{Winter Bucketlist // Santa Video & Mason's List}

Can I just say that I love December? I just wish it was longer!!! We've been busy little bees over here and constantly knocking things off of our list.




One of the ways we keep the magic in Christmas for Mason is by making him a video from Santa. I love to sit and watch the wonder in his eyes as he watches his personalized video!! He gets so excited when Santa says his name or shows a picture of him and his family! So magical...



Mason's 2014 Santa Video from Crystal Hall on Vimeo.
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Updated bucket list

+ take family photos
+ deck the halls
+ visit santa @ bass pro shop
+ visit the Christmas tree farm
+ go to the tree lighting event at our town square
+ make mason's Christmas list
+ bake cookies (& leave some for santa)
+ make ornaments & Christmas crafts
+ watch the Santa video for Mason
+ make a gingerbread house
+ order our Christmas cards
+ trim the tree
+ go to breakfast with Santa @ Church
+ take the traditional Christmas light picture of mason
+ pick out our yearly ornament for the tree
+ go to the polar express
+ have a pajama/movie night
+ go to Bethlehem revisited
+ put Christmas lights on the house
+ watch the marathon of The Christmas Story on Christmas Eve
+ go to an ugly Christmas sweater party
+ go to prairie lights  

How is your December going?

{Winter Bucketlist // make ornaments and crafts}

Mason and I have made a couple different varieties of ornaments so far this year. First, we made Rudolfs using popsicle sticks, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and crafting balls {and a hot glue gun}. We kept one for our tree and gave some to the Grandparents. 





And, it has become a yearly tradition for Mason and I to make salt dough ornaments. I like to let him do as much of it on his own. He loves to roll the dough with the roller and of course paint them! In true Mason fashion he wanted to paint every single one of them green! And mine were different shades of turquoise {of course}. We added gold glitter to them this time!

The recipe we used - 

Salt Dough Ornament Recipe 

1 cup of salt
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of water {add in gradually}





















As far as crafts go...we have made a few. Mason found a huge snowman and gingerbread foam craft at the dollar tree where you basically just stick the stickers on it. So, we did those and they came out cute. He also made a Santa door hanger with his Daddy. And then I found one of Mason's trucks and added a Christmas tree to it. I also found some old mattress springs when were Canton and made Christmas trees out of them. And I made a Santa wreath.








Updated bucket list

+ take family photos
+ deck the halls
+ visit santa @ bass pro shop
+ visit the Christmas tree farm
+ go to the tree lighting event at our town square
+ make mason's Christmas list
+ bake cookies (& leave some for santa)
+ make ornaments & Christmas crafts
+ watch the Santa video for Mason
+ make a gingerbread house
+ order our Christmas cards
+ trim the tree
+ go to breakfast with Santa @ Church
+ take the traditional Christmas light picture of mason
+ pick out our yearly ornament for the tree
+ go to the polar express
+ have a pajama/movie night
+ go to Bethlehem revisited
+ put Christmas lights on the house
+ watch the marathon of The Christmas Story on Christmas Eve
+ go to an ugly Christmas sweater party
+ go to prairie lights  



Have you made any ornaments or crafts this holiday season? Leave me a link, I'd love to see!

{How to keep the magic in Christmas for littles}

Keeping the magic in Christmas is very important to Nathan and I with Mason. There is nothing like seeing the holidays through the eyes of your child(ren)...especially when they are filled with so much wonder. Below are the ways that we keep the magic in Christmas for Mason...as well as some others.

1.) Make a personalized video from Santa and add as many pictures and personal details that you can. We use Portable North Pole {link} to make ours. 

2.) Take them to see Santa. 

3.) Let them write a letter to Santa and mail it. Write a letter back to the child. There are tons of free letterhead on Pinterest {here, here, here}.

4.) If you do not have a chimney {we do not} make a special key for Santa to be able to get in. Example {here} 

5.) Put Santa in your photo. We use Santa was in my house {link}. There are also apps on Apple for this.

6.) Grow a candy cane. Plant a peppermint, come back later to see a candy cane has grown. 

7.) Let them watch the live Reindeer camera. {link} There are also apps on Apple for this.

8.) Let them watch the Santa Tracker {link}. 

9.) Make magic Reindeer Food {oats & glitter} to put out in the yard on Christmas Eve to guide the Reindeer to your home.

10.) On Christmas Eve take bites out of the cookies and the carrots and leave a thank you note from Santa.

11.) Use flour and a pair of boots to leave Santa's footprints in the house.

12.) Elf on the Shelf - we do not currently do this, but it's all the craze.

