All I Need for Christmas

With 10 days left till Christmas Eve, I bet you all are in the thick of Christmas preparations, last minute shopping, wrapping marathons, cooking and baking galore! If your anything like me, you start out with great intentions of being organized and starting early, but then... life happens.. and it gets to the week before Christmas and your mind is reeling of everything you have not done yet!!

That's me! The one with all the big Christmas plans of homemade gift ideas, well thought out purchases, personalized Christmas cards.. but then I stop, take a step back and reevaluate what Christmas is all about!

It's about family, precious time with the people you love.

So how can we balance out the need for all these Christmas to do lists and enjoy the holidays at the same time?

I have comprised a list of my 5 absolute must have essentials to get me through the holiday craziness, that also allow me to enjoy it along the way! Here it is!

First, Brown Packing Paper!

Forget all the fancy sparkly wrapping papers and gift bags... all I need is a big roll of brown packing paper, and I am equipped for any wrapping emergency.  A roll of brown paper is pretty inexpensive and easily available, and it will literally last you years (I've finally reached the end of a roll I've have for almost 8 years!). Best of all, its good all year round! You'll want a good quality tape though! The fun part is, the endless possibilities with brown paper as your backdrop!  Get the kids to decorate the gifts with hand print Santa's or Reindeer's.  Use colourful markers to add unlimited designs.  Add some ribbon, bakers twine, bows and a fancy or homemade gift tag and the bottom of your tree will be stunning!

Make some gorgeous gift tags out of these

Free chalkboard Christmas printable's

Second, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips!

Although I love to bake, I do not have a trade mark cookie recipe like my mother and her mother, that they bake every year and give to family. I like to try new recipes each year, that sometimes fail... so, I tend to always have a healthy stash of semi sweet chocolate chips in the pantry, to fall back on to spice up some simple cookies! Use them to drizzle on a simple batch of sugar cookies for an unexpected party (Sub brown sugar for white for a delicious twist).  Or use them to whip up a batch of No Bake Energy Bites to help you get through the late night wrapping! My favorite though, is to mix 1/3 cup with 2 cups milk (we use almond) for two perfect cups of decadent hot cocoa to share with a friend.   My kids LOVE hot cocoa, so this is a staple for me, and I can easily whip up a batch for us as a bedtime treat or as a warm up after a chilly outdoor playtime, providing a bit of a breather in the middle of holiday crazy!! With chocolate chips in hand (sometimes literally by the handful) I can conquer anything this busy season can throw at me!

Sugar Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle and Sea Salt (one cookie mix, 10 ways!)

Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies From Scratch

No Bake Energy Bites

Easy Hot Chocolate with Real Chocolate

Third, Christmas Music!

What else could give you the cheerful spirit than the good old Christmas music that fills the shops and radio for the full month of December? Music is just what I need to lift my spirits when I'm feeling stressed and over run from the holiday craziness! It fuels my creativity for midnight gift wrapping or for finishing touches on some on going crafting projects. Everyone needs that cheerful glee of listening (or in my case, loudly singing along) to the good old faithfuls! Luckily, these days, music is so easily available in all different mediums.. so turn up your favorite Christmas playlist and have a sing along with your kids in the kitchen!

Forth, An Over-sized Throw Blanket!

Or in my case, a king sized coverlet! No seriously! The Bigger the BETTER!! This is the only thing that will do when cuddling up on the sofa watching those favorite Christmas movies. The blanket certainly needs to be big enough for the entire family to fit under! This way no matter how busy the season becomes the family can put it all on hold for a couple hours and cuddle close for some good old cuddle therapy!!

Fifth, Christmas Books!

Last on my list, Christmas books... Specifically Christmas picture books! I personally love picture books, but its also the most precious way I know to connect with my kids. Every night in December we sit on the couch together, under our giant blanket! We read a verse from our nativity advent countdown. We also read from our Nutcracker advent book (my daughter LOVES the nutcracker story). Each night one child takes a turn picking a book from our Christmas book collection, which we read by Christmas tree light! Oooo this is totally my favorite part about the season!! I look forward to this time together each and every night!

Free Printable Advent Countdown with Bible Verses

So, that's my list.  Peculiar, maybe but that's what makes Christmas for me, and helps me make special memories along the way.

This was an in depth explanation of my Instagram post from our 12 Days of Christmas Challenge on Instagram.

Be sure to check out some of the entries on #twgchristmaschallenge2019

We had a few play along with our challenge who shared their Christmas essentials too!!!

Here are the top 25:

* Homemade (freshly-baked) Christmas Cookies

* Family Traditions

* Christmas Movies (like White Christmas)

* Chocolates

* Family

* Food & Minced Pies

* Decorations (like fairy lights & tinsel)

* Coffee

* Hot Cocoa (that must have Marshmallows)

* Dressing Gown & PJ's

* Fluffy Socks & Fuzzy Slippers

* Scented Candles

* Christmas TV Specials (like Elvis' 68 comeback watched every year)

* Christmas Sweaters

* Family Time

* Christmas Tree

* Crackers

* Snugly Jumpers

* Christmas photos

* Garden Center Visits

* Cups of Tea

* A Gift List APP

* Secret Santa

* Woolly Jumpers

* Coats, Warm Scarves, Gloves & Beanies

@themagicofmotherhood suggest the best Gift List APP is Gift List by Pinnacle Apps Ltd.

I'm totally going to try it out!!!

A special thanks to @themagicofmotherhood for organizing such a fabulous Christmas Challenge!!

Thanks so much for playing along!!

@themagicofmotherhood

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