Magnolia Mamas : Christmas Traditions

Showing posts with label Christmas Traditions. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

A Charmed Christmas {James Avery Giveaway}

Thank you James Avery for sponsoring this post and giveaway! All thoughts, ideas and opinions are my own.

When my girls were really little my Mother-in-law started the tradition of taking them to see the Nutcracker each December. It was always a local production and such a fun tradition to start. the girls were really little my mother-in-law and I have taken them to see the Nutcracker.

One of her friends helped behind the scenes so after the show the girls got to go back stage and see some of the props and how they make the production come together.

For several years we attend the same production and it became such a fun holiday tradition. Gigi had a big collection of Nutcrackers that she displayed every Christmas and the kids always loved playing with them and admiring all the different ones.

When the girls were in Kindergarten and second grade we started attending a different local production of the Nutcracker and the first year I was able to surprise them because they didn't know where we were going or who we were going with. When we got there they realized we were meeting some of their best friends!

And this local production holds a tea before the show so they enjoyed eating yummy snacks, getting their faces painted and meeting some of the characters and dancers from the show.

It is such a special holiday tradition and we love getting all dressed up in fun holiday attire and spending the afternoon having a girls day!

When my in-laws moved a few years ago, Gigi asked me if I would like her Nutcracker collection. Their new home didn't have a good place to display them and I was SO happy that she offered them to me because the kids love seeing them all over the house.

I love decorating with items that have meaning to my and my family and that is definitely the case with these nutcrackers. Plus, not only does it remind me of the fun girls tradition we started years ago, but they are also so colorful and each one unique.

The details of each one are amazing and so intricate.

I also love all of the variations like this skiing Nutcracker I have on my porch!

Just like being a big fan of things around my home that have meaning, jewelry can do the same. James Avery contacted us and asked if we would like to take a look at their Christmas Charm Collection and we jumped at the idea. James Avery is known for having pieces that are a symbol of faithfulness and the comforts of strong held beliefs. I loved that their collection tells a story and for me the nutcracker charm was perfect choice to constantly remind me of those special times with my girls.

There are so many beautiful charms that I'm sure everyone could find something special that helps them connect with a holiday memory and their own story. I loved this story of a woman's family tree bracelet and how she has been collecting and adding to it for 30 years!!! So special and such great way to tell a story through jewelry!

I'm so excited to announce that through our partnership with James Avery we will be giving away a nutcracker charm just like this one to one lucky follower! To enter you'll need to head to Instagram and share your own Christmas story or memory. Winner will be announced on Saturday, December 16th so don't wait!

To learn more about James Avery:

Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram || Pinterest

Friday, December 16, 2016

Christmas Cards

In our house, we love Christmas cards! It's really one of my very favorite Christmas traditions and something we are excited about every single year. In the past, Jen and I have planned a picture day, planned our outfits, gotten our families together, and taken pictures of each other's families so we have some great Christmas card photos. Well, that was the plan this year until both of our hubbies decided to participate in the no-shave-November challenge at work.

I prefer the clean shaven look, so that postponed pictures a few weeks and then we had a hard time coordinating schedules between traveling husbands and kid's activities. That combined with the constant rain we were having had me at the first week of December with no pictures taken, no cards ordered and I was starting to stress out!

I had one bright spot though...we had plans to dress up for our annual visit to ride the Pink Pig/visit Santa so I knew that might be my only chance of getting the kids all in one place for photo. That would have to replace the family photo this year!

Thankfully, right before leaving to meet our friends to ride the Pink Pig and see Santa I put them on the porch (it was still raining!) and snapped a few photos. 102 frames to be exact so that I could get this!

But, in full disclosure and just to keep things real, I included some of our funny out-takes on the back of the card because #RealLife.

Let me tell you, the good thing about waiting until the last minute to order cards is that there are lots of great deals! I have ordered from a lot of different places in the past, but this year price won out! 70% off is hard to beat so I ordered our cards and because I was saving so much I paid for overnight shipping so I could get them to me ASAP.

