crafts

Decking The Halls

As I mentioned in a recent post, we are all decked out for Christmas at the Zottola Zoo! Sadie and I spent a recent morning listening to Christmas music while hanging wreaths, stockings, and putting up decor.

Jimmy came home from work to our little surprise and Sadie was so excited to show him the little tree and stocking in her bedroom! It’s a memory I want to cherish forever 🙂

Here’s a look at all of our hall-decking, plus a vlog of the process. 

Merry Christmas garland and lantern

Knit red Christmas stocking with wood burned name tag and decorated corner shelf

Wooden Christmas sign

Christmas wreath on red door and lantern decorated for Christmas

Mini Christmas tree and stocking in kid's room

Christmas throw pillows, garland, and flameless LED candle

Silent night Christmas sign

Along with the decorations we had in storage, I also did some crafting!

I made a few wreaths for our bedroom doors and mantle, up-cycled a mini Christmas tree I found at Goodwill, and made a pom-pom garland (<– probably my favorite decoration, lol). 

DIY Christmas wreath supplies

Homemade Christmas wreaths

DIY mini Christmas wreath

Christmas Tree before and after craft and DIY

We didn’t put up a big tree because a small house + toddler + husky + crazy cat = chaos without a Christmas tree to mess around with. Can you imagine the craziness that would ensue if we did put one up, lol! Some day we will be brave enough 😉

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

When do you decorate for Christmas?

Do you have a favorite Christmas decoration?

Pinecones and a Dog Bone

What do pinecones and dog bones have in common? Nothing really, except the fact that Sadie nibbled on both on Saturday.

Dog and toddler chewing on bones

Sader Tot is obsessed with anything that belongs to Niva including her water dish, food, and bones. It’s a good thing Niva is great at sharing.

As for the pinecones, we did some crafting! Jimmy went to a leaf raking service project at our church and brought home some pinecones thinking I would want to craft with them. He knows me well 🙂

Mom and daughter making bird feeders with pinecones

We tied twine around the pinecones, covered them with peanut butter, and rolled them in bird seed. It was definitely messy–I’m pretty sure I’ll be cleaning a mixture of bird seed and peanut butter off of every kitchen surface for a few weeks–but a ton of fun!

We plan on hanging them soon and I’m super excited to see what Sadie thinks when she sees a bird eating from her little homemade bird feeder. It worked out well, too, because she’s learning about birds and fall this week in school! 

Toddler pine cone craft

Toddler pinecone craft

Other fun over the weekend included a trip to Starbucks with my girls. Mama got a (much needed) coffee, Sadie got a chocolate milk, and Niva got a fun car ride. It was a win for all of us. 

Husky and toddler sitting in car together

Okay, I’m going to sign off now. I have no brain power left. We’re still going through the whole sleep/nap strike thing over here and my eyes are already heavy at 5:35 pm. 

Tell me about your weekend!