One of my favorite parts of the holidays is when I get to bring out my Christmas dinnerware. A few years ago a line of dishes came out from a company called International China titled "A Christmas Story". I fell in love with the idea and the look of them immediately. They are the creation of an artist named Susan Winget and when the set is complete, you have the entire story of t...

Wow, what did I get myself into?! These are really, really cute, BUT they are really, really a LOT of work! Every time I end up making one of these darling stockings, I ask myself if I’m crazy, or what? But then when I’m finished, I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I made something real special for the kids I love so much. The first one I made was twenty years ago. In fact,...

Even though we went to the ocean this Christmas, and there was no fireplace mantle, I still wanted my husband and I to be able to hang our Christmas stockings. One of the fun things that we do every year, is fill a stocking with small gifts for each other. So even though the chimney was missing, we hung our stockings in the window, by the Christmas tree. They were terrific looking new stockings...

This year I'm making my own Christmas cards to send to family and friends.  I needed a little help to get started so I purchased a 5 pack of Express Yourself DIY Cards.  The pack I purchased was called SNOW BEADS and came with everything needed to make the cards.  You don't need scissors, just a small tube of all purpose glue and you're set to go.  My kit ca...

I love the holidays and I love a beautiful Christmas tree. When my boyfriend and I found a fiber optic Christmas tree at Walmart, we knew we had to have it. It fit our style perfectly.The fiber optic Christmas tree sold by Walmart  is fun and unique.  I love to turn out the lights, turn on some Christmas music, and sit and watch the tips of the tree branches fade from one color to the...

I sat down and watched this new Christmas animated movie with my four-year-old grandson.  He liked the movie, but I was a little concerned about the evil wolves in the story that wanted to eat children and Santa Claus.  They didn't seem to scare him, but I could see how it might be disturbing to some children.The story is about a little reindeer named Niko who has never met his fa...

This is one of my favorite holiday traditions. Every year when I was growing up, my parents got me a chocolate Christmas calendar similar to this one. When I had kids of my own, this was one of those holiday traditions I knew I wanted to share with them as well and I have been lucky enough to still find them every year.The calendar is a thin cardboard box  tha...

This is the time of year that we all begin to think of the holidays, and all the decorating and scents that go with them.  One of my favorite ways to create  a Christmas feel is to burn Yankee Candle fragrances.  A couple of my favorites are Mistletoe (now retired) and Home For The Holidays. Now I have another one. It's called Christmas Wish, and it smells like freshly baked ...

Both my mother and I love Thomas Kinkade's paintings. Mom also loves putting together puzzles, so when I thought of a birthday gift for her, a puzzle of a Kinkade's painting seemed like a perfect choice. Since Christmas is just around the corner, I decided to shop for a Christmas-themed one.I found this one, named The Night Before Christmas, on Amazon, and I loved it the moment I saw it...

I saw a display of these trolls at a winery in my area and fell completely in love.  They are handmade out of natural materials, very detailed, and just adorable.  I had been wanting one for a long time, but I couldn't justify buying one.  Even though I thought they were so unique and cute, they just don't fit with the decor of my house.  I didn't know where I wo...

If you are in the mood for a real honky tonkin' country Christmas album, then look no further than Alan Jackson's "Honky Tonk Christmas". This is a really fun and fun loving album. Alan puts on a show of great country classics with a duet with Alison Krauss, Keith Whitley, and even The Chipmunks! This is a fun filled album for everyone of every age!My favorite song has to be t...

I have been purchasing Hallmark Greetings card for many times because of the simple and attractive design. The cards are usually made of very good paper quality with colorful design and patterns. I have always loved the message and themes of the cards I bought from Hallmark. I also like Hallmark cards because of the variety of the occasions it caters to. I normally bought a whole bunch of Hallm...

This is a fantastic book! It is in my second favorite Christmas book, outdone only by the previous book by the same author that I review in another post. This book is all about the allusive Mrs. Clause and how she has helped the Mr. throughout the ages and how she even saved Christmas in England at one point.  Much like Guinn's previous book it is historically rich and a celebration of...

This year I let my husband pick out the Christmas cards.  Can you tell?  As someone who loves technology, he just couldn't pass up these ICod cards.The outside of the card pictures three polar bears listening to music from their fish players (ICods :P).  I've tried to get a close-up picture for you.  The inside reads, "Get your holiday groove on!"  The...

Christmas is nearing so our house already has some blinking lights and decors. For this year, one of the additions we bought was the capiz Christmas lantern. At first, we just got curious when we saw on TV the different lanterns being sold so hubby and I decided to canvass. We went to Gilmore where several seasonal vendors are selling different Christmas decors. There is this one quite big capi...

My husband and I were able to get our first real tree this year for Christmas. Because we didn't have anything to go along with our tree we had to buy new stuff. This red Christmas tree skirt was one of our purchases.This tree skirt is made out of flimsy red felt and is about 66cm. We ended up getting a 6 foot tree and it sis not fit properly. I was constantly fixing it and trying to straig...

Socks are a major part of our wardrobe. They range from plain white crew socks to just about anything you can imagine. Socks are no longer just to keep our feet warm and comfortable. They are often a fashion statement or just plain fun. The various themes on the market seem to be never ending. In my sock drawer, there are ankle, crew, knee-high, wool, summer weight, heavy duty and various ...

This inexpensive Christmas decoration is economical and very cute.Hubby thinks that there are two seasons, 4th of July and Christmas.  So.. It’s beginning to be Christmas here.  This classic bubbler light is about six inches tall and plugs into any standard outlet.  It has an on-off switch so you don’t have to unplug it to turn it off.  The plug rotates so that t...

It’s almost Christmas! We’re beginning to prepare for the holidays. When I ‘dig’ inside the room for some old Christmas ornaments, I found this card. It’s a Christmas greeting card which I remember I bought it around thirteen years ago, when I was still in high school. This Christmas card is made by Capricorn (model KP31) and it comes with a green envelope. The siz...

I purchased this book for myself many years ago as a joke. My best friend was the crafty type and I considered myself to be her polar opposite. I intended to give the book to her to show her how domesticated she had become.The more I looked at the projects listed in the book, the more I became interested in completing them. This book features projects ranging from cute cookie boxes to exotic ha...