Getting our home ready for Christmas this year was unique for two reasons. First of all, we had the challenge of figuring out where to put decorations in a new household. Second, Cody and Jaden were finally old enough to actually be helpful (at least somewhat!) and involved in the entire process. The boys excitedly watched as Daddy and Mommy set up the Christmas tree. When we said it was time to decorate the tree, they had a few ideas of their own...
It's probably a bit hard to distinguish in this photo, but the tree is holding bead necklaces, and the tree skirt is adorned with matchbox cars and dominoes. :)
Once we showed Jaden and Cody what we actually meant by decorating the tree, they were quite excited to help. Mommy sorted through the ornaments in our tub and handed them out to the boys.
Jaden and Cody chose the location for each and every ornament.
Daddy helped with the higher branches.
Surprisingly, Cody and Jaden stuck with the entire task from start to finish! They seemed to enjoy themselves and truly were very helpful. What a treat! :)
Our fully decorated tree... ta-da!
Just like last year, I had the boys create a few homemade decorations. First, they painted Christmas trees.
Both boys seemed to like the project and just kept adding more and more and more paint...
until their trees practically turned out black! We added pom poms as ornaments to brighten up the trees a bit. Don't you love their 3-year-old cheesy smiles? :)
Then, I taped strips of masking tape to a large sheet of butcher paper and had Jaden and Cody finger paint the entire page red. After the paint dried, I tore off the masking tape strips and cut out candy canes shapes. This particular project was definitely more adult-intensive, but I was pleased with how the decoration turned out, so it was worth it. We lined our entire front archway into the kitchen with the candy canes.
Finally, here is a pic of our mantel. I love the boys' appliqued stockings and thought they looked especially nice this year against the fireplace's white background. Random fact: Did you know that the time on the clock (10:10) is considered "happy time"? We learned this random bit of trivia from a game of Trivial Pursuit one year. The hands of your clock form somewhat of a smile when the clock reads 10:10. Perhaps companies think it'll make you buy more, but many, many ads depict this time if they show a clock image. Trust me, you'll notice it all the time now! :) The fact that I took my picture at this time was purely happenstance....
Even though the outdoor temps were 60 or 70 degrees for much of December, the inside of our home truly felt like Christmas! :)
I like that you took in progress pics of the painted Christmas trees. I had no idea how much TLC went in to making the trees black! So precious!
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