13.) Watch Christmas movies that prove that Santa is real.

14.) Drop a bell in the yard and tell them it fell off Santa's sleigh.

15.) Sprinkle glitter around the tree on Christmas Eve to show that Santa was there.


What do you do to keep the magic in Christmas for your littles?

{Winter Bucketlist // Prairie Lights}

Last weekend we were talking about Christmas festivities and Nate's mom mentioned that she wanted all of us to go to Prairie Lights sometime. 

From their website - 

The Lights

Upon arriving at the entrance to Prairie Lights,  you will be dazzled with 4 million lights set along 2 miles of path. Hundreds of ALL-NEW displays in shapes of all kinds line and arch over the roads. Half way through the drive get out of your car for a stop at Holiday Village where you will find food, gifts, Santa, the all-new indoor laser show, and the Holiday Magic Lighted Walk-Through Forest. Once back in your vehicle, the second half of the drive ends with the very animated light tunnel – the perfect finale to a night you will never forget!
 via

And then Monday morning I checked my email and our credit union sent us a coupon good for Mon, Tues, Weds! After going through everyone's schedules we made plans for Tuesday evening after work/school. Going were my in-laws, brother in law and his girlfriend, Nate, Mason and I. We all loaded up in the company van and were on our way. Us girls & Mason wore our Christmas pajamas! And on the way we grabbed pizzas from a fabulous place nearby the lights. 

Even for a Tuesday night it was crowded! It took us about 20 minutes to even get through the entrance. But, it was totally worth it. The lights were amazing and just making family memories was nice!! 

My favorites were the Uptown Theatre {a staple in our hometown} and the nativity!!!












Updated bucket list

+ take family photos
+ deck the halls
+ visit santa @ bass pro shop
+ visit the Christmas tree farm
+ go to the tree lighting event at our town square
+ make mason's Christmas list
+ bake cookies (& leave some for santa)
+ make ornaments & Christmas crafts
+ watch the Santa video for Mason
+ make a gingerbread house
+ order our Christmas cards
+ trim the tree
+ go to breakfast with Santa @ Church
+ take the traditional Christmas light picture of mason
+ pick out our yearly ornament for the tree
+ go to the polar express
+ have a pajama/movie night
+ go to Bethlehem revisited
+ put Christmas lights on the house
+ watch the marathon of The Christmas Story on Christmas Eve
+ go to an ugly Christmas sweater party
+ go to prairie lights 



Have you been to Prairie Lights or something like it? It's truly amazing!!

{Winter 14 Bucketlist // Tree lighting // traditional light picture // pick out an ornament}

Checkin' more things off our list!!!


 
This was actually our first time to go to our town's annual Christmas tree lighting event on the square. We LOVED it! They had a hot cocoa booth setup, music playing, pony rides, train rides and a petting zoo. Then right before the lighting event Santa drives up on a firetruck and then comes to light the tree!! I just love our little town and adore our town square. After the lighting event we went to a new coffee shop near the square. It was decorated so shabby/rustic and it was cute!!!!! And the coffee was great, too.





 
It's become a tradition of ours to wrap Mason in lights and take a picture of him and Rudolf. I love being able to compare the pics each year! But, it's also bittersweet because it shows me how much he grows in a year {#bahhumbug}







Another tradition of ours is to pick out an ornament for the tree each year. I write the year on the back of each one that we get. And when Mason is grown I can pass them all down to him and he can see what he picked out each year! This year he went with a Santa Clause. When he first picked it out I was like, "Yikes, that's kind of freaky looking"! But, it only took putting it on our tree for me to fall in love with it. Now, it's one of my favorites. I think in a few years it will look pretty vintage. ;)



Updated bucket list

+ take family photos
+ deck the halls
+ visit santa @ bass pro shop
+ visit the Christmas tree farm
+ go to the tree lighting event at our town square
+ make mason's Christmas list
+ bake cookies (& leave some for santa)
+ make ornaments & Christmas crafts
+ watch the Santa video for Mason
+ make a gingerbread house
+ order our Christmas cards
+ trim the tree
+ go to breakfast with Santa @ Church
+ take the traditional Christmas light picture of mason
+ pick out our yearly ornament for the tree
+ go to the polar express
+ have a pajama/movie night
+ go to Bethlehem revisited
+ put Christmas lights on the house
+ watch the marathon of The Christmas Story on Christmas Eve
+ go to an ugly Christmas sweater party
+ go to prairie lights  


Sorry folks, it's going to be #allaboutthatchristmas around here for a while!!!