Creating Moments That Matter
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Like I didn’t know this already… 😉
Hey, I’ve missed you Ladies! Here’s a quick post about what we’ve been up to. I bought a Gingerbread house and we decorated it together. They boys had soo much fun.
Drake actually enjoyed this activity as well. 😉
We delivered our Red Plate gifts to our friends.
While we were at Tatiana’s house, I noticed how creative she got with her tree. She has 2 girls under 2 and put a gate around the presents. Genius!!
Davis won the holiday card contest at school and was invited to the KISD Board Meeting to receive his award. If you can’t guess, his is the boy with the “DT” on his hat.
His principal is so amazing, she gave him a new Webkinz to reward him on such a wonderful accomplishment. Davis is STILL beaming from this gift.
After the ceremony we all went for ice-cream to celebrate.
I had e-mailed my mom because I was trying to come up with a cute poem to attach to each of my ‘Red Plate’ gift bags and it wasn’t working out.
My mom being the lyricist that she is came up with the following and now you can have your own ceremony if you’d like. Here’s her e-mail:
*****
So, the idea here is that you have a little ceremony as you “bestow” the red plate on the recipient. And every good ceremony must have a song – don’t you think? So here it is . . . . . .
Sung to the tune of “The Star Spangled Banner”
Oh, say can’t you see?
You are special to me!
And we MUST celebrate,
So I’ll bring out the red plate!
It’s a honor you know,
That I’m proud to bestow!
Such a great thing to do,
So we celebrate with you!
You are loved, it is true,
So what else can we do?
You are honored tonight
With this special delight.
So, lift up your plate,
It’s going to-oo be-ee great!!!!
You’re the one we CELEBRATE!!!!!
You have earned THE RED PLATE !!!
(and you have the person lift up their plate and you place the red plate on the table and they place their plate on top of it – accompanied by the cheers and applause of the rest of the family – of course!!!!!!)
* After thought:You could also make a little badge or medallion for the person to wear for the rest of the evening, or even to school (or work [tee hee]) the next day, that says “I earned The Red Plate”. Can’t you see the boys making Jason wear a necklace that says “I earned the Red Plate” to work!!! How funny would that be!!!!!!
*****
Thanks Mom! The song is amazing and way more than I expected.
Also, FYI, if you would do at least one blog post people could leave you a message and tell you how great the song is on your blog. 😉 Just saying…
How appropriate that this is my 200th post!! It’s about friends, a fun party, and a fabulous idea I’ve been sitting on for months. (he he)
I realize it’s customary to host a giveaway or do something unique to mark such a special event. But I can’t add one more project to my over-scheduled life. Sorry Ladies! However, I do feel like the idea I’m going to share with you is a worthy treat. So enjoy!
Last night we had our Mavens (girls night out) Christmas party! Can I just tell you that I adore these ladies. They laugh loud, tell stories, are real, and put up with my “flippant” remarks because they’re endlessly talking about Jane Austen/British/PBS related topics.
Yes, I’m able to look past our differences and love all the other things that are great about them, which are numerous. {{giggle}}
After catching up with each other, we started the annual gift exchange. It started off so polite and congenial. Then the fun started and the claws came out. (Totally kidding. These were reenacted for your benefit.) Totally appropriate having the picture of Christ in the background, don’t you think. 😉
Yep that’s the same gift, stolen again! Rochelle’s gift, of course.
Speaking of RO – She got Katrina’s gift, the Hairspray calendar featuring cutie pie Troy Bolton. I mean, Zac Efron.
Needless to say, there were so many great gifts that people were finally able to exhale once the gift exchange was over.
What did I bring? Well, thanks for asking. First, I made these place mat purses as gift bags. Just like the one I received from Kara for the Witch Switch.
Inside, were these block plaques I purchased from Deidre. I made the one “I am only as strong as the caffeine I drink, the hairspray I use, and the girlfriends I have!” in black. I bought the other one for myself. 😉
Ok here’s my fabulous idea: This year I am giving ‘The Red Plate’ tradition as my friend gifts! I made the cute red and white place mat purses to put them in.
Basically how the tradition works, is that you use the ‘You are Special’ red plate at meal time when someone accomplishes something, gets a good grades, has a birthday, etc.
I made it out of a charger and vinyl lettering. You can order the white vinyl lettering for $2.00 on Executive Homemaker. You can’t eat, dishwash, or microwave this one. But it was easy on the budget and a wonderful tradition I’m excited to start with my family.
