Sunday, December 12, 2010

Journaling My Christmas

One of the prompts in Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class is about wrapping presents.  My favorite type of wrapping is the kind that stores will do for you! It always looks so nice and professional and saves me time later in the holidays.  I was so happy when William Sonoma agreed to wrap these presents (one for my brother and one for my husband).  I always ask if there's complimentary gift wrap available and take advantage of it when it is.  How about you? Do you ever get the complimentary gift wrap?
Stockings is a prompt for later this month, but I'll be heavily involved in a baking party that day, so I decided to complete the prompt now:
I love the idea of having fancy, personalized stockings that the kids can use throughout their lives and take with them when they grow up and move out.  It's one of the things that I want to be heirloom quality.  So early on, I bought these stockings from Lands' End.  I added personalized pewter stocking hangers a few years ago. They're one of my favorite Christmas things.
And here's the post I settled on for the "Traditions" prompt because it involves two things which are key two me about Christmast traditions - family and the real reason for Christmas:
 Many years ago, Paul's parents asked each of their children and spouse to select a shared present for their household.  I told Paul's mother that I wanted a nice Nativity set.  I think they gave us a TV that year.  But the idea stuck in her mind because the next year she gave us this beautiful set which she made herself!  I love it and treasure it both because of its beauty and because of what it represents.
Now, of course, I realize that it must have taken forever to make.  It has 18 pieces and is just gorgeous.  Since so many of you commented on my last post about Nativity Sets, I thought I would share a picture of my other set.  It's one I bought for the kids when they were little, and they used to assemble it in front of the tree on Christmas Eve. I thought they were a little old for it now but Clara found it when we were decorating last weekend and had fun putting it together on top of the keyboard:

11 comments:

  1. I love both nativity sets - it is hard to believe that your MIL made the first one, it is stunning! I do love the simplicity of the second one and it looks like it has the perfect home on top of the keyboard.
    Sometimes I get the store wrapping, but more often, not ... you see, I am usually the gift buyer and I like the man of the house to see what we are giving to people before we actually pass over the gift!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's totally amazing that she made it....it looks stunning....a real family heirloom.
    I hate wrapping....and would love to have it all wrapped for me....sadly I rarely buy gifts in shops that wrap!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. She MADE it? Wow! It's absolutely beautiful. I've been working on my page about wrapping this morning - yes, I'm a bit behind after spending all day yesterday wrapping my mum's presents for her!

    ReplyDelete
  4. what an amazing homemade nativity set you have. so lovely to have a family heirloom like that to pass on to ur children. i love the little wooden version too, reminds me of a wooden set of farm and town bits i played with a child.
    Jo xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. it looks like you have a lot of beautiful and meaningful holiday decorations. my mom had a nativity set that we loved to play with, re-enacting the christmas story. unfortunately, we were pretty hard on it because after a while several of the animals had no legs! but she still put it up each year and it has become a treasured memory of mine.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are too funny! I like the idea of letting the store gift wrap, but less and less are doing that and charging too much!! Amazing Nativity set and such a treasure to bring out every year! Have a great one!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Absolutely love this post, Rinda :-)

    The giftwrap looks gorgeous, but I do a lot of my shopping online and giftwrapping is only available if you pay for it - plus I wouldn't be able to check that the right item had arrived! So I end up wrapping everything myself....

    ReplyDelete
  8. The nativity set your MIL made is fabulous! We had a tiny nativity set much like your wooden one. I haven't seen it this year; I hope it hasn't disappeared.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such a lovely nativity set and what a treasured keepsake from your MIL!

    ReplyDelete
  10. J'ai appris des choses interessantes grace a vous, et vous m'avez aide a resoudre un probleme, merci.

    - Daniel

    ReplyDelete