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Michaela
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| Posted: Dec 17 2008 at 7:09pm | IP Logged
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The Christmas mood that is.....  
I'm just not feeling it this year. I don't have the "Bah, humbug!" attitude, however Christmas is only eight days away. It feels like it's a month away.
What do you do to create a Christmas atmosphere in your home?
TIA!
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 17 2008 at 7:15pm | IP Logged
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relax.. it's really only Advent and you don't have to have the anticiaption sky high to have a very very nice Christmas.
I do stress some over trying to get everything clean all at the same time (lots of kids in a small house make this difficult at the best of times)
Then when we're ready to decorate (normally Christmas Eve but due to schedule conflicts we'll do it a day early this year) again, the big thing is to relax.. put on some nice Christmas music something that reminds you of your good Christmas memories or something new that is fun, light a candle or have some cinnamon boiling on the stove to give a nice spicy scent to the air and let go of anything that didn't get done.
You know there's a whole Christmas season to fill, and baking cookies for fun can fit in there just as well as it can in Advent prepartion for Christmas.
but generally I find that when I relax over the details, then I start to enjoy what we're doing.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 10:13am | IP Logged
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Watch cheesy Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel - man, I love those things.
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Michaela
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 11:43am | IP Logged
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Jodie, I'm going to try boiling cinnamon (that's it, I don't need anything else in the pot?) We'll also spend today baking cookies since that has slid to the back burner.
Umm, Sarah, you and me both.
Music....off to blast some sort of youtube Christmas song from the good old days. 
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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PDyer
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 11:59am | IP Logged
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Lighting spicy Christmas candles and listening to my Amy Grant CD's does the job for me. And I need to start doing both...just about now. 
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Patty
Mom of ds (7/96) and dd (9/01) and two angels (8/95 and 6/08)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 1:11pm | IP Logged
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no need for anything else in the water except cinnamon.. cinnamon is a bit of a mood lifter..
but you can toss in.. peels from an orange or other citrus, or allspice or cloves or nutmeg..
and you do have to pay attention because you don't want the water to cook off and have the odor of burnt cinnamon wafting through the house 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Bridget
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 1:33pm | IP Logged
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As others have said: music. Baking cookies, reading the children's picture books and reading blogs about Christmas preparations. Love it!
We are still pretty 'Adventy' feeling here. After Sunday, I'll change out the Advent table to a Christmas table and cook food for Christmas. Most of what we have made so far has been to give away. So we aren't into a full blown Christmas feeling yet.
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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SuzanneG
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Music
Reading picture books with the kids and to myself at night.
And, I do like to LOOK at pictures of decorating, food, etc.....even if I don't actually DO much of it....it is still fun to LOOK and helps to make me "feel" festive!
Also, watching a couple romantic, Christmas, chic-flicks late at night helps.....
While You Were Sleeping, The Holiday, The Family Stone, Serendipity
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Suzanne in ID
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insegnante
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I'm really interested in this idea, but how do you boil the cinnamon for scent? Just pour some of the ground spice into water in a pot? How much spice and how much water? Could/should you use cinnamon sticks instead?
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Theresa
mommy to three boys, 3/02, 8/04, and 9/10, and a girl, 8/08
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 2:21pm | IP Logged
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I use cinnamon sticks.. I would think you could get away with using some of the ground spice though if that's your only option.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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Bridget
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Yes, I've used the ground cinnamon. I sometimes simmer it in a crock pot.
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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Michaela
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 10:47pm | IP Logged
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I put cinamon sticks in the crockpot w/ orange zest.
mmmmmmmmm......
Our Lord has helped slow everything down with the snow we've had! I don't have to stress over shopping for gifts or food because my dh just doesn't want me driving in it.
I let all my extended family know that this Christmas may be the best yet!! Focusing on Our Lord's birth, as it should be, rather than finding that last minute gift.
I suggested we exchange gifts on Epiphany instead. 
It may not be "tradition" but just the thought of it helps me calm down & focus.
God is good!
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 11:31pm | IP Logged
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Well, within the home the decorations, dressing the tree, the elf on the shelf, and definitely the snow set the tone early in the month.
For myself, I need soft Christmas carols throughout the house and in the car, a day set aside for baking, Christmas specials on the television at night, and Christmas picture books during the day.
Outside the home, I enjoy going see Christmas lights and the prayer garden's live nativity.
Christmas parties have kept us busy and stirred the children's christmas punch.
We tend to go along with the pre-Christmas hype. It beats trying to avoid it. And I, on a personal, spiritual level, look forward to observing the holy time following Christmas Day in reverent quiet and solitude. All the hype and merriment are finished as I can focus on the stillness and peace.
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Cay Gibson
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Dec 19 2008 at 11:45am | IP Logged
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Michaela wrote:
I suggested we exchange gifts on Epiphany instead.
It may not be "tradition" but just the thought of it helps me calm down & focus.
God is good! |
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What a great idea!
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