The Christmas Rules (Friday Five)

(So, this is either a late Friday Five from last week, or an early Friday Five for this week, given the holiday!)

Being the former lawyer/type-A/rule-follower that I am, I have certain, ahem, “rules” about Christmas. These Christmas Rules are to be followed by all at HQ.

Rule #1: You don’t believe, you don’t receive.

Neither of my children still believes in Santa. That said, we have a rule: “You don’t believe, you don’t receive.”

The magic of Christmas still lives on at our house. We always manage to surprise each other with unexpected gifts. And we always leave out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer. You know, just in case.

Rule #2: Give to Get.

Rule #2 is that you have to give in order to get. Every year, before Christmas, we go through our toys, games, and books and give away any that we don’t use any more. We donate them to organizations or thrift stores that benefit causes we love or, when possible, we take them to the children’s hospital directly.

Rule #3: Ribbons on the Tree.

OK, so this is mainly my rule: I love ribbons on the Christmas tree.

We didn’t have ribbons on our Christmas tree growing up, but for some reason, since I’ve had my own tree, I’ve loved having ribbon on our tree. I tie ribbon at the top of the tree and then let it flow downward. It’s almost like the tree itself is a present.

See? This was our tree in 2014. Click HERE for our holiday home tour 2014.

Rule #4: One New Decoration Each Year

Each year, I try one new decoration in our home. Last year, I hung wreaths from our curtain rods throughout the house. This year…

I added LED Christmas lights to my antique dough bowl, then put large silver ornaments on top. It glistens and glows and makes me smile.

Rule #5: Lots of Love.

This year has been a hard year for many of us. It’s been full of major change, not-so-nice discourse, and challenges for us, our family, or our friends.

Maybe especially this year, I want to make sure Christmas is filled with fun and love. We are going to make Nana’s famous fudge, watch lots of Christmas and other movies (Star Wars, anyone?!?), play games (reindeer and otherwise), and just enjoy being together.

Even though this has been a strange year, we have so much for which to be grateful.

I’m going to take a break from the blog over the holidays to enjoy this time with my family. I’ll be back to recap the top posts of 2016, and what 2017 has in store!

Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa. Happy New Year. Peace and love to you all, friends.

And to all a good night.

(Someone really should tell the dogs that the tree skirt isn’t a blanket.)