The Ornament Tradition

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is getting a new ornament for each family member every year. This year I got the kids these ones... note the bulldog. (The youngest was nicknamed this his second week of life and it's stuck around.) I'm a bit bummed I didn't get any other pictures of these before I took Christmas down. But oh well.

I mark each ornament with their name or initial and the year it was received.

I also do one for James and I. Because I love ornaments. And this is how I control the after Christmas clearance decor shopping that I would do if I didn't already pay full price for 5 new ornaments. I'm already up to a gazillion boxes of Christmas decor.

Then when the holidays are over all the ornaments are removed from the tree and separated into their own boxes. Each of the kids has a little box with their name on it. This way each year they can put THEIR ornament on the tree. And one day should they move out of our house they will have ornaments for their first Christmas tree.



Yes, it's probably one of my better ideas!

The Awesomest Christmas CD... Ever!

Forget treat plates! For this years neighbor/friend gift I decided to go the CD route. I downloaded (legally!!!) a rather funny batch this year. And by luck Target had 100 cd's for $11 something. That's half off! SCORE! All I needed was some CD sleeves. I could have bought some of the plain white ones and stamped them. But, I have a huge stockpile of scrapbooking paper and have made a pact with myself that I can't buy the cute new stuff until the old stuff is gone.

So I made FIFTY of these bad dogs...

And I cheaped out (money and time wise) this year and just wrote on the CD. Next year I'll do the labels I think. Good thing I have legible handwriting!

Here's the playlist for those of you who are curious:

The Awesomest Christmas CD Ever!




1. Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey-Doug Kershaw
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus- Jessica Simpson
3. Susy Snowflake- Rosemary Clooney
4. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas- Gretchen Wilson
5. Jingle Bells- Bing Crosby
6. Must Be Santa- Bob Dylan
7. Frosty the Snowman- Jimmy Durant
8. Nuttin’ for Christmas- Art Mooney
9. Feliz Navidad- Joe Feliciano
10. Christmas in Killarney- Bing Crosby
11. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)- Alvin & The Chipmunks
12. You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch- Thurl Ravenscroft
13. Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer- Dr. Elmo
14. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy- Jack Black & Jason Segal



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