Christmas Things

Boy, oh boy has Christmastime taken our lives by storm.  It has been one busy, joyful month so far.  So much so, that I'm just going to throw a tinsel and cup of Christmas cheer bomb of a post at you, jammed pack with everything Christmas that has occurred over the past couple weeks.

Christmas Advent Calendar

My sister Michele and I made these Christmas advent calendars while I was at her house for Thanksgiving. She found the idea on pinterest (of course). This is probably one of the more time consuming crafts we have taken on, but I was pleased with how it turned out.  For each day of December there is a Christmas related picture to put up and a scripture or quote pertaining to Christ's life to read on the back.

Christmas Ornament Trading Party

My friend Lauren put on a fun little party, where a group of us came together with a batch of homemade Christmas ornaments and then we all traded.  It was so cool to see how creative everyone was!  These are how mine turned out.  I got the idea from this blog. (Once again, which I found on pinterest,)

The state of my kitchen table during ornament crafting time.

The finished project.

Ta da!

White Christmas, The Musical 

I had the chance to review a production of White Christmas put on by the Lehi Arts Council.  Knowing how much Danny loves musicals, I thought it would best to invite a more willing attendee.  My sister-in-law JanaRae came with me and we had a delightful girl's night out.  Here is my review of the production.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

We got our Christmas tree last weekend and had a holly jolly time decorating it while listening to Christmas tunes.  Our tree is real, as always, and our house smells amazingly piney fresh.  It was fun to put up the new ornaments from our travels over the past year.  Danny's brother, Tim, was in town. After the decorating of the tree, he came over for dinner and we had an evening of playing board games.

Danny!

Putting the angel on the highest bough.

Thanks for visiting us, Tim!

Family Dinner and Nativity

We had our annual Christmas dinner with my extended family on my dad's side.  It was fun to see cousins, uncles and aunts.  After dinner the little kids put on the nativity, which was adorable.

Super R, the cutest little sheep and the nephew who let me take his pic.

Most of the cast.

Utah Chamber Artists Christmas Concert

It has become a bit of a tradition for us to go to this Christmas concert each year.  Our friend, Laura, sings in the choir and she gave me free tickets, since I wrote a review about their fall concert.  It was lovely, as always.

View from the balcony.

Previewing of The Hobbit

For our Employee Association Christmas party at work, they rented out a movie theater for everyone to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a couple of days before the movie's release.  We each could bring a guest, so I, of course, brought Danny.  The movie was more exciting than the first one, but still soooo long. I'm glad Danny got me one big bucket of popcorn to get me through it.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert

I got tickets to the Mo-Tab Christmas concert, so Danny and I took my parents. Deborah Voight (a famous opera singer) and John Rhys-Davies (from Indiana Jones and The Lord of the Rings) were the special guests.  Everyone did a fabulous job and it was a very festive evening.

In the Conference Center.

Me and my mom.