OK, sorry to deviate from the Christmas theme for a moment. My other blog does not seem to be up at the moment, but strangely enough this one is fine.

On the Christmas theme front, why don’t we have a ChriBloPoMo! A post here a day starting tomorrow. Now that we’ve honed our blogging skillz, let’s keep the momentum going.

Here’s my update:

Gifts: All done! Yay! (well, except for another little thing for my mom.)
Decorations: None up yet. Hoping to start this weekend.
Cards: Cards, stamps purchased. Letter being printed out.
Travel plans: set.

The lights were hung on the house! We have lived in this house for over two years. This is will be our third Christmas in this house. Yet we have never hung Christmas lights. At our old house, we had them in several places. This year we decided it was time for a change.

DH picked out the blue icecicles to hang from our gutters. He also decided that our two baby trees needed lights. But for some reason, he did one in clear and the other in blue. (It looks kind of silly, and I’ve told him so.) Instead of complaining about this, I’m trying to just be happy that we are finally getting in the spirit of things. Our house will finally look like Christmas is coming! (Hanging the lights was a big chore as we have a two story house and needed an extension ladder to hang them.)

In addition to the lights, the nerd in DH drove him to purchase a timer for said lights. Not just any timer, but a photo-sensor one that determines when it is dark enough for the lights to turn on, and light enough to turn off. Ah, yes, I do believe we are the geekiest holiday light owners on our block!

Now that the lights are hung outside, I’m ready to start getting the inside of the house in the Christmas spirit. Perhaps next Sat. we’ll get the tree out, decorate it, hang our stockings, and listen to Christmas music. First, let’s see how the week goes.

Christmas cards for 2006.,
originally uploaded by Suze3000.

I’ve got my Christmas cards.

I followed Jennie’s tip and headed to Tar-ghey for cards. The ones on the left say “Peace” on the front which I like given the state of the world in the last year. Inside, they say, “Blessings to you at Christmas and always.”

Then, I usually get a box of cards that don’t have any religious overtones or refer to Christmas so I can send to friends who are less into the whole birth of Jesus thing or may not celebrate Christmas at all. I got these cards at Big Lots - yay, Big Lots! - and they have a snowy Vermont country church (oops, church, just realized that that isn’t so secular, hmmmm. . . ) on the front. Inside, they say, “May you find peace in the beauty of the season. May joy be yours now and throughout the new year.” I’m a sucker for a Vermont scene.

(an aside — some of you may already have realized this, but I’m always checking to see where things were made, out of curiosity. For the record, the Target cards were made in China and the other cards were made by a company in Scranton, Pennsylvania www.papermagic.com)

So, yay, cards! I have my return address labels, just got a new roll. Just need the stamps.

I usually spend a fair amount of time, inputting my list of addresses into some or other computer database program or shareware Christmas card tracking program, and then go down the list in alphabetical order. Finding that to be tedious and again time-consuming, I’m just going to use a list from last year, plus my address book, go in whatever strikes me and then keep a list as I send them out. Probably more detail than you really care to know, I know.

I’ve decided against a Christmas letter, per se, this year. What I am doing is going back through my pictures for the year and putting together a collage of shots that cover the year. It’ll be nice once I get it done, but going back through five gazillion pictures has been a little, um, shall we say, time-consuming.

I use a cute little program called PhotoMix www.photomix.com to put the collage together. It’s got templates already in it, depending on how many pictures you want in your layout, and has the usual editing tools. I used it last year to make an album for my parents for Christmas.

So, where are you with the whole card-sending fanfair?

Like a good little elf, I’ve been “making” gifts throughout the year. (Though I admit, this elf really started the last month or so. Shh, don’t tell Santa!) I’ve found a few “good” spots (i.e., the 3 and 1 year old can’t get that high, even with a chair). But now, that spot is full. Therein lies the dilema: Where to store the gifts?

So I’m looking to you, fellow elves, to have the “right” answers. If you don’t come through, there will be no surprises in this house. And that would just be a shame. (Do you feel guilted enough to comment now? Huh, do you?! )