less than a week!

1. Make a gingerbread house

2. Drive around and look at lights

3. Introduce Elliot to the classic Rudolph movie {my favorite}

4. Decorate sugar cookies and give some to friends

5. Go see Santa

6. Make  personalized ornaments

7. Mail our Christmas cards

8. Make homemade cookies, using one of my mom's recipes

9. Take pictures of the boys in Santa hats

10. Make a handprint wreath

11. Make a delicious breakfast/casserole for Christmas morning

12. Make special thankyou cards 

13. Read a Christmas book

I just want to start off by saying that with less than a week until Christmas, it is 80 degrees here in Texas. EIGHTY degrees! The fabulous weather is definitely at the top of my list of things to love about living in Texas.

I'd like to blame my procrastination on the weather... after all, it's kind of hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner when it's so hot and sunny outside. But I know that's not really the problem. December has just been a very busy month for us.

#1 Make a Gingerbread House:

We made our gingerbread house yesterday. Elliot decorated pretty much the whole thing all by himself, once the house was put together by Daddy. We did help him with the frosting, but that didn't stop him from getting it all over the place- even on his foot! Who knew making a gingerbread house could be so messy?

The finished product. It's silly, messy, and crazy {apparently our gingerbread man was attacked by a rogue gingerbread zombie?}... but Elliot put all the candy on by himself so I like it! His first gingerbread house turned out perfectly, to me. I can't wait to see next year's!

#2 Drive Around and Look at Lights: 

Since Elliot likes Christmas lights so much, we decided to take him to see the Nature in Lights light display at Blora (Belton Lake) on Saturday night. It was pretty neat, but apparently everyone else had the same idea because we left at 6pm and didn't get home until almost midnight. The traffic was UNBELIEVABLE. We waited almost two hours just to get through the gates! At first, Elliot was SUPER excited, he was pointing at all the lights and saying, "oooohhh! ooooohhhhh! woooowwwwww!" An hour or two in, he was losing interest and started chanting for Santa. By the time we got to Santa's Village, however, it was after 10 and we were in no mood to wait in that long line to see Santa. We're going to go see Santa somewhere else this weekend instead. 

I tried to take a few pictures, but it was awkward trying to stretch over Aaron's lap and leaning out the window with my camera. I have decided I might be the world's worst Christmas lights photographer... haha.  

#13 Read a Christmas Story:

 Okay. So we haven't snuggled on the couch together as a family to read a Christmas story like I want to, yet, but... Elliot did have fun "reading" The Polar Express to Emmett the other day.