Sending holiday cheer

It's December and I'm ready for all the Christmas cards to start appearing in my mailbox. If you have sent me a card in the last 10 years, I have it. Heck, if you have EVER written me anything, I have it. That includes notes passed in 7th grade and the first ever e-mails I received in college. With us moving, I am slowly trying to get rid of such things because no one wants to see my high school angst in print. But looking through past Christmas cards, I just can't toss them. And I really don't want my friends and family to toss mine. I want my card to get Oooos and Ahhhhs.

Lucky for me I work at Night Owl Paper Goods, a local stationery studio which means I am surrounded by pretty. Now, by local I mean we are a small business hidden away in an industrial part of town but we ship worldwide and can count Paper Source and Papyrus as clients. And by pretty I mean I want everything we make. We make a lot too — cards for every occasion, calendars, journals, bookmarks, custom wedding invitations and more.

Note cards and journals featuring the art of Dolan Geiman.

These critters are so cute! I've already got one.

I am biased* but here the best reasons you should order your Christmas cards, like me, from Night Owl Paper Goods:

1. COMPLIMENTS. Last year, I had several folks go out of their way to tell me how much they liked our Christmas card. That had never happened to me before. If it's a competition to send the best card, I won. I plan to win again this year.

2. SERVICE. Our custom card team of Megan and Josh are crazy quick. I work with these folks and was amazed how fast they got me a proof and then worked with me to get the best resolution on my photos. They are working hard right now to make every customer happy.

3. CHOICES. Close to 180 designs to personalize. Flip your card over, 12 choices of backgrounds. Choose your envelope color. You can design it to look exactly how you want.

4. QUALITY. Once your card is printed — either on pretty wood or nice, thick paper  — we check for any errors/blemishes and then check again. I can tell you, we only let the best ship out. I don't think it will surprise my friends that as a perfectionist, quality control is an area I really shine. All our products are made in the USA using eco-friendly processes. And you should see how much we recycle.

The only problem I have with ordering my Christmas cards from Night Owl is choosing which card. I have a tough time deciding. Below are some of the contenders … friends and family will just have to check their mailboxes soon to see what I decided.

* Just like last year, I receive an employee discount. Opinions expressed are my own. Oh, you want a discount too? Use Merry2014 to get 15% off!

On the tree 2013

So how long ago was Christmas? Because honestly folks, Will's little blue tree is still the nightlight in the boys' room and the ornaments are still boxed in the hall waiting to be stored. Despite it being 303 days until Christmas 2014, I wanted to share what Aunt Catherine made for us in 2013.

You guys love what Aunt Catherine does. My "On the tree" post from Dec. 2011 is my second most viewed post ever. She didn't disappoint again — those "snow cones" are pretty darn cute!

I realized a little late that it would be a great idea to take a picture of the boys with the ornament (or Mother's Day gift or Valentine's card) they made to easily answer the "how old were you when you made this?" question. So here is Joseph, age 4, with a very cute thumbprint Rudolph.

Will actually made this last year in first grade. It's now my favorite nativity. Does it get cuter than a  black-eyed pea baby Jesus? No, no it does not. 

Santa vs. Joseph

Oh my Will, always so happy to see Santa and tell him what to bring for Christmas. 

Joseph on the other hand ...

He wants nothing to do with the big guy in red. 

This year I suggested Joseph try standing next to Santa. But no, I was not even 

going to get that. Tears people, tears! I may or may not have yelled, "Stop crying. This is 

suppose to be fun!" I had backed down by the time we got to Bass Pro (yep, because

they have games and activities and 4-wheelers). But Santa didn't give up as easily ...

Santa waved a candy cane. Joseph looked up at me. I told him if he wanted the candy cane

he'd have to get it himself. So slowly, slowly Joseph inched closer. He got the candy cane 

but let his guard down for just a second because Santa reached both hands out and plopped 

Joseph on his lap. So fast I didn't have time to say that's okay Santa, no need to push. 

But there Joseph sat. I waited for the screaming and wailing. But Joseph just ... pouted. 

There were a few chuckles from fellow parents as the photographer clicked away. Not sure if Joseph even talked to Santa. He says he did but I did not see an exchange. 

And the candy cane is mine! 

(For non-locals, Joseph is posing here like Vulcan.) 

Happy to forget all the drama and get back to playing.

And you can't go to Bass Pro and not

sit on a 4-wheeler. Heck, I even sat on one.

A cup of cheer

What? You say it's February 2013? I'm still catching up on my December posts ... 

Besides, are you only thirsty in December? I think not.

