Christmastide

Very few people celebrate what was originally the Christmas season of Christmastide.  This time was traditionally celebrated from December 25th through Epiphany on January 6th.  I always feel so sad when all the Christmas decorations come down and I really prefer using Christmastide to gradually take down the decorations.  As I blogged about earlier, our Christmas tree is transformed into a New Year's tree.  I decorate with clock faces and these adorable little ornies I purchased from Etsy last year:

I also purchased some silver glitter butterflies and snowflakes as well as purple icicles that were on clearance this year.  The tree topper was a party hat.  I thought it came out really nice this year!  


I have been using the Twelve Days of Christmas muffin tin that I made to teach our daughter twelve different names for Jesus.  I am always amazed by how much she absorbs.  I realize that she cannot fully grasp the magnitude of these names and their meanings, but I am laying the foundation for future teaching.  On the eve of Epiphany (January 5th) Befana will come as part of our Christmastide celebrations and in honor of our daughter's Italian heritage.  I have been reading the book Old Befana by Tomie dePaolo to her at night before bed and she loves to tell us all about Befana sweeping and flying and carrying her basket.  Befana will bring Bella a few small toys and some treats (oranges mainly.)  Epiphany is also the day we celebrate the arrival of the Three Kings/Magi to bearing gifts to honor Jesus.  I'd love to do a Kings' Cake this year, but it may have to be a Pillsbury version ;)




On Sunday we are going to a storytelling event that we attended last year as well.  It was a fantastic free <3 event hosted at Staten Island's Snug Harbor Cultural Center.  Last year was fun although our daughter was afraid to go anywhere near Befana (as I suspect she will be afraid this year as well.)  I hope it is the same woman though because she did a fabulous job!

Oh, before I forget...the one thing that I did not get to post a picture of for Noon Year's/New Year's was the Oreo cookie clock platter that I made.  Our daughter loved it!

Happy New Year!  I wish everyone a GREAT 2012 filled with fabulous memories!

New Year's Eve Mantel

The Christmas decorations are down and the mantel is now all set for New Year's Eve!  I created four bags: one for each hour from 9 to 12 (of course this is 12 NOON since we do NOON Year's Eve for our toddler).  The first bag is filled with fun things to wear: silly glasses, beads, hats, etc.  The second bag has noise makers such as horns and clappers.  The third bag has games: Pin the Nose on Frosty, the Year-in-Review BINGO I spoke about HERE, the Scavenger Hunt I blogged about HERE and New Year's Eve trivia for the adults :)  I also found these awesome printable mustaches and props for a DIY Photo Booth that I am DEFINITELY going to use!  How adorable are these!?!

The fourth and final bag has confetti poppers, sparklers, and silly string.  We are going to toast with our champagne glasses filled with milk!  And of course we are going to eat milk's favorite cookie: OREOs!  

Here are some pictures of the mantel and the bags:

 REALLY in love with the stocking holders that spell out WISH!  Found them at Target 50% off :)

 The "i" is a candle which is perfect next to our New Year's Eve Bayberry candle.

The last thing I want to share is a bag topper that I created as a gag or a fun party favor.  The front has Baby New Year and is labeled BABY NEW YEAR POOP and says "Out with the old..."  The back has the year 2012 and says "Hoping too much shit doesn't happen to you in 2012!"  I tried to upload it on Google docs to share, but it changed the format on me :(  I will figure out how to share documents in the near future :)

More New Year's Fun!

I have been crafting (and shopping!) all day long and I am really excited about what I have come up with to add to our NOON Year's celebration.  First, I made this awesome centerpiece.  Our daughter LOVES M&M Candies...so, I had to find a way to incorporate them into the fun!  I found a HUGE champagne glass at Michael's and I had a 40% off coupon so I got it for $8.  The M&Ms were on sale at Target and the party horns were a rip-off at Party City :)  Here is the M&M Masterpiece"

There are also a few Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses in there for Mommy ~ LOL!  The other thing I made was a New Year's Eve Wish Box.  This was quite simple...all you need is a box of your choice and you can put the words "Wish Box" on the outside in whatever manner you choose.  I found a purple glitter box on sale at Target and used silver glitter sticker letters and some embellishments I had.  Here is the New Year's Eve Wish Box:

This is our personal version of the New Year's Eve Wishing Wall in Times Square.  There is also a Virtual Wishing Wall!  My hubby and I are just going to fill in the blanks to answer the questions on these great cards I found here.  

Next, I made a simple NYE Scavenger Hunt.  Our daughter is only 2 and a half, so I wanted the items to be things she could easily find herself or with our help.

 

I can hardly contain my excitement over this next item!  I spent some serious time Googling a way to do this and finally found a teaching website that you can use to upload PHOTOS and create a BINGO card!  I uploaded favorite photos from 2011 and created a BINGO game for NYE:

Now, I suppose I am missing all the "magic" of Christmas already: Magic Mints, Magic Reindeer Food, the Magic Pillowcase...because I went ahead and made some Magic New Year Wishing Bubbles!  This is really simple ~ you just use a bottle of bubble that you already have and cover the label with any paper you would like and make a cute label that says "Magic New Year Wishing Bubbles."  I also have a beautiful pewter bubble wand that I purchased from Chasing Fireflies that goes perfectly with the Magic Bubbles :)

I also wrote a little poem to go with it.  Naturally, this is protected by Copyright, so please do not copy my work for any reason.  You may pin it or link to it :)

It’s NewYear’s Eve

And the yearis through,

It’s time tomake new wishes

And your hopesand dreams anew!

Then closeyour eyes and make a wish

When blowingyour magic bubbles

Focus on yourhopes and dreams

And they willcarry away your troubles.

Be sure to check back because I have some more to share before the New Year!  

New Year's Eve Traditions

I can hardly believe that Christmas Day has come and gone!  We had a fabulous Christmas this year.  On Christmas Day we brought cookies to the fire department and they were so gracious and sweet.  They invited our daughter to sit on the fire truck but she was too afraid.  Maybe next year :)  


We removed the Christmas ornaments today and converted it into a New Year's tree.  This is something that I started last year.  I purchased these adorable ornies on Etsy last year.  They are in storage at my MIL's house right now, but I am going to pick them up tomorrow.  

I can't wait to put them on the tree!  I do have pictures of the way it looks right now though: all silver and purple thanks to some incredible deals at Walmart today!

New Year's Hat as a topper:)

What better symbol of a new year than a butterfly!?!

I am feeling pretty crafty after creating this New Year's wreath today:

It was really simple: I purchased a clearance wreath at The Christmas Tree Shop and used a frisbee to cut out a large circle on silver glitter scrapbook paper and the clockface came from here.

The other New Year's tradition we do is the Bayberry Candle.  Here is a little background about the Bayberry candle I found on the internet (click for source):

Burning bayberry candles is a tradition dating back to colonial times. Early colonists came upon the bayberry shrub growing in the sand belt of the Atlantic coast, as well as the shores of Lake Erie. The berry-type fruit is crusted with a greenish-white wax, settlers found that boiling the fruit created a wax residue on the surface of the water. The wax had a fragrant aroma and burned magnificently. Many berries had to be boiled to get enough wax to make a candle, these candles burned longer, cleaner, and brighter than did the traditional candles of the time. Therefore, bayberry candles were saved and burned on special occasions only! One such special occasion was the celebration of the New Year.

If you have a New Year's tradition I would love to hear about it!