Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest!

Would you like to know how I decorate my house?

I don't like spending money on expensive decorations that my four kidlets could most likely break. So, here are my cheap, but super awesome, Christmas decorations!

The snowmen were a hand-me-down decoration.  Every year instead of hanging the very breakable glass balls on the tree, I place them around the house for decorations.  They last much longer and look really pretty :)

My mother-in-law made this.  You put kisses in the bag and eat one every night.  The last night is Christmas Eve and then you go to bed and Santa comes!

This is my pride and joy village.  I add to it every year.  The best part?  It's ALL bought at the Dollar Tree.  

My mom sent me this when I was in college.  (Dollar Tree)

My husband and I used to put a puzzle together each Christmas.  We would glue it and either frame it or find some other way to hang it.  The tradition has dwindled since, but we still hang the pictures and have the memories.

I also love to add bows and holly around the house.  

This is the reason I'm celebrating!  I am Christian and I love my Savior!

So, this tree has certainly been through a lot!  This is a hand me down fake 20$ tree that my sister gave me our second year of marriage.  It has been tipped over 5 times just this year.  Many of the ornaments have been smashed and more child-proof ones have been added.  One day I'll get a really nice tree, but for right now I'm perfectly okay with this :)

This is my holiday drink mix.  I call it "homemade wassail," but the recipe says, "Russian Refresher."  It's a recipe from my in-laws.  The thing I love is that it tastes good and makes single servings like hot chocolate mix.  I like it strong and sweet so I add more scoops, but you can always add less if you'd like.  Here's the recipe.
2 cups Tang (yes the slightly tangy orange drink)
1/2 cup lemon mix (lemonaide drink mix with the sugar already added)
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Mix it all together and store in a container.  I add about 2 Tbsp of mix for 10 ounces of hot water.
Enjoy!

This is the drink mixed up and ready to guzzle down.

I am not a baker.  Just had to say that.  I don't bake very much even around Christmas time.  In fact, while I was making these cookies, I got frustrated with the sticky dough and my husband took over to fix it.  The frosting is a basic white frosting mix that tasted very much of Crisco and powdered sugar.  I had a fun time inventing the peppermint middle and toppings, though!  So, although they may look yummy, they were just okay.  I'll spare you the recipe's as I'm sure, if you're a baker, you already have your own awesome sugar cookie and frosting recipe!  

These are our only outside lights.  And even though it's not very much, it still shorted while we were setting them up.  We thought the plug just stopped working so we were shocked two days later when we found our deep freezer without power!  We had no idea the two plugs were connected!  That's the last time we make that mistake.  Luckily, it hasn't shorted out since and we get this pretty view every night :)

Yes, I love to get gifts, but I love even more to give them.  I wanted to post this to show you one of my other hobbies.  I  love to make flower clips.  My new thing is to clip the flowers back to the stem when I give them away.  It makes a fun bow!

In case you're wondering how to feel the holidays, here are a few extra ideas.  Heat up by a fireplace (or sit by the heater), light a holiday candle (I prefer cinnamon), and listen to some Christmas music (I love David Archuleta Holiday, Tran-Siberian Orchestra Holiday, and for the kids it's Chipmunks Jingle Bells station).


Some of my all time favorite Christmas movies (remember that I have a love for oldies) are:  Bishop's Wife, Holiday Inn, The Home Alone's, White Christmas, While You Were Sleeping, Serendipity, the Little Women (those last three are technically not Christmas but we like to think they are), Christmas in Connecticut, and the kids love the Christmas classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  Polar Express is also great!  Oh, I also love the Nativity Story.  Man, I could go on forever :)


Be sure to check out the other blogs in this Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest!

By the way, since my kids are out of school, I'm going to take at least this Friday off for Aspiring Author Interview.  But, if I get random writing thoughts and have time to post them, I'll be here for sure.  I plan on tackling my TBR pile and then plan on sharing the awesome reads with you.  

Have a safe and very merry Christmas!