I'm big on tradition, especially Christmas traditions. So every year I make Ruby Wine Punch. Sometimes for an event but usually just for me. Two Christmas-es ago I made some, bragged about it on Facebook and had two friends ask for the recipe. I thought, hey I'll just post about it and they can get the recipe off my site. So I did it the very next day. Here it is, finally. 

I haven't shared many recipes on Pretty Little Nest because I haven't felt enough ownership to claim the right to publish. But this recipe for Ruby Wine Punch has been in the family now for three generations. My thanks to one Mrs. Morrisson for sharing it with my grandmother.

Ruby Wine Punch

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

6 inches of cinnamon sticks

1 tsp whole cloves

dash of salt

2 cups burgandy wine

1 quart cranapple juice

Combine water, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a saucepan; bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce to simmer 10 minutes until clear like syrup. Chill (wine and the cranapple juice should be chilling in the fridge as well). Combine with wine and cranapple juice. Serve. If serving in a punch bowl, go ahead and get fancy with an ice ring of cranapple juice. It is rather sweet so you can add ginger ale/sprite or cut back on the sugar. 

Notes from me: I made 2012's version with a cheap dry red and cran-pomegranate juice. Not the same so sticking to the recipe next time. Try to strain the punch while pouring into a cup. No need to ruin Christmas by choking on a clove. AND if you put the punch back into the cranapple juice container CLEARLY MARK the container before someone pours the "juice" into a cup for your four-year-old. Just saying. 

Do you like those wonderfully vintage Christmas glasses? Score at the thrift store! Even better, got six of them marked way less than they should have been. Double score!

On the tree 2012

What? You say it's January 2013? I'm still catching up on my December posts ...

Here are the ornaments the boys received from Aunt Catherine this last year. Still one of the traditions of Christmas that I look forward to the most. Past ornaments here and here.

By far, this was my favorite ornament on the tree this year! Will made this nativity at school with his "seventh grade buddies." (I remember making fun crafts with my "eighth grade buddy" when I was Will's age.) So the big bean at the bottom is Joseph, the middle bean is Mary and that teeny-tiny black-eyed pea is the baby Jesus. So adorable! I love just about everything the boys create and will be hanging this one on the tree for years to come.

Happy Christmas to all!

At the last minute Santa could not make it to Joseph's school Christmas party. The kids didn't let it phase them ... they ate cookies and ran around drunk on sugar like always. After a few laps, I threw the boys in the van and headed down to the local Bass Pro. Built like a huge log cabin, Joseph declared it was the North Pole. Whatever kid, let's go see Santa and get our free picture.

Here's Will with Santa. A very nice Santa who tried to get Joseph closer with a candy cane bribe. Joseph wanted nothing to do with Santa or getting his picture taken. After forcing Joseph last year and getting the classic money shot, I had promised not to do that to him ever again. Oh well.

Joseph did however draw a picture of what he wanted and mailed it to Santa. He asked for some kind of bad shark thing that eats cars (what?!). Before we left, I demanded the kids pose for pictures hoping to get at least one decent shot for the Christmas New Years cards.

Success!

Wishing you the joy of the season and a happy new year!

Merry Christmas 2011

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

On the tree

Last year I shared one of my favorite holiday traditions – ornaments from Aunt Catherine!

This year, most of my extended family loaded up in two cars and drove to Aunt Catherine's house for what we call "Family Christmas." We tend to get together the weekend before Christmas, so that everyone is at their own homes for actual Christmas. 

While it was great to see everyone, I also loved seeing Catherine's tree. Which, of course, is loaded top to bottom with her awesome ornaments. The poor tree was struggling to hold them all! 

Above is the ornament she painted for everyone this year. It's very special because that's grandma and grandpa's house. Which he built himself! I've got lots of memories playing in that house. It makes me smile every time I look over at the tree.

And here is some cuteness for the boys. They are going to have quite the ornament collection ready for their own trees. Not that I'm letting them have all of them!

Let the countdown begin!

Our advent calendar this year is a Book Advent Calendar. I decided on the idea last year after seeing it around the blogsphere. Which means I had plenty of time to shop after-Christmas sales and found even more at the local thrifts. Not to mention that we already had a ton of Christmas books in the house. It took two hours of television, but I got them all wrapped and ready to go for today. Looks like our elf wants in on the fun too.

This is a busy time of the year. Us moms and dads are already over-extended as it is. You might be thinking you don't have time to do anything cool this year. You're wrong! Here are four (free!) easy-peasy cool-looking ideas:

Make and Takes

A puzzle to put together, one day at a time ... Make and Takes

Skip to My Lou

Print, cut, glue snowflake countdown ... Skip to My Lou

Gluesticks

I love how Santa's beard gets shorter ... Gluesticks

Inviting Printables

Another Santa! So cute to add cotton balls for the beard ... Inviting Printables

Felt Christmas trees

Two years ago, I spied beautiful felt Christmas trees on Creature Comforts. Last year, I made some. This year, I'm sharing them with you. 

