Our Fabled Nest

Ooh December! Whether you like it or not, holiday spirit is in full force. Even those Bah-Humbug proclaimers seem a little nicer for the next few weeks, amiright?? We have a fun tradition of celebrating the whole month but on a budget. Holidays shouldn’t be all about the newest fad or the priciest, glitziest newest items to hit the shelves. We believe the next few weeks should be filled to the brim with the magical holiday spirit we all know and love. Since 2013, when we got hitched, we decided to make December a whole month of celebrating the magic of the season!

That has been our tradition for years. Some years have been more frugal, others homemade, some years we’ve done a 12 day countdown or a 7 day countdown, some, we pick our own gifts and other years we have been able to kind of spoil one another. Last year we did 13 holiday nights. With last year’s, we started with Yule and went through to our Chinese dinner on New Year’s Eve. These shorter celebrations are okay and worked beautifully but felt like we didn’t really get to savor the season. We weren’t able to slowly enjoy every ounce of that magical holiday sparkle. It felt rushed and hurried and I think we both realized a slow life is no bad thing. We love enjoying life at a simpler, slower more peaceful pace.

Being part one, this post might be a little longer than our usual, but I hope it inspires you to curate a magical season with your family and loved ones! Now when I say 31 days of holi-yay magic, I mean a full blown 31 days of Santa’s workshop, holiday feel good vibes, and all of the lights, sparkles, happiness and treats your heart could desire! It’s perfect!

A few fun notes! Each kiddo gets their own wrapping paper and stocking. Humans too! I pick out wrapping paper for hubs and he does the same for me. Since the hubs and I’s stockings went missing in the move, we had the opportunity to pick out a new one. Thankfully, the kiddos still have their stockings, and they are still holding up nicely! We then utilize the chalk tags and our little advent calendar for the countdown. Each day gets a chalk tag with what the day will bring. Instead of names on the gifts or packages, we write numbers to coordinate with the calendar. Since everyone has their own wrapping paper, it’s fairly streamlined!

Day 1 through 14 will be part one.

Day one: Gettin’ Festive! Our typical ideal day would be picking out a holiday tree and turning our home into a lovely festive winter cabin. Since, we celebrate both, Yule and Christmas -I prefer to call it holiday tree. This year we decided to decorate mid-November… personally, I was feeling blue, and it made me a little happier. So even though our home is all festive, day one is getting in the holiday spirit… that cozy, festive, magical nostalgia. We bake cookies, sip hot cocoa and crank up the holiday jams. Perfect way to kick off the holiday countdown!

Day two: Ornament: This has been a tradition since 2008; the year we started dating. A small ornament or trinket to celebrate the year we had. It could be a major milestone, a little thing, something special that happened or that summarizes the year as a whole. It does not necessarily have to be an ornament per se but needs to be small enough to hang from the holiday tree. Kiddos, this year, will receive a simple wooden personalized ornament.

Day three: Something you want: This year we are including the cute little verse of something you want, need, read and wear in our countdown. I love that for this one we write a few things down for each other that we specifically want. We are still surprised since we don’t know which gift will be chosen. We keep the options within a budget too since we are celebrating 31 days. Even the kiddos. This is usually a fun gift for them like a festive stuffie or a chewie (no rawhides!). I am so excited for the hubs for this one too! He has been talking for months about this pizza stone kit for his smoker. I was able to score it on sale a few weeks ago for under $40 bucks!

Day four: Gingerbread House Competition! We have done the little villages in the past to where we can get several “houses” for the same price as one large house. Sometimes we do two normal gingerbread houses. Either way we have a little competition of girls versus boys and see who’s looks better. Hubs has the assistance of Friendy…. more often than not the candy will go missing. Haphazardly, icing is stuck in their fur, candy is under the couch, and I am sure Bean is sneaking sips of coffee while we are occupied with controlling the sugared star struck other kiddos. It’s messy, chaotic but so much fun!

Day five: Holi-YAY Spirits: Your favorite drink! This can be alcoholic or nonalcoholic. I love that we both specify which one we would prefer but we don’t specify what we actually want. That’s for the other person to surprise you with! In the past, I have purchased a mini Jack bottle to go with a cola or even found a DIY Just add your own alcohol drink mix. Other times, it was a case of Celsius or a bag of his favorite coffee. This one leads with creativity, and we love that this one can be as cheap as $1.25. Hello Dollar Tree! Atticus, Magda and Bee love bone broth and Friendy loves apple juice. Then we find a holiday movie, sip our drinks and enjoy a festive treat!

