Christmas Traditions

Things are starting to get verrrrrrrry merry around these parts.  From James' decked out room to the front of the house to our new cozy basement winter wonderland, it seems that the Mangiaracina's are ready for Santa's arrival.  It all started with our visit to the Christmas tree lot.  We have been going to the same place since we moved here (Trader Joe's parking lot!) and kept up with the tradition - including our pho meal afterwards. :)

I love how James looks so exhausted in that last photo - like he was the one that hauled the tree in the house!  After about a week of letting the branches settle (trip to NY got in the way), we got to trimming it last night. We both grew up in houses that had the "tacky tree".  You know the one.  Colored lights.  Random ornaments.  No theme.  And we LOVE carrying that tradition on.  

Some of our tree favorites include this guy we bought when we were dating...

... James' first ornament...

... an oldie, but goodie from Ed's younger days...

... and a new favorite.

This is the first year we put the tree in the basement, but I think it was a wise move.  It is so cozy down there now that it is finished and with the fireplace, it is the perfect setting for the tree.

We did manage to make sure that the main floor is festive despite the deletion of the tree.

There are still a few things to partake in to complete the holiday traditions.  Cookie making ~ Gingerbread house decorating ~ Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer watching.  I can tell you that I'm sure between now and Christmas morning we will watch "Elmo Saves Christmas" another 117 times, but hey, it's the holidays!

Downsized

As in the Christmas Tree.

As they say, our halls are officially decked.  They might be mini versions, but believe me - we have our reasons.  Most of them involve a very active 21 month old toddler who likes to climb on EVERYTHING. Sure, he can pull this little guy down.  But at least it will be a smaller tree that will fall on him.  :)  Last year's tree looked like this - so I think we are making progress.

Our mini-tree arrived over the weekend after a trip to our trusty tree sellers in the Trader Joe's parking lot.  We have gone here the last 3 years and always get great trees so we figured they would be able to help us out with a smaller version.  This year, James was awake and in awe of all the trees to choose from.

The best part about getting a small tree is that it fits right in the trunk! 

As per tradition, we hit up Pho Bistro for a delicious pho dinner and then headed home for the official tree installation.  James and Lucy were so excited as they watched Daddy haul it into the house.  It took all of 7 minutes to get it in, remove the webbing and put it in place.  Small trees are definitely time savers!

Because James is an active 21 month old boy who loves to climb things, we decided to decorate the tree after he went to bed.  As soon as he hit the hay, we fired up the hot chocolate, put "Frosty the Snowman" in the DVD player and got to work.  You would think stringing the lights would be easier on a table top tree and in theory, it was.  If, that is, we tested the lights before putting them on the tree.  Yup - after finishing up we plugged it in and the top half of the tree was dark.  We got it right on the second try. :)

Because the tree is so little, we had to be selective in our ornament choices since we have so many.  We decided to hang anything we have received since knowing each other, all of James' and Lucy's ornaments and a few favorites from our childhood. 

In the end, I think we did a great job.  Our little tree is perfect for the space and since we are spending Christmas morning in NY at Aunt Adriana's and Uncle John's house, it was a perfect choice for this year's holiday.  

The irony - since the tree has been in the house James has showed no major interest in it.  He waves to it and says "Bye", but other than that, he doesn't really notice it.  Maybe that will change now that it is decorated, but knowing him, he'll walk right by it as if it was there all along.  

The best part of the evening -  seeing this.  Porn for women… am I right ladies??

In all seriousness, the best part was James' reaction the next morning.  We said our hello's to Rosie the Advent Calendar Reindeer who happened to give James a new Matchbox car this morning and then made our way over to the tree to say hello (another morning ritual).  Just as James was about to walk away I plugged it in and got a huge WOAH!  He was mesmerized!!  It was a priceless moment.

Merry Christmas!!