This time of year can be so crazy, can't it?  There is so much pressure to fit in all the things and make it so memorable and special and wonderful while you are also trying to soak it all in.  It's a lot.  I mentioned to someone that I had a pink tree because I love it and it's just so easy to put up and take down, but sometimes I feel like I'm cheating by not having a real tree and their reply was that my girls will have nostalgia over the pink tree of their childhood once they are grown up.

(pictured above: pommed snowball garland)

That comment gave me a little bit of pause.  Our Christmas traditions are already perfect because they are ours.  It may not look like everyone else's, or exactly the way mine did when I was a child, or exactly how I would like them to in my head, but the girls love it because we are all together, and even the small things I don't notice are taking root in their little hearts and minds to become nostalgia toned photographs they will lovingly flip through years from now.

The way we did Christmas when I was little.

So, I'm trying to just figure out which things are most important, and do those things.  The others, that feel like too much work, we just don't do (do you like the dust under my sideboard?).

This year, the girls and I worked on a Christmas village a la Studio DIY, and it was so much fun!  Some kind of Christmas miracle occurred and Ellie napped for 3.5 hours while we stole away to the craft room and the girls painted, glued, and glittered their hearts out.  I tried to keep my hands off the project (other than using the hot glue gun!) and let them make it their own.

I love how it all turned out, and it will be so fun to bring out every year!!  (Check out Kelly's post on where to find cute little houses - I found the rocketship, castle, and pirate ship at Michael's!)  This was honestly the most fun little project, and the girls are SO proud of their handiwork!

What are some of your favorite things to do with your little ones during the Christmas season?