Oh Christmas Tree...

Do you know the story behind Christmas trees?  Have you ever wondered why we decorate these lovely  firs this time of year? Well I was clueless, so I did a little investigating and found out that the trees and the lights symbolize Christ. Pretty cool huh?

According to Yahoo Answers: 

The evergreen fir tree is a sign of hope throughout the winter season--hope in the promise that the rest of nature too will awaken to new life in the coming spring. The message of this symbolism was simple: through Jesus Christ we too have hope for everlasting life. Indeed, Jesus Christ has become our tree of life--the paradise tree. As such the evergreen Christmas tree reminds us that even though our earthly season must come to an end, yet we will live through the grace of our Lord Jesus. Read more for the symbolism behind the lights.

My little and I made some of our own tiny fir trees the other day. You can make some too...they're so easy and fun.

Materials:
spools of thread
pipe cleaners
needle nose pliers
Christmas music (optional)

 cut some of your pipe cleaners in half

using one of the long pipe cleaners, fold in half and twist sides together to create the base of the tree. once it's all twisted, put into hole of the spool/tree trunk.

 using shorter pipe cleaners, fold in half around tree stem and twist into place

cut your tree into desired shape using needle-nose pliers or wire cutters. it's kind of like trimming a Bonsai tree - fun. (I used some of my longer snipped off pieces to create bulk/thickness on my tree)

Once you have the desired shape and tickness... you can decorate or leave plain. These little guys look so cute on bookshelves.  I have to say, I absolutely adore the little Charlie Brown versions that Liam made. They're perfect!

 Happy tree making! xo

Around the House: Christmas Cheer

Sorry for my absence lately. I guess I've kinda had the bloggy blues in addition to the cold I had last week. However, I seized the moment and made the most of my "online downtime." We've been doing a bit of decorating around the house and it's wonderful. Christmas music is playing throughout the house and pine scented candles are burning. 

Last year I received this vintage tinsel tree from our dear friends Jon and Kathy. It couldn't be more perfect what with our love of all things vintage and the boys allergies. I've been collecting little vintage ornaments here and there to give it just the right look. My Mother-in-law got me off to a good start with loads of goodies from her personal stash.

The entryway has been grabbing the attention of all the littles coming by to play. They love typing their most wanted items onto the list. So fun. I think I just may have to date this one and keep it in a memory box. I think it will provide some good laughs in about 10-15 years!  Hope you are enjoying the season and the many blessings it has to offer. xo

Ahh...CHOO!

***

I have a whale of a cold. My head might just explode!  Here's a few pics from the past week. Sorry...it's all I could muster in this condition.

Gobble. Gobble. I love my little pilgrim.

We took our annual family Christmas card photo this past weekend and this little Christmas tent is all that is left of the shoot... Liam thinks it's the prefect place to watch an afternoon show. Yesterday's pick - Wallace & Grommet.

I hope I'll be back tomorrow... I'm off to battle this cold. May the Force be with me. xo

Weekly Challenge: Trusting in the Darkness & A Winner

nite light

What does the darkness bring for you? Fear? Worry? Anxiety? Yes, yes, and yes for me. I tend to often forget that even when I can't see or feel God, He is there - quietly working out all the details that I am fretting over. This week, I am choosing to live in the light - the light of Christ who promised me, "Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you."

Saturday marks the annual celebration of God's Light coming into the world. Celebrate! For He has come and devoured the darkness! Holla! Sing Praise! Do a little dance! Get jiggy with it!  No matter how you celebrate, do it with all your might! There's no better reason to shake your grove thang! Merry Christmas sweet readers. xo

Oh, and who will be rockin' those Christmas sweaters next year? Drum roll please...........

Emma! via the the random number generator. Send your addy and I will get these lovely ensembles in the mail. xo

Together

All is Merry and Bright when this guy is at my side. He makes me look good; thank you Photoshop! He does a mean James Brown dance. He's the world's best Dad. He has been God's instrumental tool to restore the years the locust have eaten in my life. He's 10x hotter than Justin Timberlake! Just sayin'. He lets me decorate however I want. He supports my blog and etsy shop. He takes wicked awesome photos. He. Completes. Me.  There is no one I'd rather spend Christmas Eve or Christmas with - ever!

in this cabin

feeling this

under this

How about you? Who do you want under your mistle-toe this year? xo

Don't forget to comment for your chance to win an entire family Christmas ensemble here!

His & Hers: Christmas Wishlist

Monday. Monday. Bring on the His & Hers! If you're playing along with Alli and me, please let us know. We'd love to highlight what you're doing as well.

Today I thought I'd share with you our one item that each of us would love to see under the tree Christmas morning.

Are you salivating? I am. Electronics heaven. What's your one big item? xo

Around the House: A Christmas Giveaway

As a Christmas gift from our family to you...Pure and Noble would like to wish you a very "Hairy Christmas" with our first ever Christmas Giveaway! See those super smokin' hot Christmas ensembles? They can be yours! All you have to do is (1) become a follower (by clicking the Google Friends button on the right) and (2) leave a comment. That's right - we've made it that easy to look this good for your own Christmas card or party next year! Happy commenting! xo

Giveaway Includes:
Men's V-neck sweater vest
Men's green Polo turtleneck
Women's Christmas sweater vest
Women's green turtleneck
Child's multi-color sweater
Toddler's green velvet button-front vest

Now that is one stylin' giveaway my friends. We'll select a winner Christmas Eve.