I feel like I’m giving more than a gift this year. I’m giving them warm memories, and hopefully, a tradition that will last generations. Merry Christmas!
We had some new friends over for dinner last night and then it was off to the 3rd grade winter program.
Davis had a small solo part and he did so well! His voice was on key and loud for all to hear. We were really proud of him, but not for the reason’s you think. 😉 This year he didn’t:
Ah, my little guy is growing up. I’m so proud of him!
I still haven’t finished telling you about my Saturday! We started it off with Breakfast w/ Santa, Secret Santa Shopping at Target, then my Dad (who was up for the day) and Jason made the frame for the playground roof. There’s still a lot to do, but it’s a start.
That night I went to Katri’s big birthday bash! (Katri’s in the middle). Holy cow that girl can throw a party! She had a fresh sushi bar w/ chefs and all. Yummy!!
Since we were all together we couldn’t resist a photo op on Katri’s amazing stair case.
Once the Karaoke started, the party went to the next level! Here are Rebecca’s Greg and Rochelle’s Greg totally hamming it up while singing a duet of “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”
I completely LOST IT! Yep, all composure and self-control completely gone. It was hysterical as both Greg’s are laid back and this was very unexpected. (To say the least.)
I can’t sing, but I can dance! Like my air-guitar? Jason, my man, was unable to attend. He went to a different party that night. (We had 3 parties scheduled for that night. Can you say bummer!)
But, look what Jason brought home! As a parting gift, he got this Star Ornament w/ the Legend of the Star poem.
It was so beautiful, I went ahead and put it up on Executive Homemaker. So you can simply print out the card and attach it to a star ornament or star cookies for a quick easy gift.
What activities or games do you like to play/do at parties? I need some ideas.
I’ve just received an early Christmas gift! Today I was featured by Kim on ‘Today’s Creative Blog’. Seriously, Ladies I’m a bit teary. Is that silly to admit? I don’t care, it means so much to me.
I’ve been so busy striving to balance family, Christmas, Tip Junkie, Executive Homemaker, friends, and self. Lately I’ve have felt little validation and a lot of exhaustion. But thanks to Kim and her kind words (and free publicity), I am feeling the love.
Honestly, I never expected to be considered for her blog. Have you ever read it? Those women are so over-the-top creative and make such beautiful things. I figured I’d have to pay her off to get a mention. 😉
Not only did she feature Tip Junkie but she also featured Executive Homemaker and my personal blog! That’s so much more than I ever could have wanted. Thanks again Kim – You ROCK!
| You Are Comet |
 A total daredevil, you’re the reindeer with an edge! Why You’re Naughty: You almost gave Santa a heart attack when you took him sky diving Why You’re Nice: You always make sure the sleigh is going warp speed |
They had such an amazing set up! The Santa was great, the photographer was great (and free), the food was so-so, but the games were amazing!
They were simple and fun for all ages. Wheel of Jinlge Bells, Reindeer Toss, make a reindeer out of contruction paper, decorate a foam ornament, Christmas tatoos, write a letter to Santa, color snowflakes, Jingle Bell Walk, make Reindeer Food, color your own goodie bag. The boys had so much fun and left with a ton of loot!
Even Drake had to take his turn at the Reindeer Toss!
At one point, Davis got totally distracted by this Snowman. He kept playing with the arms and legs, making them dance, waving hello, etc. He was very careful with it and I thought that was such a Davis thing to do. 🙂
Afterwards, Davis and I met his school class at Target where we were split up into groups of 3 and given a shopping list for Ricardo, a 3rd grader from the Angel tree at the Salvation Army. We were given $20 to purchase jeans and socks for Ricardo. Due to our savy shopping and addition help from the kids, we were able to get 2 pairs of jeans and a 6 pack of socks! It was such a wonderful experience for Davis and I to share together.
Finally, as promised, pictures of my house decorated for Christmas. We had to move everything around to accomodate the tree.
I’ve detailed several of the craft & gift ideas on TipJunkie: here, and here.
The newest addition is the lighted garland on both sides of my stair case. {{squeal in delight}} I bought it from Lillian Vernon. I didn’t like it wrapped around the banister so I was a little bummed.
But then I saw this huge ornament in a store window while Katrina and I were shopping. I actually found that same ornament 50% off at Hobby Lobby and Garden Ridge. So I decided to swag the garland and put the ornament in between. (Next year I’ll buy two more ornaments to complete the look.)
Here’s my front door. We put out a buch of lighted candy canes and reindeer this year in the front yard. It’s a bit OTT, but the boys love it which makes me happy.
