime. I feel blessed. Yes. Very blessed.

What have you done to preserve your special family heirlooms or memories?

(Thank you Kelli Novak, for the inspiration! You may also enjoy An Elegant Toga: Grandma’s Tablecloth, or a bit about sisterly love, or Can I please hold your hand? A Mother’s Day Gift. Above photo is my beautiful Mother and her mother, Grandma Dubs.)

My husband painted wooden frames with chalkboard paint and drilled holes to make holders for two pieces of chalk.

This chalkboard frame gave them an activity to keep busy while all the girls were arriving and also served as a holder for their picture with Santa. We took the pictures at the beginning and then during the party my son and husband printed them and placed them in the decorated frames for each girl to take home.

Each little girl had a special place.

They ate pancakes, sausage and bacon while they

chatted and giggled with Santa!

Santa asked them about the letters they each wrote to him.

He read them  The Night Before Christmas

and gave them each a gift.

The gift...

a crayon holder (tutorial here).

Santa had to be on his way so we went outside (yes in our jammies and slippers) in the COLD for the snowman pinata.

It was "cool"!

We finished with loads of lovely presents and the best snowman cake ever (Thanks Aunt Jenny!)!

Ahhhhh to be 5!

See the party invitations here.

We have a very special four year old turning five next week. To celebrate Santa is coming to eat breakfast!  Normally this is a tradition for my basketball player in the house, but he has grown too old (at least what he thinks) and is graciously passing. So we now have one thrilled little girl!

Santa Coat Invitations

For the invites I made Santa Coat invitations. Really these would be great for any holiday gathering! They went together very quickly (I only made 10 though).

I first cut a shape to use for the  buckle out of a cereal box. Remember when Cricut generously let me try their machine? Well I have had it now over six months and am completely satisfied (in love). I find I use it for so many different things. The paper doll cartridge has single handedly been helping me through preschool Sunday School. Those dolls have been Adam and  Eve, Joseph and his coat, Ruth and Naomi. I have made star wands and hearts for a special game.... on and on. My husband and boys even continue to find it useful.

So once again the Cricut has come in handy.  I used the frame (with shift key on) from ACCENT ESSENTIALS cartridge (this one comes with the Cricut Expressions)  set for 2" size to cut a shape for Santa's belt buckle. To cut through the cereal box I used a deep cut blade set to 6, maximum pressure and low speed.

It made quick work of cutting my buckles.

I then used another handy tool (for the first time) and it worked great for cutting a slit in each side of my buckle wide enough for my  1 1/2" satin ribbon to slip through.

Next  spray paint the  buckle shapes with silver paint, allow to  dry then paint around the edge (making a kind of frame) with Deco Art Twinkles paint.

Once completely dry I hot glued a 14" piece of 1 1/2"  black satin ribbon to the back of the buckle.

Fold each short edge of an 8 1/2 " X 11" piece of red card stock to meet in the middle. A bone folder ran along the fold will make a nice crease. Hot glue a piece of 1" fur trim to the bottom of the card. I cut my pieces of fur just shy of  11 1/4".

Print your invitation on white card stock, trim to fit and place inside. We also included a letter to Santa for the girls to bring back to the party.  You may download the Santa Letter if you like.

Free Printable Letter to Santa Download

Slip the black ribbon around the card and through the buckle and you have a Santa Coat card.

I will do many of the things we have done for past seven years at our breakfast with Santa parties, with a few wild ideas thrown in (remember my party planner is four). So this week I will be making a snowman pinata while my sister-in-law is dreaming about how to make a snowman cake --- yes I know we are slightly off theme but again I remind you of the party planner's age.  If you have some ideas or tips to make this party special I would love to hear them!

See how the party turned out here.

If you want to cover all your bases then be sure to also fill out a wish card and send to your chief gift buyer! Click on the banner at the top of my blog (or image below)  and you will be taken to a fun little spot where you can make a wish list and send your list to someone who might need a few little gift hints for the holidays!

So our shoes are ready to go!

St Nicholas was a kind and generous Saint. Celebrating him gives us a wonderful opportunity to talk about ways we can help others. You can learn more about St. Nicholas here.

What special traditions does your family have?

If you are looking for something really quick to use for an Advent Calendar, simply download these tags.

Advent Tags Numbers 1-3-5-7-9-11

Advent Tags Numbers 2-4-6-8-10-12

Advent Tags Numbers 13-15-17-19-21

Advent Tags Numbers 14-16-18-20-22-24

Advent Tags Number 25

If  you would like to  change all of the papers and make your own unique tags, Steph from The Daily Digi, made digital files for you to play with. Please use these files for personal use only. Generously included in these files are free papers and information on using the files. You might also want to check Steph's last tutorial on Digital Cupcake Wrappers for more information on using digital files.  Also these new holiday papers she has included would make great cupcake wrappers for the holidays. If you would like more holiday papers please visit The Daily Digi Shop where you will find some fun holiday papers like these and these.