Day six: Crafty Reindeers: You know I always get the fur kiddos involved with everything we do! This year we are planning an ornament craft with clear acrylic jars ornaments and hubs found some wooden wolf ornaments. With the wooden wolfs, we are planning on the ziploc bags and paint like we’ve done for other crafts. The jars have screw lids and we are thinking of drizzling paint inside with glitter. Add the lid back, smear sun butter (or honey) to the outside and let the kiddos roll it around while the paint swirls about on the inside. I’m thinking it’s relatively mess free other than sun butter on the rug. After they’re finished, take the top back off and let air dry overnight upside down to get rid of any excess paint. Wipe off the outside and replace the top. Then hang on the tree! Other options could be painting little wooden circles, making cinnamon ornaments, stringing up popcorn, baking soda ornaments, drying citrus fruits even making paper garland. All can be easy and fun without much fuss!

Day seven: Walking in a Winter Wonderland: We have options! One, we could take the tribe to a walk-through immersive light display in Clearbrook, VA. This one only allows dogs on Sunday evenings. Other options are drive through light shows like Bull Run Festival of Lights. We could even go the old fashion route and drive around a few towns to see holiday lights that locals have. Hot drinks are a must, and we love to splurge and spoil the kiddos with Starbies.

Day eight: Cozy and Bright: Festive movie nights are much needed! Scooby Doo Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas will definitely make your inner child gleeful! We are adding carob peppermint brownies to our menu along with everything bagel pretzels. A simple hot cider always hits the spot.

Day nine: Something you need: This can be a surprise, if we know there is something we know each other needs. But, we typically write a handful of things down so we can “surprise” each other with something specifically needed. The kiddos are usually unhappy with this one since it is more of a practical gift…. not many fur kiddos want poop bags as a gift or a new brush.

Day ten: Give a little love: Donate to a local foodbank. This one hits me in the feels. This one makes my heart feel the magnitude of gratitude for the season. We have called foodbanks in the past to see what they need but we also love just surprising them with a few items. The theme is nonperishable and easy to open shelf stable goods. Toiletries, canned foods (pop tops since some folks might not have a can opener), precooked rice or pasta, instant meals, canned fish, soups, peanut butter, applesauce, crackers, granola bars, cereal, powdered milk, jam, etc. I would even suggest oil or spices. Calling ahead also ensures the food pantry is getting exactly what they are low on.

Day eleven: Son of a Nutcracker! Oh yes, you know where this is going? Elf! The cutest most annoying movie ever – maybe it’s just Will Farrel. We will have the kiddos “help” paint a few nutcrackers while we munch on holiday spiced chex mix and sip hot cocoa. Breakfast for dinner is a must too! We’re planning to create carob chip pancakes. Then do a fun topping bar of sprinkles, cool whip, carob chips, syrup and fresh fruit. The kiddos will love this!

Day twelve: Treat-Yo-Self! Surprise treat for the other human (and fur kiddos). If you know your partner well enough, you should be able to pick out their favorite guilty pleasure. We usually keep this as a store-bought item since we make most of everything we eat from scratch. I always end up purchasing him a few different things. This is a relatively low-cost gift- depending on their favorite snacks. The kiddos usually share a bag of treats… I make sure it is something everyone will enjoy then divide the bag into four Ziploc bags for them to open individually.

Day thirteen: Cozy and Bright: Another cozy, comfy movie night! Jingle Jangle and Eight Crazy Nights. Jingle Jangle was an instant hit a few years ago when we first watched it. Now it’s on our must see list every December! Eight Crazy Nights is a holiday comedy that we always add to our list. It’s not the greatest holiday movie but we love it. This night we will be making cranberry cupcakes, hot pumpkin cider and savory thyme rosemary chex mix.

Day fourteen: Holiday Lights so Bright! This is where the magic of the season really sets in! We have drove around neighborhoods sipping out fancy Starbies drinks… heat on high while the windows are down so the kiddos have the full effect of the holiday lights and the humans aren’t freezing to death. We have been to a Speedway Light Show, Tanglewood, and many others. My favorite will always be McAdenville, NC. Affectionally, known as Christmas Town USA, this is a very nostalgic magical place for me. That’s where my folks took us every December. It’s free to drive through but they have a little donation box to help offset the electric cost for the town residents. This little town really does it right! Near us, we have found Christmas in the Valley. Locals transform the Shenandoah Fair Grounds into Santa’s wonderland. We are excited to add this to our countdown along with a steaming hot cup of cocoa. While Starbies is our go-to for holiday light drive throughs, this year we’re planning on bringing some hot cocoa or coffee and festive cookies or chex mix to nosh on.

Cheers to the magic of the holiday season!