Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Eve...almost ready! =)




I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's Christmas...lights! 
On my Tree!

*disclaimer...if you don't already know by now,
I'm NOT the greatest photographer =(
AND
...this is a loooong post.  Might need
a cup of hot cocoa and a comfortable chair =)

Our tree, this year is in front of a window
facing the street.  The lighting in the daytime
is really bright and at night the lights in this
room are a bit dim.  So, it's been hard to
get any good lighting for pictures.  =(


This wonderful star has been on our tree for maybe
13-14 years.  Our youngest DD made it when she was about 10.
Its made with foil and tape. It's one of the best parts of the tree!

This is an ornament I bought for my DH one year.
HE "thinks" this ornament is the best one on the tree.  I dunno...


Here's what it looks like with all of our presents under
the tree.  If you think the packages look a bit unusual...they
are somewhat.  I use Christmas fabric (sewn) bags for our
presents each year. 


It looks a bit confusing when they are stacked together.


But, I don't usually need tags...
because each person has their OWN color of ribbon.
They might get the same fabric cover...but, their ribbon
is is unique to them.







  I.E. all of the ones with the purple ribbon are for DD#2. 
Her favorite color is purple...at least, I think it still is =P

This makes wrapping a lot easier...
You don't have to think about odd shaped boxes.  You don't have to
hold your big toe over the center of the ribbon while you use your
two hands to tie...Oh? you never did that? Yep, crazee mee...I have.

No shopping/spending $$ every year for wrapping paper
 that gets ripped off and onto the floor in a matter of minutes.
And, clean up?
When all is done, we just fold the fabric bags and put them
back into their container for next year.  =)
I can't take any credit for this idea.  There is a wonderful lady, who
is VERY dear to my heart (Her name is Marilyn).  She started doing this
many years ago and I just followed her idea.  She has been a great
example in my life...with WAY more than just fabric Christmas bags.

While getting Christmas packages ready yesterday,
I asked our cat and dog if they would be so kind
as to come and help me.
Purrja our cat...

...and Penny our Bullmastiff


Well....they decided
...it was REALLY tiring them out, just looking at all the
mess I was making!  Way to go, girls! Thanks a lot!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below are pictures of the little bit I did for decorations. 








These are replicas of the "candle people" that was displayed
as Christmas decorations when I was little. 






Might...could tell...that I really like Jim Shore?

Whew! I'm glad that Christmas preparations are
"almost" over until....well, a bit later in 2012. 
Are you glad for the prep to be over?

-----



14 comments:

Dawnmarie's Life said...

Love the fabric bag idea! Are they just basically pillow cases in different sizes? or are they all the same size?

RobinLovesQuilting said...

I especially love the moose and the Jim Shore Rudolph stuff. Very festive!

Lee said...

You (and your friend Marilyn) have a great idea! I just may have to convert some of my "what do I do with this Christmas fabric?" into some of those bags. Merry Christmas!

Bev said...

Love the bag idea! Tree & decorations look good to me. Have a wonderful Christmas with family & friends.

Quilt n Queen said...

Luv the bags....and I have lots of Christmas fabric in my stash....a great idea for next year. Merry Christmas Annie.

Susan said...

Tonya on Lazy Gal Quilting mentioned a few years back about making the bags, and I keep meaning to, but now I hardly have any Christmas presents to give, so I never have. I think the ribbon idea is great! I don't think I'm at all tired of Christmas! Jim Shore makes a terrific addition to anyone's Christmas!

Chiska said...

So lovely! I've been trying to work up to Christmas bags--but the labeling always stumped me. Ribbons are a GREAT idea! Thanks. Merry Christmas!

Apple Avenue Quilts said...

Love your fabric bags and your decorating!

Valspierssews said...

You have a lovely tree and decorations and the Santa sacks look great. I love the cartoon too :D
Merry Christmas.

Hands Sew Full said...

Lovely! I too have been using fabric bags for years and agree they are so easy! I use tags which are a pain sometimes though so I LOVE the ribbon idea! Must try to add that one next year. Thanks!

Terri said...

Loved seeing Purrja and Penny! Merry Christmas!

Pattilou said...

What a fun post! Love the bags you use for presents. You've got some very fun Christmas decorations...and go UTES!

Candace said...

What a lovely Christmasy home. You have lots of good ideas and more energy then I do. I kind of wimped out this year.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

I like the bag idea. Much easier. I reuse the pretty ribbons each year.