Digital Advent Tags Files for Photoshop users

Digital Advent Tags Files for other photo editing software users (tiff)

Assembling the Advent Calendar

Cut out the tags, glue to the front of envelopes (you could also print on sticker paper). Use a long string and mini clothes pins to clip the envelopes to the string and wah-lah you have a simple Advent Calendar. You can fill the envelopes with tiny surprises or slips of paper with activities to do with your family each day.

You could also glue the tags to the front of hang tags and write the activities on the backs or print the tags on card stock , punch a hole, add a ribbon and use as tags for wrapped boxes.

At our house we normally have a brainstorming session and the kids throw out ideas of things they would like to do throughout Advent. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Family Advent Activities Ideas

• Go Ice Skating
• Make Christmas cards
• Go Christmas caroling or sing Christmas songs at home
• Give everyone manicure & pedicures
• Let each child choose a favorite dinner
• Push the furniture back and dance
• Watch It's a Wonderful Life or the How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Play a game
• Make Christmas cookies and share with neighbors
• Have a special friend for dinner
• Make Christmas ornaments
• Make hot chocolate and read Christmas stories
• Make a Gingerbread house
• Make a simple pine cone bird feeder
• Have a special breakfast
• String popcorn and cranberries
• Play cards
• Make a paper ring garland
• Have a fireside meal (we use this and make grilled cheese and apple pies in the fireplace)
• Cut snowflakes for the windows
• Make and hang beautiful wrapping paper stars
• Drive around to see neighborhood Christmas lights (put hot cocoa in to go cups and put on pjs)
• Go to a holiday movie
• Make a holiday craft
• Roast marshmallows in the fireplace
• Make gift tags and wrapping paper
• Make decorative sugar cookies
• Purchase gifts for a needy child
• Host a Christmas  party
• Play in the snow, build a snowman
• Go for a walk at night and look at the stars

Felt Holly Napkin Ring Template

Download the template and print out on cardstock. Trace around the template with a sharpie marker and cut out just inside the black line so it doesn't show. Cut a slit where indicated on the template.

Glue (hot glue is quickest) 3 pom poms just above the slit.

Slip the opposite end through the back of the slit and you have a pretty napkin ring

From Bucklette

Bucklette's gift tags can be downloaded here.  She has four charming sets so make sure you scroll thru her previous posts

I am loving these tags from Papercrave

Papercrave gift tags can be downloaded here

From Mushy

Mushy's printable labels can be downloaded here

From Sew Mama Sew a collection of tags perfect for you handmade goodies!

Sew Mama Sew gift tags can be downloaded here

From Yoonie at Home

Yoonie at Home free fancy gift tags can be downloaded here

more free gift tags from Yoonie at Home can be downloaded here

From Inside a Black Apple

Inside a Black Apple's free printable gift labels can be downloaded here

From Lollychops

Lollychops gift tags can be downloaded here

From A Fanciful Twist

Fanciful Twist gift labels can be downloaded here

From Delight.com

Gift labels from Delight.com can be downloaded here

From Grand Revival

Grand Revival gift labels can be downloaded here

From Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart gift labels can be downloaded here

From Angry Chicken

Really funny gift labels from Angry Chicken can be downloaded here

From The Little Window Shoppe

Little Window Shoppe gift labels can be downloaded here

You might also be interested in:

Gift Wrapping Ideas

Customizable Labels

Keep the kids busy with DIY Christmas Tags

All you need is white copy paper, ruler, pencil, marker and clear tape

Cut the paper into a square.  The size of your paper determines the size of your candy cane. We made our paper 8 1/2" X 8 1/2".  Using a ruler make a red line about 1/8" thick down the edge of two adjacent sides of the square.

Turn the square face down and begin rolling from the corner without red lines

Keep rolling

Fasten corner with a clear piece of tape

Wrap about 3 inches of one end of the paper tube around a pencil

Unroll

Adjust top and trim off any extra paper on the top and bottom

Cute and simple!

You might also be interested in:

Candy Cane Crafts for a Crowd

Ideas for Christmas

First you need curling ribbon, some pretty ribbon to make a bow, a small pair of scissors, an 8" or 9" embroidery hoop, spray paint or colored electricians tape and 3 lbs of hard candy.

You can also use the part of embroidery hoop with the metal closure-- just tape over the metal part to secure it together and make sure you place it at the bottom when hanging.

Did I mention loads of candy

First paint or cover your hoop with colored electricians tape (makes it a little prettier as the candy is removed).  Begin by tying about a 2 yard piece of curling ribbon to the hoop and then covering the knot with tape.

Place a piece of candy on the hoop and tightly wrap the curling ribbon around the hoop catching the tail of the candy wrapper

Continue wrapping the candy to the hoop.  If the curling ribbon runs short tie off the ribbon to the hoop and tie on another piece and begin again.  Wrap the candy as close together as you can so you have a full wreath.

When finished wrapping all of the candy, tie on a pair of scissors for cutting off the candy.

Tie on a loop of ribbon for hanging and add a bow!

Sweet!

They were slightly difficult to attach to the glass, but worked in a pinch and looked really festive. If one had more time the wire ring could be changed to an actual wire beverage i.d. hoop.