Less than 40 Days!

This past weekend I noticed a real change. Everywhere I went I saw Christmas stuff out. The flyers in the paper were full of decor and gift ideas. The Santa at the mall was already taking pictures with screaming children. I had a craving for Peppermint Bark. And slowly I started getting that Holiday spirit.

This year I decided to head on over to Organized Christmas to print out some of the sections in their Christmas Planner. In particular I liked their Card List and Gift List printables, rather than writing my lists on scraps of paper (and losing them!).

Thankfully my Holidays aren't as chaotic yet as my friend who are married, have children, or big families, but I like the idea of having a binder in my apartment with all the information I need. I plan to pack the binder up with the Holiday stuff at the end of the season and use it again next year. I try to keep track of what gifts I've given to who, what cards I sent out, etc., so this will help with that greatly.

Another big dilemma I've had this year is: Do I go real or fake with the tree? I live in a little apartment, so I can't have anything too big, but I miss having a real tree and I love the smell! I think I've already convinced the boyfriend to go with me out to one of the local tree farms and pick one up, I just need to convince myself that 1) I won't kill it, 2) Whiskey won't try to "mark it" and 3) it will actually fit.

I'm going for more of a tiny, Charlie Brown Christmas tree...just not as pathetic and with a few more branches. I love the idea of a cute little tree that just needs a home. Kind of reminds me of my crazy little pup!

My fear is that I'll misjudge how big it is an end up with something like the tree in Christmas Vacation. I've already measured out the space I have avaliable, but I just hope that my eyes aren't bigger than my floor space!

My other live tree fear: finding a squirrel, bug, mouse, etc. camped out deep in the branches. I've heard horror stories, but then I think of all the millions of homes that have trees every year and I'm reminded that the odds are in my favour that I'll have a pest-free Holiday.

While looking through all these stills from Christmas Vacation (one of my all-time favorite Holiday films), I noticed that there is alot of plaid in the movie...on people, couches and even these very 1980s window treatments. Conincidentally, the one thing that I know for sure this year is that I'm using plaid. Maybe its the Scottish in me, but I just love plaid around this time of year. I just picked up these beautifully, cozy flannel sheets this weekend that remind me of my Christmast kilt from when I was a little girl. I'm looking forward to putting them on my bed soon:

So warm!

I'm excited to start planning, decorating and getting ready for the holidays. Its one of my favorite times of year and makes the transition into the cold bitter winter just that much more enjoyable.

Lets just hope that I don't go overboard, right? ;)

Whiskey and I are heading home from the office in a little while. I'm thinking about starting up the fireplace, eating some homemade lasagna and pouring over the holiday catalogues. Maybe even start writing a few Christmas cards to get ahead. I can't help but be in a good mood when they Holidays almost here :)