(PS - If we make it to 100 comments, we'll throw in the afro!)

Weekly Challenge: Christmas Edition

christmas tree

Earlier this week, Rachel of Smile and Wave posted a public service announcement. It read, "10 more days until Christmas." What the what?  I didn't know if I wanted to punch her or hug her for that little bit of info.  None the less, I set out to "get 'er done" and mark all my Christmas to-dos off my list.

* Send out Christmas cards - check!

(last year's card)

* Finish shopping for the kiddos - check! (This wasn't really too hard since they only get 3 each and my sister had already picked up their skateboards for me.)

* Make reindeer candy canes - check!

* Co-host pre-K Christmas party - check!

*Tell our oldest that Santa's not real - check!

***

Now, before everyone gets to thinkin' we've ruined the magic of Christmas, I would like to share that I was having some serious guilt over lying to him. I want our boys to know that they can always trust us. Also, how do you explain to your child that the kids around the world not getting toys aren't "good or bad" their family is just in a tough spot, if you don't expose the Santa myth? So my husband came up with the genius idea of telling Jude that Santa is like Batman and Spiderman. He just makes Christmas more fun. Guess what... He doesn't believe us. He still thinks he's real. I love the innocence of a child.

What do you still have left to do before Christmas Day? xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Party Leftovers

Everyone I know over-plans a party. It's not a bad thing. You plan for more attendees and expect less. This inevitably leaves you with left-over party supplies: paper plates, napkins, party hats, balloons etc.  You could do one of two things (of which I have done both), you can store them away for the next party or toss them in the recycle bin. For today's post, I thought I'd show you how I turned a couple of my old party supplies into Christmas crafts with the kiddos.

Christmas Tree

materials:
party hat
hot glue gun
empty toilet paper roll
2 popsicle sticks
fuzzy pom poms

Glue popsicle sticks inside the empty toilet paper roll on opposite sides of one another.

Next, remove the elastic string from the party hat.

Then, add bigs gobs of glue to the tops of the popsicle sticks and place your party hat on top or the sticks, pressing the sticks into the party hat sides and allowing glue to dry.

Last step, glue your colored pom poms all over the tree. Voila!  You're finished! Easy huh?

We put our little tree on cake-plates and surrounded it with our Playmobile nativity scene. I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't have a Christmas tree in the manger, but it's better than the cardboard stable that came with the nativity scene.

Paper Plate Wreaths

materials: 

paper plates

scissors

hotglue gun

yarn

pom poms

plastic toy of your choosing

ribbon

First, cut the center out of your paper plate.

Next, secure yarn on back of plate and then wrap around the entire plate. (Be patient with yourself, this takes a while.) 

Once yarn is wrapped all the way around, secure yarn at the back of the wreath with a knot or glue.

Now, you get to design your wreath! We glued pom poms and a white plastic dino to ours. We had to man it up a bit ya know.

 Last, attach ribbon and hang on window or door! Easy peasy!

I got so pumped about this little project I made another wreath for our entryway mirror with hot glue and white feathers!

 I was going to add felt trees, but decided to leave them off.

I gotta say... I love a hot glue gun! It can do so many, many things. What Christmas crafts have you been making lately? xo

Around the House: Christmas Garage & Estate Sales

'Tis the season to hear the following, "It's better to give than to receive." And while I know this is completely true, it has never had a major impact on me until this past weekend. Here's the background: My sweet husband had the idea of helping some friends in need. We came up with the idea of a garage sale. So, last week we worked our tails off preparing for said sale. Here's the cool part, when we told our friends, they pitched in with tons of donations. When we told our neighbors, they pitched in too! Amazing.

It brought us incredible joy to serve this very deserving family. Saturday we delivered tons of toys, clothes, diapers and lots o' cash. It was probably one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever received. This is pretty much all that was left at the end of the day. Everything that didn't sell got packed up and dropped off at the Salvation Army. Win. Win. Win. Happy Christmas indeed.

On the flip side of giving, I was also able to score some sweet finds at an estate sale that I stumbled upon by the Salvation Army drop off. (See how giving always comes back around? ha ha ha) 

My tree is trimmed with 90% vintage, so finding these goodies at 10 and 25 cents each kind of made my heart skip a beat. I got the jack frost coasters and a ton of snowflakes for only 10 cents! They are sure to adorn some Christmas packages soon or maybe a giveaway package (hint hint).

 OZ peanut butter jar with measuring marks on the side? Why don't they make stuff like this anymore?

vintage Dick and Jane flashcards - I see some art projects in the near future.

How was your weekend? What brought you joy? xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Cardboard Boxes

help

With the holidays just around the corner, you're sure to end up with a ton of boxes. Here's a few ideas for them before the make their way to the recycle bin:

rocket

animal house/zoo

kitchen

drawers (for all those little trinkets)

oven

This one's a favorite for all you cereal lovers out there (like my family). Cut the tops off the boxes, wrap them and add ribbon handles. Done! Click the link below for a tutorial!

"bags"

How will you recycle your holiday boxes? xo