CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS!

It’s officially the end of the holiday season…at least in my house it is.  Our tree was down on the 30th and all decor was boxed up by December 31st.  While I normally wait until the first weekend of the year…my allergies started kicking in – and suddenly – I could care less about the pine tree smell in my house…I wanted it out!

But going thru my iPhone photos – I can’t help but get a little sad that we have to wait a whole 12 months for that holiday fuzzy feeling.  I don’t remember being as excited about the holidays – until becoming a mom.  Yea – when I was a kid, I had my fair share of excitement when the holidays came around…but it’s different now.  I get to choose how to celebrate, what to do and create traditions for my own family.   To me, the best part of the holidays is being together – surrounded by love, the smell of food, and the sounds of laughter.  Sharing a few of my favorite things that we did as a family this year – and what’s become a tradition around the Metelus household.

Oh Christmas Tree! Once the final Thanksgiving decor is put up – its time to break out the Christmas tree.  This year – I started our decorations early by putting up our lights and adding a Santa and a few snowmen to our yard.  The kids got such a kick out of them.  And since I was having a ton of family over for the Thanksgiving break – I wanted our house to be even more festive.  But I saved the tree for a few days later – because I didn’t want the stress of decorating with 20 people in my home.  Once we got our tree – as we do every year, Cee-Lo’s Christmas Album and Mariah Carey’s Christmas Album is our soundtrack – as the kids (including my nieces and nephew) get in the holiday spirit as we all decorate.

Christmas Celebration with the Mets
Christmas Tree halfway decorated…almost there!

Holiday trip:  With the kids out of school for two weeks, it makes sense for us to do a quick family getaway for the holidays…and this year – it was Disney to take part in Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.  Orlando is always a fun trip for us since we have a ton of famiy there – but taking in the sight’s and sounds of Christmas topped off with Mickey and Minnie – is definitely a winner!

One Balanced Mama Christmas Traditions

One Balanced Mama Christmas Traditions