Happy November friends! I’m so excited I can’t stand it! Love October but I have to admit that I look forward to November and December all year long. Nothing beats this time of year full of gratitude, love, excitement, family time, and all things Christmas! It’s simply magical. My friends have been teasing me all week. They know that once Halloween is over all bets are off at my house. My favorite Christmas CD’s come out (this one and this one) and we get positively giddy planning the next two months! I’ve rounded up some of my FAVORITE past Christmas posts for you today if you like to start planning early like we do! So many ideas in this round-up! Past posts on decorating, organizing, gift ideas, etc. Click around and Enjoy! :)
{10 THINGS TO DO NOW TO ENSURE A LESS STRESSFUL DECEMBER}
I shared this post last October. One of my favorites! Things to start doing NOW to prepare for the holiday season!
{ORGANIZED WRAPPING SUPPLIES}
How I organize my wrapping supplies so I have easy access and can get to things quickly!
Love to have my gifts bought and wrapped weeks before Christmas. That’s always the goal! This post was a favorite. :)
{RECENT DECEMBER PICS}
A post I shared last year with a few ideas for gifts and organizing along with what we had been up to through the month.
{FAVORITE CHRISTMAS BOOKS}
We read a lot during November and December! One of our favorite family traditions to curl up and read a book or two each night by the tree. These are our favorites!
{FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES}
There is nothing like a fun Christmas movie to get the kids excited for the holiday! And to give mom a break during such a busy month. :) We add a new one to our collection every year. These are our favorites!
{CHRISTMAS DECOR IDEAS AND MY THOUGHTS ON EARLY CHRISTMAS DECORATING}
Some people like to wait until Thanksgiving is over before decorating for Christmas. I’m not one of them. :) This is a post I shared last year with a few thoughts about that along with some Christmas decor inspiration.
{CHRISTMAS DECOR IN THE FAMILY ROOM}
How I decorated our new family room for Christmas last year! So excited to get started on this year’s decor!
{CHRISTMAS IN THE KITCHEN}
Christmas in the kitchen last year. I’m mixing a few things up, but really loved the simplicity of this so I’m keeping it similar this year.
{DISPLAYING PAST SANTA PICTURES}
One of my favorites! Love this. And it’s SO easy!
{CHRISTMAS CARD STAIR GARLAND}
I’ve been displaying our family’s past Christmas cards on my stairs for years. Last year I used real garland and while it looked beautiful I will NOT be doing that again! Read the post for details. :)
{DISPLAYING AND SAVING CHRISTMAS CARDS}
Can’t wait to show you how I’m displaying them this year! :)
{CHRISTMAS CARD PAGES}
Full post on how I save my cards from friends and family each year.
{HOT CHOCOLATE STATION}
My kids are BEGGING me to set this up for them again but the year I did it I gained 4 lbs! Ha!
{CHRSITMAS PRETZEL HUGS}
I’ve been making this treat every December with my kids since the girls were toddlers! Even before the recipe was all over Pinterest. ;) Love this pic of them making our Christmas pretzel hugs last December.
{HOLIDAY GIFT}
A fun way to personalize your hugs for gifts!
{APPLESAUSE COOKIES}
These make great friend/teacher/neighbor gifts!
{CHRSITMAS/NEW YEAR’S GIFT}
This is a fun gift I gave my girlfriends one year. Nothing like a new planner. :)
Whew! Quite a round-up. I hope that helps jump start your holiday planning! Enjoy the next two months everyone! We are gearing up to do just that.
:)
Great tips!!! Love that you shared these so early…gives us all time to work on them! :) And I especially love the Christmas card garland!!
Thank you! So happy this was helpful! :) xo
What a fun post.. I read every last detail !!
You should do a post on planning gifts for your kiddos. how you set your budget, what are on their lists and how you hide things ?
Thank you Heidi! I’ll definitely be sharing what they want and what Santa might bring! ;) xo
I love Christmas you could say I am a little obsessed! We just put our tree up together today! We love elf on the shelf! I hope it cools off here some!
Yea! Happy decorating Gracie! :)
I can sure feel your excitement and giddiness for the holiday! I enjoyed the round up and look forward to seeing what you have up your sleeve this year. Your house is absolutely lovely and your kiddos are adorable. I think I may have already said that a time or two, but it’s so true. Have a great time getting ready! :)
Well you can say it again. Ha! ;) Thanks so much cutie! xo
Thank you for this post!!! I love Christmas too! I think I’ll be starting extra early like you this year. =) I’m looking into buying a fake tree this year, since I like to put it up so early, that the last couple of years it’s dead by Christmas. So, we’ve decided that we’ll do the fake tree with “fresh balsam” candles … which we did anyways =) Do you know anything about fake christmas trees. Today they are 50% off at Michaels, but I see that there are all different types…Jasper Cashmere, Washington Frasier, …? Any recommendations?
Oh, and do you recommend, pre-lit or unlit?
Pre-lit for sure! :)
Thank you Ursula! I wish I did! I think it’s just a personal preference. I would just look at them and choose the one that looks the most real to you. Sorry that’s not much help! Happy early Christmas decorating! :) xo
Now that I see this post I remember exactly how I found you last year! I stumbled onto your instagram post about not waiting for Thanksgiving to decorate and it made me feel not so bad about doing it myself. Glad to have spent a whole year with you :)
Oh I love it Lindsay! So happy you found me. It has been a fun year hearing from you too! Thanks cutie! :) xo
This was great, Erin!!! Ohhhh myyy goodness…this post was chock full of Christmas inspiration and tips!! I’m adding the pretzel hugs to our must-make list this year!!! Thanks for sharing all the Christmas love, my friend!!! I just love your infectious spirit!! ?✨❤️✨?✨?✨
Debi you are the sweetest! Made me so happy to hear from you today on the blog! Thank you so much. Hope you are doing well my sweet friend! Bring on the holiday decorating. ;) xo
Hi Erin! I cannot wait to try those Pretzel Hugs this year with my girls (ages 13 & 11). We love to find new things to try each holiday season. Some have been epic fails, but this one seems foolproof…which is good because my kitchen and I don’t usually get along very well! :) I also read your Halloween post and had to tell you that my 13-year old went as a preppy nerd last year with all of her friends! Isn’t it funny what they come up with?!
Ha ha.. so you had a preppy nerd too huh? :) You will LOVE making the pretzel hugs! SO easy and a great treat for the kids to help with. My kids unroll all the hugs and lay everything out on the tray and then I plop the m&m’s on. Very hard to mess up! My kind of treat. :) Happy holidays cutie! xo
Hi Erin…
Thank you so much for all of your inspiring posts! I am new to your blog…stumbled upon it over the weekend while researching craft room organization. Needless to say, I accomplished ZERO of the organizing that I had planned, as I spent pretty much my entire weekend being inspired by your many ideas! I plan to spend the next couple of days putting together my own organization plan for 2016…thanks to you! Looking forward to your future posts! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Diane you are such a sweetheart! Thank you! I’m so happy you found my blog. :) I need to start thinking about my organizing plan for 2016 too! Christmas decorating has taken over my life at the moment. But I’ve heard of worse things. ;) Happy Holidays to you and your family too and thanks again for your sweet comment! It made my day. :) So nice to “meet” you! xo