December is Here!!

It's officially December! I think this is my favorite time of the year - probably because Christmas is my favorite holiday! This year we are really trying to start some of our own family traditions now that we have had Tyler for over a year and we have a baby on the way. In previous years we have always gone to my parents' and in-laws' and done whatever they do. But I think this year that we are going to stay home and make our own Christmas Family Traditions. I can hardly wait!! Last year, we already started one - which is to have hot chocolate with warm bread for breakfast on Christmas morning. We just dip the bread in to the hot chocolate. It probably sounds really weird but I really like it and always have since I was a kid. Mmmm!!!

And I think one of our new traditions that we started this year will be decorating on Thanksgiving weekend. We had our Staycation on Black Friday and we started our decorating on that day. And then we put up our Christmas Tree on Saturday. It was great! :-) I think that's the way to do it again next year! Much better for us than going out with all the craziness in the stores. We didn't do a lot of decorating but it is enough for us.

Our Christmas Tree with stockings hanging next to it. (I apologize for the bad picture. Trying to get use to the hubby's camera - very different than mine.)
The dining room table. Very simple but nice.
We also have some garland hanging up in a couple of various places and some Christmasy towels and oven mits in the kitchen as well. And we got some pretty cool Snowflake candles at the 99 Cent Store. They are great!

And since I already had marshmallows and Rice Krispies, I couldn't help but make another batch of Rice Krispy Treats! This time I added a couple of big spoonfuls of peanut butter. They were pretty darn good - although that slightly takes away from the ooey gooey-ness. But still very delish!

Another thing I love about Christmas is giving gifts. The reason that we celebrate Christmas is certainly not for the gifts but I still can't help but love to give gifts. It probably makes me feel better than the person receiving the gift when I know that it's exactly something they wanted. This year we are pretty tight on money so I'm trying to think of things that I can make for people. Some of the best things that I received for gifts in the past were things that people made. I just felt that someone put so much thought and effort in to the gift. I'm thinking about whipping up lots of cookies, brownies, and rice krispy treats to start with. But I know there's something else I would like to make for people that they can use. I can't wait!! :-)

Now, on to the reason for the season... I don't know where all of you bloggers' beliefs are but I am a firm believer that Jesus Christ is the reason why Christmas should be celebrated. I fully believe that Christ died for our sins and rose again three days later. He was the ultimate sacrifice for us so that we may join Him in Heaven. I truly believe that is the ultimate gift of sacrifice and the least we could do is celebrate His birth. Although, I must say that we certainly don't celebrate His resurrection enough. Perhaps that should change... hmmm...

What Christmas traditions do you love to do with your family and/or friends?