Christmas in January

Because I slacked off for over a month on my blog, I want to make it up to you... December was a busy month for the Bells, which is the reason for my poor blogging performance. Now that Christmas is over, I am already eagerly awaiting Christmas 2012. Here's is a recap of the Bell's first married Christmas together, as well as some organizational tips and creative projects for next year!

First Christmas Tree: Real of course! The hubs picked up this

beauty at a local Christmas tree farm. She was just the right size. This year's decor included white lights, a box full of Christmas ornaments gifted to me from my mom, and of course presents. My mom is a collector of the Radko and Old World Christmas ornaments because they have TONS of glitter, and they sparkle like no other ornament out there! I mean, look at that tree... the ornaments are practically jumping out of the photo they are so colorful and bright.

If you are a new collector of ornaments, like me, and not ready to spend hundreds of dollars at once on these fine, elegant but fragile beauties, I have a few tips:

Tip #1. Purchase a few ornaments each year. Collecting is fun, and every Christmas season brings the delight and desire to find and seek a few new ornaments. Embrace the fact that you cannot have everything you want right away! Also, if you take a trip, try to pick out an ornament or momento to hang on your tree, It will personalize your tree and serve as a reminder of your trip every time you pull it out of the ornament box.

Tip #2. Speaking of ornament boxes -- you need one. And not one of those crummy cardboard boxes that rots from the heat of your attic and falls apart after three years. My favorite ornament box comes from Container Store, the Wing Lid Stackable Bin. It comes with dividers inside and holds up to 75 ornaments. It is made of sturdy plastic and will keep your pretty danglies in perfect condition until next year... and the next... and the next... !

Tip #3. Try to invest in a few quality ornaments by Christopher Radko or Old World Christmas. The trick is to ALWAYS buy Radko and Old World ornaments AFTER Christmas. On December 26th, all ornaments and other Christmas supplies are usually 50% off, and there are always plenty to pick from. Scout out the stores in your neighborhood selling your favorites prior to Christmas, and then plan a shopping trip on the 26th to purchase them for half off! My favorite Dallas stores include Mary Cates and Co., The Ivy House, and Neiman Marcus.

Wrapping Paper: My inspiration for wrapping paper this year was "brown paper packages tied up with string." The idea stemmed from this Do-It-Yourself example from a blog called "Happiness Is"... I just loved the simple paper and the adorable strings and decorations. Here's how you can get this look yourself for next year. Start with a roll of brown kraft paper. It's soooo inexpensive! You can get a 50 foot roll from your grocery store or local post office for about two dollars. Then, invest in some cute decorations and strings at Paper Source, the go-to store for all adorable D.I.Y projects. Your friends and family will be oh-so-impressed.

Stockings: I invested in a new creative project to get me through the rest of this year and back to Christmas again. I am going to needlepoint stockings for my family. Nevermind that our family is just me and the hubs. We don't even have a fireplace in our home. But, I found this Strictly Christmas stocking on sale and had to have it. I decided I may as well get started on our stockings for when we do have a fireplace of our own. I went to a local needlepoint store to get my husband's name painted on the top cuff. The sales ladies also helped me select the thread colors and other necessary items. You can see that the canvas is painted with really bright colors and the background is white. When it is finished, you will see that this stocking is going to have much more muted tones, a beige background, and fewer ribbons and bows (it's going to be a man's stocking). It's a great rainy day project and great to do during our trips out to the country. When I finish the needlepoint, I'll show you the completed project, as well as how to get it finished and turned into a real stocking! Check out your own local needlepoint store for canvas stockings. There are plenty of great artists, but after a lot of research my favorites are Strictly Christmas, Rebecca Woods (for colorful, whimsical designs) and Deux Amis (if you are into religious and nature designs).

Some other fun things from the Bell's First Christmas:

Beech Family Christmas Eve and Christmas Story Play. Baby Jesus was a REAL baby this year! Welcome Baby Michael to our extremely large and growing family!

Trip to Colorado which included family, skiing at Wolf Creek, snowmobiling and even four-wheeling in the snow! Please excuse the ugly orange hat that the hubs found in the Lost 'n Found at our ranch.

Merry Christmas Hubby! He loves his new Tahoe, and I enjoy riding in it. :)