12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge: Day 1

I'm linking up with Ali and Molly for the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge :) I am super excited about the holidays this year and thought it sounds like lots o' fun :)


Today is all about holiday traditions.


Well, I do a lot of Black Friday shopping. And to keep the gifts secret, I usually end up wrapping them that day, also. 


Of course, you can't have wrapped presents without a tree to put them under, so I go ahead and decorate that weekend also. Last year I still had clothes and kitchen supplies in boxes from moving, but you can bet I got all my holiday decor up :)


Here are some photos from last year. The living room is where the bulk of my decorations are, because I live with a scrooge. Haha, love ya honey :)

This year, I bought a tree at a yard sale for $2, so it will go into the basement and I'll do some decorating down there also. 

My mom always participates in a holiday bazaar at her church the first weekend of December, and for the past few years, I've helped her by making some sweet treats. I also deliver big platters to J's work and some people who are super-helpful to me through the year, so I'll be making a bunch of these ...

In fact, I made some dipped pretzels this weekend. Nothing like getting a headstart while watching TV. 

Our Christmas with families varies. J has a big family and my brother lives 12 hours away and his wife's family is from Texas, so a lot just depends on travel schedules. Somehow, we usually end up spending Christmas with just the two of us. We wake up and have a big breakfast and hot cocoa, then tear into our gifts. 

We also venture into town at some point to hit up Hardees for food (we started this a few years ago when it was the only place open and its just become a tradition) and also go to Walgreens. 

At some point over the holidays, we celebrate with J's family, my family and my mom's side of the family. There, we play lots of fun games, including Dirty Santa, and drink too many margaritas. 

And there are our holiday traditions. Come back tomorrow for my Black Friday experiences and tips.