DIY Christmas. :)

Christmas is by far my favorite Holiday of the year. I love the decorations, the music, the movies & Christmas specials on my favorite TV shows. Food Network (the channel that is on my TV 80% of the time) has it's Holiday Specials on constantly. I love the Christmas food... Oh the food! And the smell of Christmas (am I the only one who notices that smell?). I love it all. But my absolute favorite thing is gift giving. I seriously spend all year thinking of gifts for all members of my family. Some of them are very difficult & I need all year to figure out something. Others, like my Mom, are easier. I already know what I'm getting her for the next two years (provided the world doesn't end in two days). :)

Well, this year our budget was a bit tighter. I wasn't going to be able to shop for the whole family & I was bummed about it. So rather than getting discouraged, I decided that I would take a Pinterest approach & MAKE all the gifts! I was so excited about this idea & enjoyed making everything. I think they turned out quite nicely. :)

My daughter made a Christmas mug for her Sunday School Teacher, Miss Taylor. :)

I made a set for my brother Jonathan. 

This is the back. 

Elexis drawing the Nativity Scene on a platter for my Mom.

Almost done. I didn't get a photo of the finished product for some reason... It looked great though! :)

The plaque for my Dad. It says "The only thing better than having you for a Dad is my kids having you for a Grandpa". My husband did these letters freehand because he's amazing. :)

Painting them in.

Turned out nice, right!?

My brother-in-Law Nate's gift. Just threw a bunch of quotes onto a plate.

This is the back. If you have never seen something like this done before, it's so easy!! You just write on a plate/cup with a sharpie pen/marker & then bake it in the oven at 350ish for about 45 minutes. Then it's permanent. :)

     

My brother is a huge Tim Burton fan, so I found this quote. He liked it. :)

The handle. He & his wife love Jack & Sally, so I had to throw that in. :)

My other brother's mug/bowl set.
His name is not Conny, it's a complicated inside joke, lol.

He doesn't give good reactions for gifts, ever...
But with this one, I got a big smile along with a laugh.
Worked for me! :)

We celebrated Christmas at my parent's house on Monday night. Everyone seemed to enjoy their gifts. For my sister & sister-in-law I made a Spiced Apple Sugar Scrub & a Cinnamon-Spice Bath Soak. I forgot to take pictures. But those turned out cute also (and I am enjoying using the leftovers, lol).

I can't wait until Christmas Eve so I can make some yummy goodies for Santa. Elexis said that she doesn't want to leave cookies for Santa because he must be bored of them. So we're trying to find something else that he would like. She's thinking doughnuts or these little peanut butter pretzel sandwiches that we make. We'll see what she decides. And we have to leave something for the reindeer too. She wants to leave them some carrots & celery, but I think we'll just set out a box of granola because it's easier to put back in the cupboard. ;)

Doesn't the tree look so pretty?!? Derick redid it for me. It wasn't this nice before. He added more lights & some garland. He's so great. The Christmas spirit is all over the house now. :)
Please ignore the big hole in the ceiling, we're remodeling. :)

If I don't get to write a post before the 25th: Merry Christmas everyone!!