December Daily Giveaways: Elle's Studio + Evalicious

Oh, I just LOVE Christmas and all the festivities and planning leading up to it. For me, it's all about the homey smells of baking and apple cider, playing games with my family, Eggnog and ginger sparkle cookies, sitting with my husband watching the tree lights twinkle and listening to carols playing quietly after the kids have gone to sleep...*sigh*...
This year will be even more special as my husband is returning home after being gone for 6 months overseas on a military tour...he flies in on December 21st, just in time for Christmas. There is nothing that Santa could being this family this year that could top him coming home!! I can't wait!!!!

What I am most looking forward to this holiday season is being with family. I have two boys (ages 3 and 2) and 8 nieces and nephews all under the age of 5! This Christmas all four families will be bunking in the same house for a week. It will be joy-filled chaos.

I am looking forward to Christmas music! My favorite part of the whole season.

I am looking forward to some time off work and school to relax and get some crafty projects done!

I can not wait for the Christmas season this year!!!I am making a conscious decision to slow it down, breathe and enjoy the celebration and anticipation of the season. The simple rituals that I will document this year will be a great daily reminder to do this and help keep me focused. These types of things are what my children will remember.Thank you fro your ongoing inspiration ALi.

I look forward to spending time with family and, of course, the food! Yummm! I am also looking forward to putting together the december daily album. I loved looking at yours last year and want to try it for myself. These goodies would be the perfect start!

I'm looking forward to being able to just chill, relax, watch the children through the 6 week long holidays: swim, play table tennis and jump on the trampoline. Just being together~ very ordinary but with my oldest being 15 I realise how few ordinary summers we have left!

I love to have the house all decorated and enjoy the lights for as long as we can. I love that we have so many family traditions that the kids look forward to every year and they love just as much as the adults.

Enjoying my favorite time of year in our new home-a fresh start and a giant space to decorate!!!

I am looking forward to having Christmas in our new home. We have been trying to purchase a home for the last 4 years and it looks like it may actually happen this time. Closing is on Nov 10th, so that will give us plenty of time to decorate and set up a tree in the new place.

I am looking forward to watching my daughter go through the holiday season!

I am looking forward to keeping Christmas simple this year!

This season Ihope for lots of snow - not that rainy, muddy weather. And of course a few hours spent baking cookies with my daughter!
Bianca!

seeing the magic of Christmas in my children;s eyes :)

I am most looking forward to being able to spend more time off of work to spend time with my family!!

I love Christmas morning the most. Being lazy in the house with holiday music playing and drinking coffee. Watching the kids play with their new gifts and looking at the stained glass star tree top made for us by my husband's Aunt Sunny (by far my most favorite decoration).
In general, I love being able to relax with my family, listen to holiday music and drink gingerbread lattes from Starbucks.
-Sarah

seeing the magic of Christmas in my children;s eyes :)

I look forward to the whole holiday season - special moments and memories with family, decorating, making gifts and just the lovely feeling that's in the air.

This year we are going to have all the necessary shopping done before Thanksgiving. This will allow us to do more things, with less stress, as a family.
We are making a list of events and activities we think would be fun and then we will put a few on the calendar for each week.
I really want to do a December daily album like you are showing us. Maybe that is something I can do between Thanksgiving and Dec. 1.
Wonderful giveaway. Love all of it.
Thanks Ali!!
- Dawn

Last year, we had moved away for my hubby's job and missed Christmas with our families. The one thing I REALLY missed and can't wait for this year is my families cookie day. All the girls get together on a Saturday and bake. My Grandma makes us all a HUGE lunch and we just spend the day baking, talking, and eating LOL. At the end of the day we divide the cookies up and we always take a platter to the local women's shelter. I have never documented this day, but I am going to this year.