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“Things can instantly happen for you. Don’t ever doubt the power of a sudden blessing.
Breakthroughs happen every second. Miracles are real and natural.”
-Moon Omens
Happy Friday! One more week until Christmas! I have finally finished all of my shopping, but still have wrapping to do. I have to admit that I am not the best at wrapping gifts. No matter how careful or focused I am, it somehow always comes out looking terrible. I guess I wasn’t born with the skills to wrap presents. My dad, however, has the wrapping paper thumb and makes every present look impeccable.
This past week was all about getting ready for the holiday. I ran errands with my parents picking up chocolates, hot fudge, and nuts to make treats for our neighbors. We also bought chocolate bombs for Christmas Day. Apparently, chocolate bombs are all the rage this year. Personally, I have never had one, but am excited to try it.
Santa came to visit! In Upper Arlington, the suburb I am from, the civic association decided to do a parade this year instead of Santa’s workshop. Usually, they turn the shelter house at one of the parks into Santa’s workshop where the kids can meet Santa and do other holiday activities. Since we are still in the middle of a pandemic they canceled it and decided to put on a very small parade. The route happened to go past my grandmother’s house, so we went there to watch. My niece, who is 3years old, was so excited! Just watching her joy and happiness of seeing Santa ride past in an old fire truck waving at her is a moment I am grateful I was a part of.
Besides seeing the jolly big guy, My sister, my mom, and I went shopping at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby for crafts. As a tradition, my entire family competes in a gift wrapping competition. The winner of the previous year thinks of a theme and tells the family on Thanksgiving. Then on Christmas Day, we present our creations and vote on a winner. The winner receives a gift (usually sweets), picks out the theme for the following year, and gets an entire year of bragging rights. I won last year with my creation of a Nutcracker. Since I won, I got to choose this year’s theme: A Musical Icon. The musical icon can be from any genre, present or past, singer or musician. For instance, you can do Justin Timberlake but you can not do N’SYNC. You can also do Glenn Miller, even though he is not a singer. Even though I won last year I still have to participate this year (although I can not win again), so my Music Icon is Dolly Parton… are you even surprised?! I haven’t started on my creation yet but will do so in the following week. In the past, the themes have ranged from your favorite Christmas Movie to Harry Potter to Ohio State Football to Winter Activities, etc. I thought this year’s theme was fun and gets your creative juices flowing.
What I am watching: More Christmas movies! I watched parts 1 and 2 of The Christmas Chronicles— the one with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. Although the second is cute, I like the first one more. I also watched Netflix’s new movie California Christmas. It’s a cute movie and definitely has a Hallmark feel to it.
What I bought this past week: As mentioned I finished my Christmas shopping and am now waiting for their arrival so I can gift wrap them. Usually, I buy myself a Christmas gift, which I haven’t yet this year. If you missed yesterday’s post I shared what is on my wishlist.
This weekend we will hopefully be watching the Big Ten Championship, Ohio State vs. Northwestern. We are not planning on doing anything special for the game. Just enjoying it from the comfort of our couch. It should be a great game! Other than cheering on the Buckeyes, I will be spending the weekend doing the usual: working out, reading, binge-watching Hallmark Christmas movies, and maybe playing in the snow. During the snowstorm the other day we got about 3inches of snow. Some of it has melted, but there is enough to gather into a ball to throw at my dad or perhaps make a snowman with my niece.
Have a wonderful weekend xo
1. Reasons we’ve loved New York: A send-off to the many places that closed in 2020
2. Satin pants to lounge in on NYE and the rest of the year
3. These pretty pearl earrings are on sale for $16
4. A cute ruffle metallic sweater for the holidays or NYE
5. Tiler Peck’s guide to having a fancy night at the ballet at home
6. DIY festive touches for holiday gifts
7. Holiday traditions celebrated by Royals around the world
8. Positive intentions to bring into 2021
9. Creative ways to fold napkins for the holidays
10. Ideas to color coordinate your closet
Last-minute gift ideas: