North Pole Breakfast with Our Elf on the Shelf

It's December 1st y'all! Where has this year gone?!?

It's a rainy, dreary day, but we're not letting that dampen our Christmas spirits. We have started this Holiday season off with a bang with our Christmas countdown...starting off with the arrival of our elf, Snarf. 

 I am totally not a fan of the Elf on the Shelf tradition. It's exhausting, and you have to be on your A-Game all of December. However, my children love it, and love their elf. They have been talking about him for several weeks now, so I knew I would have to get over myself, and run with it.

We had a North Pole Breakfast waiting on the kids this morning. They think that Snarf the Elf put this spread together...well at least S.R. does. E is in that in-between stage of analyzing whether this actually makes sense, but I can say that he was up at 5:55 a.m. this morning excited to see Snarf at the kitchen table. ;-)

This year we are really focusing on others, instead of ourselves. I have several service projects and "random acts of kindness" activities planned(does that still make it random if I plan it??) Anyway, I found this cute little printable and loved the idea of it. The kids immediately ran to their playroom and started bringing down toys to fill the box. I just wrapped a box with coordinating wrapping paper to make it look a little more festive. The intent is to fill this box and donate it.

 Decorations were either things we had on hand, or purchased from Walmart.

 Hubs made the reindeer donuts. He was quite proud of his contribution. I love that we were able to make this a team effort.

I completely forgot about getting noses for the reindeer. They looked pretty ridiculous without them. Thankfully we had some leftover Whoppers from Halloween. Crisis averted!

On the menu:

Elf Hats(strawberries sitting on banana slices)

Reindeer Donuts(pretzels, candy eyes, Whoppers, and icing to glue it all in place)

Powdered White Donuts

Fruit Cups

Scrambled Eggs

Bacon

Almond Chocolate Milk(soooo delicious dangerous ;-) )

Snarf also brought little gifts for the kiddos.

This was S.R.'s gift.

 And E's gift. All items were purchased from Walmart.

Even though putting this together was a tiny bit exhausting, it was well worth it to see the big smiles when they woke up.

Christmas Magic is in full swing here at the Waggoner home!

Make sure to check back frequently to see what sort of mischief Snarf will be into!

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A Little Bit of Christmas

Hey Y'all! It's been a while, hasn't it? We have finally been able to slow down with home school, and now can relax a little and focus on the upcoming holiday season. I have so many fun projects for the kiddos over the next few weeks, and I can't wait to share them with you.

Have you had a chance to put up your tree? I am still in love with the red and turquoise combination on our Christmas tree. Here is a sneak peak of what our décor looks like this year. A little more than last year. I'll be doing a Christmas home tour this next week.

Do you see the fire in the fire place?? We were fortunate enough a few days ago to have the temperature drop, and we got to have a beautiful roaring fire. LOVE!!

 I am now a contributor over at Couponing to Disney. You can swing on over to Kristin's blog to see how I made this cute little Christmas countdown. It was really easy and very inexpensive to make!

Make sure to stop by again soon to see the rest of our Christmas décor!

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Christmas Home-2013

I know I have been absent for quite some time. I have been so busy, I have barely been able to sit down for 2 minutes. I'm sharing my Christmas decor for this year, but it's going to be mostly pictures. I have had a few "fuss" at me for not sharing:o)

I have changed things up a bit by adding red into the mix this year. We also went for a real Christmas tree this year instead of fake. 

I really like it. 

I think this will be a new holiday tradition!

I donated about 3/4 of what I had from last year, so there isn't quite as much to share. I was more into the decorating portion than actually celebrating the season. I'm so glad I made the decision to get rid of all of that!!

If you'd like to see how I decorated last year, you can click

HERE.

So here we go....2013 Christmas Decor!

 Dining Room

 Our Very First Real Christmas Tree

Ornaments of Christmas Past Tree

 Very Purple Tree

Star Wars Tree

So there you have it! 

Now I have to get back to "getting back to it"! Happy Tuesday!

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D.S.C.C.W.-Snowman Ornament

Hey Everybody! I am so excited to get this week started with the Christmas crafts the kids and I have been working on. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. 

I tried to come up with different crafts by using items that either came from the Dollar Tree or were $1 or less.

Today we'll start with a Snowman ornament.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

-Wooden Round disk..found ours at the Hob for 67 cents, I believe, in the clock making section. 

-Craft paint-White, Orange, and Black(already had on hand)

-2 Spools of Ribbon (1 for "scarf" and 1 for hanging the ornament)

-Glue Gun and Glue sticks

-Scissors

-Craft Foam, red & black(had on hand as well)

-Craft glue

-Paint brush

 You will need to paint the wooden disk first with the white craft paint. Then mark out with a pencil where the eyes and smile go.

 Let your little ones use their fingers to put a black dot on each spot you marked with a pencil.

 Just small little dots

 It should look something like this:o)

Next you want to cut out a hat from the black craft foam. I folded the foam in half lengthwise, sketched out a hat, and then cut it. Just trimmed a little here and there to make it look even. You'll also want to cut out some red for the "ribbon" above the brim of the hat(see pics below), and attach it to the hat. You'll want to do this BEFORE you put the hat on the ornament. I did that part backwards and had to remove the hat while the glue was still wet.

 Squirt a little glue on the top of the Snowman head, and attach the hat.

 It should look like this when you're done. 

I painted a little carrot nose on his face. You can let your kids do this, but mine are still a little young to wield a paint brush:o)

 Next is the scarf. I used ribbon I already had. I tied a knot, and trimmed the ends on an angle. I attached it using my hot glue gun at the Snowman's chin.

