December is a month that always seems to take me by surprise. For most of the year it is always in the distance but then it is suddenly December and it goes by so quickly. Already it is the third and there is so much that needs to be done!
Lucky for me my darling husband saw paperwhites at the store a few weeks back and bought some for me. Thanks to some houseguests, I was able to get motivated to plant them. They are starting to grow now and by Christmas will be in full bloom. Paperwhites are definitely one of my favourite things about the season. They are very fragrant and look so elegant, standing tall all green and white.
My children love our Santa advent calendar (bought from Ikea a few years back). They don't even want a candy treat inside, just a secret message that hopefully leads to a fun activity. I've been recycling the same messages but they don't seem to mind. The joy on their faces as they take turns reading the messages is another of my favourite things.
Living away from family means that the first week of December is Christmas card writing time. I like to include the girls school photo as most people on my list we don't see often. This year I thought, well why don't I make them? I'm not 'working' so I should have lots of time. Well, they are almost ready to be mailed out (tomorrow fingers crossed). I decided to make the folded paper page trees that I had made into ornaments for the sale. Instead of adding a hanger I glued it to a kraft paper card that I had stamped with snowflakes. Very simple and fun to make. For a select few, I've included an ornament inside.
Well, I better go finish these off and start getting the house cleaned up. We don't have a tree up yet and you can't have Christmas without a tree!