Thanksgiving Week

With not so successful holidays in recent memory, you would probably have thought that I was crazy to host Thanksgiving this year.  I've always wanted to, but I chicken out when I think of all the preparation. 

What am I going to make?

Where is everyone going to sit?

How on earth do I cook a turkey?

When Thanksgiving was brought up a month or so ago, my father-in-law jokingly said he was coming to our house this year.  S and I turned to each other and said, "Okay!"  I think he felt bad at first but I was already considering it and we thought, what the heck, let's go for it. 

We kept the invite list very small.  (We will expand said list as I become more confident.)

We assigned out a lot of the food, including the turkey.  This made it a no-brainer preparation on our end.  It literally only took a few hours to get everything ready.  (Did I mention I worked the night before?)

Here is the setup (yes, we used paper plates...)

It was probably one of my favorite Thanksgivings ever!  It was so casual and the company was excellent.  I don't think I felt stressed once.  Another perk?  S goes into deep-clean-mode anytime he even knows someone is going to visit so our house was spotless!  Also, our Thanksgiving movie this year was Brave--after the kids had gone to bed. 

I want to try this again.  Maybe next year.  I might even do the turkey this time.

Riding on the back of such a successful holiday, I didn't even want to set a foot out of the door on Black Friday.  So I didn't.

I told Bean that we would decorate the house instead.

She loved decorating for Halloween (which, I admit, I didn't undecorate our house from Halloween until Thanksgiving morning) so you can imagine how she felt about Christmas.  The pictures are poor quality but (top) Bean literally didn't stop running around the entire time we decorated and (bottom) she had to arrange the nativity scenes so that they matched the box exactly.  OCD?

We had leftovers for dinner that night and, as is usually the case, they were even better the second time around.

I was in a particularly good mood at this point so when we woke up on Saturday and S asked what plans I had for the day, I suggested we go get our Christmas tree.  I called my parents to see if they were game and they were (they even took us out to dinner afterward!)  We didn't even know if the lot we usually purchase from would be open yet, but was it ever!  There were more people there than I had ever seen before.

It was the end of November but it felt more like mid-October.  I laugh at my recent post on my craft blog (written last May) because I didn't think it would still be so warm.  Truth be told I'm actually ready for snow this year.  But on this outing, it was nice not to have to bundle the kiddos up.  Boy seemed to really enjoy the stroller ride.  And Grandma.

I feel like putting up real Christmas trees is almost becoming a thing of the past so I was really excited to see so many people out that day.  There is nothing like the real thing...

S had to work the next few days, but Bean made a Holiday "honey-do" list for him while he was gone.  The first on the list was putting the lights up on the house.  I am so lucky that S likes to do this.  I climbed a teeny ladder to hang the bows up on our garage lights and about passed out; my knees were shaking so hard. 

S headed out around lunch and didn't finish until just before dinner.  I always hold my breath when S is perched on top of our roof.  He's such a good guy though; our house looks Beautiful!!

Second on the list was decorating the tree.  S and I had set up the tree a few nights prior while Bean was in bed but it remained bare for the next couple of days.  I think the anticipation nearly killed her.  Right after dinner we started emptying ornament boxes.  She was hanging them up so fast that I couldn't keep up with her.

Most of the decorations are on the bottom branches--and mostly on the same branch--but there is no way I'm touching it: it is the best our tree has ever looked!

We finished off the week by going to the Festival of Trees.  If you've read my blog for awhile then you know this is a beloved tradition of mine and my mom's.  It was fun to add another member to our party this year.  Boy loved the stroller again and didn't even whimper the entire time we were there.  Bean got a little tired walking around (those trees can all start to look the same after awhile.)  When I asked her if she was having fun she said, "No, but probably when I get a little bit bigger."  Well, at least she's honest.  But when asked if she wanted to go back again next year, her response was an overwhelming "YES!"

Bean's favorite part of the day was watching the kids "put on a show."  This is because she will be "putting on a show" this weekend (i.e. recital!!)  Also, if you know how much Bean loves Mickey Mouse then this picture will be obvious.

What a wonderful way to start of the Christmas season!  As of today I am over 75% done with my shopping and all from the comfort of my computer chair.  I love Amazon.

Here's hoping that my holiday luck has turned and that it will stay that way through January!