 Once everything is dry, you can flip it over and attach ribbon to the back so that it can be hung.

This is what our Snowmen looked like when they were finished...so cute!

Make sure to come back tomorrow!! I'll be sharing Christmas Angels using some very interesting materials:o)

Participating here:

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Dining Room Table-Christmas Centerpiece

Good Monday to you all! The elves have been busy here in our home, and are ready for their naps:o)

It looks like the North Pole exploded in our house...AND I LOVE IT!

I am not ready to share all of our trees...yes there are multiples..possibly 8...so I am waiting until after Thanksgiving to let you guys in on the fun:o)

I know the suspense is killing you;o)

I thought I would share my center piece for the dining room table, just to hold you over.

I created it using items I already had. I love FREE:o)

The September or November(can't remember which) Southern Living magazine had a beautiful centerpiece for fall with pumpkins, fall flowers, and berries. They had an enormous trough that they put it all in, and I thought, I wish I had something like that...well I completely forgot that I did:o)

I got a VERY distressed plant container from one of my mother's friends back in the summer, and stuck it in the attic so the hubs wouldn't fuss at me for junkin' up the garage. Out of sight, out of mind, so I didn't remember having it until I started digging through the attic for Christmas stuff.

I was so very very excited. And even more excited that I had the stuff to fill it up.

Fancy and Free:o)

 It makes a huge statement, because it is huge:o) My favorite part is that it is contained. I don't have a bunch of little nick-knacks strewn across the table like I normally do. Clean, elegant, and bold.

So are you ready for the holidays? Do you have all of your decorations up, or are you patient, and wait until after Thanksgiving to get in the Christmas spirit?

I must be off...I have to go make little man's vest and bow tie for the wedding. Hopefully I will be able to show it off tomorrow. Have a great Monday y'all!

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Christmas Card Holder

Here is a fun craft I did a few weeks ago. I found a large frame at a yard sale for $5. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but it had previously been a $60 frame from Hobby Lobby, and I couldn't pass on this cheapy:o) I used Krylon's Avocado spray paint to give it a new finish..and then I drew a creative blank. It sat in the garage for several days before I came up with the idea to make it a photo display.

I went to Walmart to get the burlap webbing..it was really inexpensive..I think I paid 60 cents a yard for it.

I used a staple gun to attach the ends to the lip of the inside of the frame, and starting weaving. It was really easy. 

The original intent was just to put regular pictures on it, but when I got done, I knew that displaying Christmas cards on this beauty would be the perfect use for it .

The extra large paper clips are also a Walmart purchase. You can find them in the office supplies section.

The office was the right spot for this photo holder because it is one of the few rooms in the house that is decorated in red for Christmas. 

I have most of the decorations up in the office. There are a few final touches that I want to add before showing off the finished room. I'm on the hunt for a hounds tooth hat..an inexpensive one, that is:o)

Tomorrow the kids go for their pictures with Santa...they think that they are just having Christmas pictures taken..the photographer wanted them to be surprised, so that she could catch their reaction..I can't wait!! I am also getting our family pictures back tomorrow, so I hope to share them with you all as well! 

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My Home for the Holidays

I do realize that there are fewer days until Christmas now;o)

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a fabulous time and my eye twitching has ceased for now;o) I have a special request to ask of you guys. My father-in-law broke his knuckle while playing football with all the kids. He had surgery yesterday and they had to put 2 pins in his hand. It is going to take 2 months for his hand to heal and he's a diabetic, so there is a chance for complications. Please pray for a quick and uneventful recovery for him. Thanks in advance!

I, like the rest of you have pulled out all of the Christmas decorations. This house is extremely festive. I am sharing some of the decorations in my house today. 

Here is the long awaited and anticipated tree that I purchased from Craigslist before Turkey day...I told you it was big:o) The decorations are from Dillards purchased by my mother. She had intended them to be on her tree this year, but much to her dismay and much to my pleasure, they didn't look right in her living room. I think they look FABULOUS right where they are;o) Thank you Mother!!

The skirt has fur trim...It is so pretty.

My Sheet Music Wreath. I didn't work too hard on this center piece. So many other things took priority...one being S.R. with her croup....she is on steroids, and she is wacked out right now. No sleep last night and full of herself right now:o)

 Our dining room. I plan on changing out the table decor soon. I have some Pottery Barn gift cards to spend:o) I cannot wait to go shopping there! I just need to get everyone well so that I can:o)

The kitchen table....notice anything different? Could it possibly be those sweet little chairs at the table??:o) I'll share the seat cushions tomorrow.

I found this Amaryllis plant at Target today for $7. I think this would make a great hostess gift.

Upstairs bedroom...part of it, at least:o) I finally got this room cleaned. This is usually where I do all my cutting and ironing while sewing. It's also the dumping grounds for anything I really don't know what to do with but don't want to get rid of:o) I have gone on a major cleaning spree the past few days.

Close up of my little tree from Dollar General. This tree was $5. I have lights on it, but I need an extension cord so that I can plug it in.

The bonus room. Another "gift" from my mother is the garland across the entertainment center. 

And here is the tree in the bonus room. Yesterday the kids and I made gingerbread men ornaments. They are on the tree somewhere:o)

The sad thing about all of this is that this isn't the entirety of my decorating. I still have 2 more trees that I haven't shown you. The one is E's room and the one in our bedroom. I can share those another day. I must be off to go take care of my little ones. Have a great day, and Merry Decorating!

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Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Friday Linky Party

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