Weekend Musings

It is Friday. Can I admit to a teeny bit of relief? It is nice to have a break from the school routine in the mornings over the weekend. However, that will be over soon as my nephew is heading back to Germany after the holidays. He is a fun chap, and we have loved having him here as our own kids are slowly exiting the nest. I freely admit that parenting an 11 year old at 48 is much different than parenting an 11 year old at 38, and I have done both now. It has provided lots of good thinking moments about life and how I want to live the rest of it. I am truly thankful for our many nieces and nephews and love being involved in their lives because growing up is hard! Our nephew is quite excited for Christmas and loves all the festivity here at Hidden Bluff. And now to weekend musings, ranging from what is left to decorate to our Christmas party next week.

Weekend Musings

My hubby and I haven’t stopped decorating yet. We just keep going and going, finding new places to put lights and decor. Kang has really gone all out on the lights this year in both front and back yard. We both get so much joy out of this time of year! Last Sunday in church the message was on Advent and our speaker delivered a particularly moving piece on the celebration of Advent. We found ourselves fired up to put out even more lights to celebrate the Christmas season. My favorite is the garland and lights put up on the gate to the Secret Garden area.

Ideas for little gifts

Gift giving is something I adore doing. Nothing brings more pleasure then giving someone a well-though out and attractively presented gift that you know they will enjoy. There are many times when I am just not sure what someone wants for Christmas, so the focus is put on presentation and making the person feel special. It shows you care even if you didn’t get their personal gift wish list. Having a supply of little gifts on hand is another great way to pass the Christmas spirit along. It can be as simple as a handmade candy cane with a large satin bow or a Christmas cracker.

Christmas crackers are a fun way to reuse those empty toilet paper tubes. A few weeks before Christmas we save empty toilet paper tubes and then fill them with treats before wrapping them in pretty paper. These are fun and great for kids and adults!

What Else I am Reading

I whizzed through this month’s book selections quickly and recommend each one. However, I still wanted to read more Christmas books, so I picked up this Elin Hilderbrand Winter Street Series. Hilderbrand’s book are always fun and light reads.

And our up coming Christmas party…

Next week we are having a Christmas Charcuterie. Our daughter is coming home, and we decided to have a Christmas party this year. If you have never done a charcuterie before they are fun, delicious, and beautiful! You can read more about charcuteries in this post here.

Thanks for stopping by Hidden Bluff! Hope your Christmas season is a beautiful one filled with lots of happy moments!