They ended up arriving a day earlier than I was expecting and I couldn't stand to wait so I stayed up late that night to get them addressed and ready to go. Sitting by our Christmas tree, sipping wine and addressing cards to our love ones, both near and far, made for a really special night. My whole house was quiet because everyone else was asleep, but seeing and writing each name on the 100+ envelopes made me stop and think about how each person or family had come into our lives and made an impact on our family in one way or another.

Every day when the mail comes I rush to our mailbox to check for new cards! We keep a basket on the kitchen counter and fill it with all of the Christmas cards we receive each day. I love looking through them, the kids love looking through them when they get home from school, and the Mr. comes home from work and loves looking at our new cards each day.

In full disclosure, there were a TON of out-takes to get to the one and only usable photo for our cards, so I thought it would be fun to share some of those funny shots.

Walker, our pup, was super excited to be included in the photo shoot. So much so that he was giving kisses every chance he got.

However, when he wasn't giving kisses, he was pretty much over our photo shoot and yawning nonstop.

Apparently, we were interrupting his afternoon nap time. I couldn't blame him though. The rainy day had me yawning, too!

And if he wasn't yawning, his eyes were closed. I think he was hoping if he closed his eyes we would all just go away so he could continue his nap.

When he was picture ready, the kids were not. Especially Boo-Boo. He looked through the pictures with me the next day and when he saw this next one he commented, "I guess I was really tired in that one." Yep. He was totally thrilled and Blondie, too!

And that, my friends, is pretty much how we all felt about Christmas card photos this year. I'm so thankful that I made them take pictures to continue this tradition, but I'm hoping that next year Jen and I have he forethought to do photos ahead of time and not be so rushed at the last minute!

We hope everyone has an awesome weekend! Jen's kids are done with school after today and mine have a few more days next week then we are officially on Christmas break!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Atlanta's Pink Pig Holiday Tradition

Earlier this week we completed one of our very favorite holiday traditions...riding Macy's Pink Pig. For those not from Atlanta, you might think the Pink Pig has nothing to do with Christmas, but it is a holiday tradition in Atlanta that has been around for years and years. You can read more about it HERE and see the blog post I did about it last year HERE.

This is our 8th year riding the Pink Pig and visiting Santa and we have always gone with the same friends. Once the kids all started school we started planning an afternoon during the week to go and this year we just could not all coordinate our schedules so we figured we would go the first day of our break. That was a mistake...a BIG mistake.

You see, we thought getting there right when they open would help us to beat the crowds, but everyone in Atlanta must have had the same idea as us. The line just to buy tickets to get on the ride was longer than I had ever seen it. We waited almost an hour just for tickets and then we had to get in another line to get on the ride.

The kids were all really good sports and because they don't see each other that often they had a lot of catching up to do, whch helped fight the boredom of waiting in line so long.

Then we finally made it up to the front of the line and it was our turn to ride!!!

The ride takes you through a life-sized storybook about Pricilla and all of her friends at Christmas time.

After the ride we checked out all of the merchandise that was all 50% off!!! We have an ornament that we hang on our tree each year, but I usually say no to buying other stuff because we don't need more stuffed animals, etc. But, these sweatshirts were so cute and such a great deal that we all ended up getting them for our kids. (And my kids wanted to put them on as soon as we got home!)

Because we had waited so long we decided to grab lunch before seeing Santa and guess what...more lines! Of course all of the kids wanted Chick-fil-a and that was where the longest lines were.

Next we were ready to see the big man in red. My kids made lists for Santa the night before and had been talking all about what they were going to tell them they wanted for Christmas. When we got there the line wasn't too bad, but I had heard Santa needed to eat lunch at some point and just as I had suspected, as we were waiting in line he had to go take a break. Understandably so, but still it meant more waiting.

I wasn't about to get out of line at this point and we were positioned right in front of the TV they had playing movie previews and other things that kept the kids entertained so we just waited. And I'm glad we did, because when he came back we were one of the first ones in line so it didn't take too long.

The kids were so excited to show Santa their lists, tell them how good they have been, and smile for a quick picture.

It was a really fun day with friends and we are so happy that we got to keep up with our annual tradition, but lesson learned. Next year we will go back to our plan of going during the week to avoid the crazy long lines and wait times!

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