Is it too early to plan for Christmas?

Yes you read right!

I have started thinking about Christmas. Not sure what started it. Maybe that we are now under 6 months till Christmas, or maybe it's that we have been planning our Christmas holiday to Australia these past weeks. But whatever the reason, I really need to be organized this year. No last minute presents, all well planned out is my goal this year.

We are going on a road trip for a couple of weeks before christmas so i have to have all my presents done before then. And as we will not be in Switzerland for christmas this year i have to make sure that all the presents are bought, wrapped and delivered for all the famiyl here, before we head down under in the middle of November. Yes the MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER. Thats when i usually start thinking about christmas.

So things on my to do list this month:

1. Make a gift list

2. Figure out what gifts i want to make

3. Start process of making calendars.

- choose photos

- choose design

4. Start making Yearly highlight DVD - super easy now i have my seasonal highlights set up from Library of Memories.

5. Make Holiday card list

6. Start looking around for 25 days of christmas album.

7. Start gift suggestion list for our presents (my parents and grandparents always want to know what to get the kids! The gifts have to be smallish and light cause we have to bring them back home from Australia - not an easy task)

So do you think i am crazy? Do you usually make Christmas gifts? Any ideas you want to share?

We survived Christmas!

Its been awhile, but then I have not had any time really to blog this past week. Too much eating, present opening, catching up on sleep, hanging out with family and best of all hanging out with my Sister and her boyfriend who arrived from Australia on Saturday. 

 We had a lovely Christmas. I even got some minutes (yes just minutes not hours) to myself to enjoy my clean, tidy, quiet and decorated home before guests arrived. Having the in-Laws living upstairs is great as Rolf took the kids up there so i could finish off dinner. 

Christmas Morning it was just us 4, opening presents, talking on the phone with Family in Australia and skyping. 
Then my sister arrived. So excited to see her and of course her boyfriend. We have already took them up to the snow, almost didnt go up cause it was -13C in the morning but i reckon that it was around -10C in the shade when we went up in the afternoon. Crazy for them. 

Well my 15 mins to myself is over, Alexandra is calling from the tent (one of Dylan's presents) where she is suppose to be having a nap. Have cleaned and tidyed and now have to start cooking. We are having some friends over for a little New Years Party, just some nice food and drink and the Wii of course. 

Happy New Year!!!

BTW I too will be choosing a word for 2009 that will define my goals for the year. (Like Ali Edwards) There are a couple that spring to mind at the moment, and i think i will let this day be over and see what i feel tomorrow - so watch out for that!

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays! 

Take time amoungst the craziness of today and tomorrow, to enjoy the moment.

 I know that i am going to have to remind myself of that today. 

My little girl is watching impaitently the presents under the tree. She has now resorted to wrapping up her toys in towels and asking if she can unwrap them now. 

Did i mention that i am making my very first every Christmas Dinner. We have 4 family members coming over so thats 6 adults and 2 kiddies. I have the Turkey in the oven and all the things that go with it are prepared and waiting for the right time to begin cooking. I am surprised at how easy at is, but only because i was super organized. Last night i wrote up all the recipes i had finally choosen and used magnets to attach them to the exhusted above the stove. So no getting recipes dirty and at a great position to see what next to do. I then also made a timetable of what needs to be done when. So far so good - next on my list par boil potatoes. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

and all the rest ;)

Our Nativity Scene

So after yesterday's post i should show you our Nativity Scene. 

I really love this one. We bought it while we were in Germany in 2004. Rolf had to work there for weeks at a time so as I was pregnant and had no commitments, I would go with him. We went into Düsseldorf one evening to look at the Christmas Markets and this caught both of our attentions.  It's now not Christmas without it!

While it still lasts ....

We still have snow on the ground, not sure for how long as they are predicting rain for tomorrow at our level. :( We had a lot of snow (ok a lot for an Aussie living in Switzerland ;) ) on Wednesday morning and we still have snow around now. It was so nice to wake up to everything white. I hadnt even looked at the weather report this week as Dylan has been ill again. (He is feeling better now - another Virus) So it was unexpected! I really love snow and hope that some will stick around till next Thursday. 

I am looking after my friends kid's tonight so that she and her husband could go out to their Company Christmas Party. So i have four kids tonight, we just had pizza and have watched some Micky Mouse Club House and they are now playing before bed time. 

Anyway, the eldest vistor who is 5 asked me about our Nativity Scene. Here is our conversation. 

H said: What this?

I said: This is the Nativity Scene, with Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Christmas is Baby Jesus' birthday. 

H said: Where are the Elves?

Kids!

More Christmas Decorations

This is year i finally put up the Christmas Decorations on the window. Have been wanting to do it for a couple of years now and i am so happy i did - looks great - hard to get a good photo of it but i think it is a simple but effective look!

And here it is

Our Christmas Tree is up and even though it has a natural slant to one side, i really love it!

This would be one of my first night time photos that has turned out. There is hope for me yet!

On Friday

So i had all these great plans to blog every day up to Christmas, one cause it I would love to get in the routine of blogging once a day and second cause it would be a great way to work on my december daily, as the kit i ordered still has not arrived :(. But due to keyboard issues I am only posting for the first time since Thursday today. 

So on Friday, Alexandra came home from her Swiss Playgroup with a cute little bag, made for Samiclaus' visit to her playgroup. Still today i am unsure if he actually came or if the teacher just said he came to them, but either way she got this cute little bag - and now since she has just started drawing people, we get a cute little picture too.  It was filled with Gingerbread, Apples, nuts, madarins and chocolate. She saved some for her friends too. 

 

Our first Christmas Card

It was such a nice surprise to recieve our first Christmas Card in the mail yesterday. Quite funny cause yesterday i had to get my cards done so i could sent them to Australia today. And do you know what, i forgot to take a photo of my cards. So will have to make another one so i have one to post. Thought that they were quite cute. I had planned on using the KOTM - Becky's Holiday Cards but my order that i pre-ordered was lost and only yesterday was another order placed.  Well this is their only chance, so i really hope that they arrive! Will probably end up using them for next year - might even get extra organized and write out the envelopes when they arrive

What a cool Santa

We had our first visit from Santa today. The Zug International Women's Club organizes ever year a santa visit. We headed to a restaurant and ate yummy cookies and fruit and waited for him to arrive. And how surprised we were this year that he brought his guitar with him. We sang Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red nose raindeer. It was lots of fun and the kids, even though they were a little scared still got some cute little presents. 

Happy December! The first candle is lite. 

Ok, so i am one day too late, but my post yesterday got me

a little distracted. I love December, i really do, but this year, for some reason i am totally out of it. I am not really the organized at all. I have so many projects that i want to do and i have, as usual, have taken on too much. But I am hoping to complete my December Daily album. I hope that next week I will have a little more time and sit down and get to it. 

But I thought i would share our Advent Calendar. I got the idea from Ali's Blog,  and she got the idea from Martha Stewart kids 

Unfortunatly the boxes i had ordered did not come so yesterday I had to run out and find some. I then painted all of them green, red and silver (had to do quite a number of coats) and then finally by the time the kids had gone to bed they were dry enough to put the numbers on them. 

I did not want to hang them on my walls so i just bought a large cork board and i think they look great on there. I can then put them up on our table against the window so that my little boys hands can reach them. I think this could become a tradition in this family! But next time i would start earlier and perhaps paint the corkboard before i put on the boxes!