DIY Advent Calendar and Tree Decorating

For years I have wanted an advent calendar to help me count down the days until Christmas. I think they are so fun. However, I had never purchased one because I have ENOUGH other things to buy in November and December. The other day, I was on a friend's blog. She is really crafty and always has fun DIY crafts. She referred her readers to TatertotsandJello for a fun DIY advent calendar. The TatertotsandJello lady was doing a give away for a free advent calendar. I entered the give away, but since I am cursed with the luck of the Edwards, I went ahead and got to work on making my own. Here it is!

The other lady's is probably cuter, but I really like how mine turned out. The best part is that it only cost me about 9 bucks to make. I already had a bunch of the stuff. I loved making my own little advent calendar.

The next item of business was to decorate the house for Christmas. The job seems to get bigger every year. I got my tree all set up and ready to add ornaments. Here is the tree before ornaments.

Here is the tree after.

Sometimes I think I would like one of those fancy shmancy designer Christmas trees, but every time I dig out the ornaments we have and put them on the tree, I change my mind instantly. Our tree is a hodge podge of all sorts of ornaments. We have hand me down ornaments from my grandma, ornaments that were given to David and me while growing up, hand made ornaments, ornaments that were given to me from former students, ornaments that have been given to Lincoln from both sets of grandparents and everything else you can imagine. Each ornament is tied to a sweet memory of some sort. One tradition my family had growing up was that we would choose a Halmark ornament every year. The ornament had to have the year printed on it and it usually represented something significant we experienced that year. David and I have continued that tradition. Here are some of our Halmark ornaments.

This ornament is from our first Christmas married.



We got this ornament this year because Lincoln is obsessed with trains and I am obsessed with Peanuts characters. :)


This one is from 2007 when Lincoln was born. It's a baby's first Christmas ornament. You can't see it very well, but there is a baby sleeping in the basket under Pooh and Piglet.

I am grateful for my chaotic Christmas tree. I would not trade it for the fanciest, most expensive tree in the world. To me, my Christmas tree represents the happy life I have had and the many memories I hold dear.

Aside from my Christmas tree, this is probably my favorite Christmas decoration. Do you know what it is?


It's the Christmas tree from A Charlie Brown Christmas. That is one of my favorite Christmas shows. I love the message behind the tree. To me, the tree represents humility and simplicity. We often get caught up in the commercialism of Christmas and forget the real reason for celebrating the holiday. Although he is the only begotten son of our Father in Heaven and the Savior of the world, Baby Jesus was born in a stable in the most humble of circumstances. We all have the potential for greatness regardless of our circumstance or outward appearance. I love when Linus says, "This tree isn't so bad. All it needs is a little love." This is true for all of us.

I wish you all a happy holiday season. Remember, find joy in the small and simple things. Enjoy!