Christmas Must-Haves

Can you believe there are only 8 more days till Christmas?!?!  How did that happen??  I have been trying to spend time and enjoy all that the season has to offer.  I love this season, the lights, the movies, all the treats!  

Here are some of my Christmas Must Haves:

Christmas Movies: I am all about a good Christmas movie...I have watched way to many this season.  There have been some pretty good ones on Netflix this year and is it really Christmas if you don't watch a few cheesy Hallmark movies??  My all time favorite Christmas movie would have to be The Muppet Christmas Carol.  We haven't watched it yet, I like to save it.  If you haven't watched it yet check it out and let me know what you think.

Coffee Mugs:  Can you really get in the spirit without a holiday mug??  I love drinking my coffee out of a cute Christmas mug.  This one is from Target and I'm obsessed with it.  They have so many options this year and I am loving them!  These would also make a great last minute gift.

Cozy PJs: Yes to cozy jammies!!  I love cuddling up in cozy pajamas and watching a movie.  These plaid ones are super cute and perfect for a hot chocolate and movie night.

Christmas Coffee: Starbucks starts serving their holiday drinks earlier and earlier and I'm not complaining.  My favorite is definitely the chestnut praline latte, trust me it's delicious!    

Candles: My husband requests that our house smell like a Christmas tree and this candle does the trick.  So so good, makes our whole house smell like a Christmas tree farm.

What are your Christmas Must Haves?  Let me know down below.

Christmas Favorites

It's Christmas Eve Eve Eve!!  In celebration of the season I thought I would share some of my Christmas favorites.  Starting off with our tree, we got a fake tree for the first time this year and it is so nice!! We got ours on Black Friday from Michaels and it is perfect!  Just the right amount of flocking and the lights are color changing so we can flip between color and white (which we do throughout the week).

On to ornaments, I always admire the fancy put together nicely "designer" trees but that's just not Christmas to me.  We have a collection of ornaments from places we have been, ones that have been given to us and old family ornaments from when we were young.  It makes decorating the tree a sentimental time to reflect on our memories.  Our tree is a scrapbook of our life and I can't wait to fill it with more memories and share our memories with our future children.  

Some of my favorites:  

We got this one after Christmas for just a few cents and I just love how cute it is!

I made this one the first Christmas we were married.  I cut up our wedding program and the ribbon is our wedding color.  

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given."  Isaiah 9:6-7

This simple ornament is a reminder of the Hope that was born to the world and why we celebrate Christmas.

My mom gave me this one and I love it!  It is a delicate pottery piece that represents where Kyle and I went to college.

This was another one from my mom (she always gives good ornaments) the first Christmas after we were married.  I think it is adorable! 

This last one was another after Christmas find and he is so cute. We have a little docker dog (dachshund x cocker spaniel) so we call this one our Riley ornament.

How do you decorate your tree?  Do you go all out fancy or is yours more sentimental?

I also wanted to share two of my favorite Christmas movies that I hardly ever hear anyone talk about:

My absolute favorite Christmas movie ever is The Muppet Christmas Carol.  It just isn't Christmas unless I watch this one.  Growing up my family always watched this one so there are really great memories tied to this one.  I love the characters and the songs are great.  I know every word and will definitely sing along.  Have you seen this one?

My other lesser known favorite is The Nativity Story.  This is such a great dramatization of the story of Jesus' birth.  It gives a look into the characters and what they may have been feeling during this time.  Yes, I'm sure things are added for the movie but overall it stays true to The Word.  I like watching this one just to further put in perspective the reason for the holiday and to remember the miracle of the birth of Jesus.  How he was born in a most lowly place, born for everyone to save us and give us a home in Heaven.  It is a beautiful, inspiring depiction of the miracle.

What are some of your Christmas favorites?