I don't have decent photos or a full-blown tutorial, but the process is pretty simple:

I made a cardboard template to trace lots and lots of "leaves." Not sure what to call them. I curved the top to help the pieces lay flat when pinned with straight pins to the styrofoam cone.

Start pinning ...

Keep pinning ... and cutting because even if you cut out a hundred, it won't be enough ...

And finished. Decorate your mantle or wherever. Christmas robot candle optional.

For the two trees on the left, I used several variations of green to give them a natural look. I experimented with easy-to-cut squares for the smallest (and not surprisingly, the last to be made tree). The tree on the right I used just one color green and added pops of color for "ornaments."

Yes, you still have time to put this on your to-do list! If you make one, I'd love to see pictures.

Linking to Creative Me Monday and Made by You Monday.

Christmas in July

Do you love vintage Christmas ornaments? Me too! 

I would love to decorate a tree with just these beauties!

(This is just a small sample of the awesomeness found in the attic of my aunt's mother-in-law. I've been recruited as the "expert" on antique toys and books and got to spend a recent afternoon cataloging the goods with the digital camera. I'm not an expert but I can use the internet to research fair market values.) 

Random pictures

Instead of Random Thoughts Thursday, it's random pictures I'm bringing to the table today. As I am putting up Christmas this week, I wanted to share a few things.

One of my favorite presents to receive this year was three vintage Christmas Golden Books. I would show you a picture of them all laid out nicely, but Joseph had other plans. Overall, we had 25 books come into the house over the course of the Christmas season and that's not counting these or the ones we get in the mail. Whoa! I bought some, Santa brought more, grandmothers added to the mix. 

Here are my felt trees that took forever to finish. Okay, the first two were finished well before Christmas, but the last one on the right I finished last night. I saw a picture last year and thought, I want to make one but I couldn't stop with just one. Mine are a little different so I'll share how-tos next Christmas. I'm happy to say they have already got several compliments.

What, you didn't have robot to watch over your Christmas decorations? 

Will saw it at a local crafts fair and I had to agree, he's pretty cute.

Do you have an Angry Birds champion in your house? In fact, as I type this Will is happily playing away on my iPhone. He loved getting this shirt for Christmas from mommy and daddy.

And that blue tinsel tree might be one of my new favorite Christmas decorations. I had a regular green tree in my hand while out shopping after-Christmas sales but Will spied the blue one. He didn't want to put it up after Christmas but I convinced him it would be safe in the attic. I look forward to decorating it with him next year.

Top books of 2010

I thought I would share some of our favorite books of the past year. These are the ones that we read over and over and over again.

"Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs" by Judi Barrett — This was a favorite of mine growing up. Reading it again and again must be pay back for making my Mom do the same thing. Will knows many of the pages by heart and can "read" along. Daddy is the top choice to read it because he changes the words around ... the silliness keeps it fresh for Will.

"Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy" by David Soman and Jacky Davis — This arrived in our mailbox from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in March. It's a wonderful FREE program that delivers age-appropriate books to both boys monthly from birth to age 5. Check the Web site to see if your area participates. While not all the books become favorites, they are all quality books that I see again and again on the local bookstores' shelves. "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats showed up this December. I'm glad I didn't buy it when it was in my hand recently.

"Cool Cars and Trucks" by Sean Kenney, a LEGO certified professional. It's a book of LEGO scenes with instructions on how to build them. Santa brought it last Christmas. Will paged through it again and again, quietly in his room. That's the best kind of book for momma! Thoughtfully Santa this year brought Kenney's latest, "Cool Robots."

While Will favors a few books at a time, I can usually talk him into something new to give Mom a break. Joseph though is at the age where repetition is key so we read the same books over and over and over. His favorites for the year were "Big Red Barn," "Goodnight Gorilla," "Big Dog," and "Good Dog Carl." If he is really sleepy, I can sneak in a new read.

For Christmas, Santa brought "Cats A to Z" from the fine folks at Stuff on My Cat. Mommy made a special request from Santa after Joseph loved, loved, loved the book from the library (I find the library a great way to try out books on the boys before shelling out dough). He laughs and laughs at the silly cats. Santa also brought "I Took the Moon for a Walk" by Carolyn Curtis. The illustrations are by Alison Jay who is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Besides the LEGO book, Santa brought Will the hilarious "365 Penguins" by Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet and "In the Town All Year 'Round" by Rotraut Susanne Berner. I can't wait to see if they become favorites in 2011.

Favorites of you or your children in 2010? Page turners for 2011? Please share.