PerkynPunctual

The Santa Clause!

Happy Holidays everyone!

All that's left is to cook Christmas Eve dinner. We've just been relaxing watching Christmas movies and hanging out. My daughter and two of her friends baked the last of the cookie I was going to make today yesterday. So, nothing until dinner time. And then Santa will deliver gifts and fill stockings after the kids go to bed!

Wonderful news! Enjoy the holidays!

I think it's a sweet thing to do. I would tell the younger ones that Santa told you of course he would still come - that he has a special place in his heart for people who share the Christmas spirit!

I don't know about mom2monkiesx3, but I buy adhesive vinyl in a roll at Hobby Lobby or Michael's when it's on sale or with the coupons. I don't have a cricut, I normally just cut my own stencil. The adhesive vinyl cuts with an X-acto knife but may take a little practice to get fluid lines if you've never made a stencil before. I've never had any problems with the etching cream bleeding. I have read that come people use the clear contact paper but I have seen where it can have bleeding problems if you aren't careful.

Awesome! Thank you Brad! Thank you Derek!

Thank you for that link. It gave me the idea to etch some candle jars this year.

I have etched wine glasses. They looked beautiful. I am going to pick up some more to do this year for Christmas. I've given my mom and my sister ones that are monogramed (initials) and a bunch of different holiday sets. I've also made some bride and groom ones and sold them through a friend who does craft fairs. I'm also doing some highball glasses this year.

I've always wrapped as I buy. Once the tree is up, the gifts start going under. On Christmas Eve, Santa gifts and stockings are filled - well, when Santa comes! lol

That would be super! Thank you so much!

Do keep an eye on ads. My husband got his last year as his Christmas gift at Best Buy. He got a $100 gift card with purchase and a free Magic Mouse!

All gifts get opened on Christmas morning. I've never heard of gifts from Santa on Christmas Eve!

I don't like the stuff you buy pre made at all -- but I have had some homemade recipes that are tolerable. Not my favorite, but I will sip a glass at a gathering where it's being served. I do make an egg nog pie that is amazing, though!

I don't cook turkey. My husband and son normally deep fry it, but husband is deployed this year and we don't feel comfortable with my son doing it by himself. I've ordered a smoked turkey from a local BBQ joint. Their smoked turkey is delicious so I know it will be great. Our normal sides are a brussels sprout and bacon dish, a broccoli/cheese/rice dish and my daughter makes yeast rolls. We have a cranberry orange relish and I'll make an apple pie. My son is the only one that eats pumpkin pie and a neighbor of ours always makes several and brings over about a quarter of a pie so he can have pumpkin pie. We eat about 5pm, so I make finger foods to munch for lunch and while we're cooking. Deviled eggs, a light antipasti tray with different meats and cheeses and pickles and olives and veggies with dips. Things like that.

I would think that four should be plenty! I would thing that three men, early twenties would probably eat the equivalent of one and a half. And that's assuming that they don't get stuffed on everything before dessert and that they are staying for a long enough amount of time after dinner to get hungry for more dessert. Are you making 4 different types of pie? My only concern would be if you, for example, only made one pumpkin pie and all 12 people wanted a piece. Then, you're not going to have any leftovers! But if you make one a pecan pie and only 2 people like pecan, you will have a lot of leftovers!

Well, my husband is in the military and we've never been stationed near family, so most of the gatherings we attend in our local area are work related or with friends and happen in the weeks leading up to the holidays and December can get quite busy. The actual holidays we are able to spend just as a family though, and we love it! Where we are currently, we are a 7 hour drive from my parents. One year we did go down to my parents for an annual gathering they have between Christmas and New Years, but that was more because everyone knew it was my sister-in-laws last Christmas. But it's simply not a trip that we would make every year, way to stressful.

A gift card for the difference? How does that save someone money? You would just have to spend that money at Walmart. Again.

Normally on Thanksgiving evening. We put up our family room tree and put the lights on it then my husband and I snuggle on the couch with wine and watch Holiday Inn. We decorate the tree with ornaments the friday after Thanksgiving and spend the weekend decorating the house inside and out and set up the rest of the Christmas trees. This year, my husband is deployed for the holidays. The kids and I will still decorate and it will be officially holiday time, but I don't really think it will feel the same.

My daughter is 15 this year. Every year without fail, since she was old enough to make a list, she asks for a pony.

You're right! I didn't even notice the year on it, thanks! I had been checking and noticed they had added the schedule link to the page, maybe the new schedule will be going live soon!

25 Days of Christmas Schedule is up! This link is to the PDF of the schedule on the ABC Family web site.

My younger sister, when she first moved out of our parents home and had her first apartment, had a white tree. Her style is very minimalist and modern and she decorated the tree with clear lights and white and clear glass ornaments. It was beautiful. I looked on my computer and don't have the photos of it on here, but I will keep looking for them. I'm pretty sure the photo's are still prints in albums since it was so long ago, though!

The last webcast was my first -- it was so much fun. I will be a little late, but I will be there!

We got both of our teens the 32GB last Christmas, and I'm glad we did. They both have a lot of music, different games and apps. They also use the touch as a camera a lot and photos can take up a chunk of memory, so consider that. They also download tv episodes and movies, but tend to keep those on their laptops and interchange them on the touch because they can hog memory. I have a 16GB iPhone, only because I wasn't thinking when I bought it. If I was thinking I would have gotten the 32GB. I have about 600 songs and thousands of photos on it, but don't have a ton of apps. I normally have about 6GB left most of the time, unless I put a couple of tv episodes or a movie on it for a bit. If it's something that your daughter is really going to use a lot, I would really recommend the highest memory you can afford. ETA: They also both use the video camera. Those videos take up memory as well!