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Christmas

Christmas Kitchen and a house full of girls!

Christmas kitchen

Well!  This week was a total blur.  Yours too?  I’m going to assume so.  December always is, isn’t it?  The one month I want to SLOW down and last a long time and it always seems to fly faster than ever.  Someone serioulsy needs to fix this!  It’s going to have to be one of you because I have a lot of pictures to post.  ;)

Christmas Kitchen (Sunny Side Up)

In my last Christmas home tour you saw a lot of my home decked for the holidays, but I still have a few spaces left to share!  No room left behind when it comes to Christmas decor, remember?  Today I’m bringing you into my kitchen!  It’s Christmas ready. :)

It’s also pretty similar to how I usually decorate it for this time of year.  I just doesn’t feel like Christmas at my house without my It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year sign over the stove.  Ahhh tradition. :)

Christmas Kitchen (Sunny Side Up)

You all know that keeping my kitchen clean (or attempting to anyway!) is high on my priority list, so I usually keep holiday decor in this space pretty simple.

Christmas Kitchen

A small wreath on the pot filler and a Christmas bow tied around the wooden spoon holder.

Kitchen Christmas decor

Red popcorn bowls on the counter.. because Christmas movies are on heavy rotation this time of year which means so is the popcorn. :)

Christmas kitchen

I always get asked where I get my greenery – usually at Home Depot but this year I was so happy to find some in a local grocery store.  It usually lasts about 2 weeks so I put it up at the beginning of December and then switch it half way through the month.  It makes a total mess when it comes down and every time I switch it out I think that I’m SO done with it for good!  But then I put up the new greenery and fall in love all over again.

And end up going back the next year for more.  :)

Christmas kitchen decor

Fa la la la la.. one of my favorite finds last Christmas!  It was from PB Kids (they always have the cutest banners!) but they didn’t bring it back this year.  Sometime I need to take a picture to show you how I got it perfectly attached inside of those upper cabinets.  You’ll think I’m SO tricky.  Even more tricky than usual. ;)

ornaments in a bowl

Simple ornaments in a wooden bowl always look festive!  And can we just talk about how I’ve kept this plant alive for over six months!?  YES!  You heard that.  A total record for me.  And can we just not talk about how it happens to be one of the easiest plants to keep alive ever because it hardly needs any water.  Seriously we ALL need this plant in our lives!  Don’t be surprised if you see one popping up in every room in my house this Spring.

Christmas window decor

My Santa Magnetic Advent Calendar has been such a fun addition!  I love seeing it in my kitchen window every morning and moving the snowflake to remind me of how I have very little time left to accomplish A LOT more things. ;)  It’s marked down.. half off right now!

Kitchen Christmas decor

I usually add a lot more to this shelf but decided to keep things simple there too.  I added a deer and some candy canes and called it a day.

kitchen nook Christmas decor

Speaking of deer..

kitchen dining nook

These beauties needed a little extra something on this table so I put them inside of my new magnolia wreath.  A fun, unexpected way to use a wreath that doesn’t involve any holes in the wall. ;)  On a side note I stored my rug all folded up after Christmas last year and now it has bumps in it!  I’m going to store it flat this year.  Covered in Kenny’s law school books to flatten it out!

White kitchen Christmas decor (Sunny Side Up)

Butler's pantry

butler's pantry shelf decor

A little more Christmas cheer in the butler’s pantry.  You can never have too many red stripes in my opinion. :)  (Favorite dishes here.)

Christmas kitchen decor

I always try to take room shots like this when my kids are in school because it’s SO hard to keep my house “photoshoot clean” with my family home, but I had to take these pictures last Saturday because my week was so busy.  Addison was being so patient and then finally couldn’t wait one more minute and had to sneak something to eat.. ha!  In case you’re thinking my kitchen always looks this clean let’s be reminded of what it has been known to look like in December..

I believe this was Christmas day a few years ago.  At least it was a happy mess.

Kind of. ;)

{KITCHEN SOURCES}   *Affiliate links used.






On Tuesday night this week I hosted our annual Christmas party for the Young Women in our church (girls ages 12-18).  Having this party at my house every year is one of my favorite Christmas traditions!  I got a lot of questions about what we do at this party after I posted a few minutes of the party on Instagram Stories so I’ll quickly explain our favorite activity!

Christmas pjs

{Team Santa/Red Flannel Plaid pj’s/other favorite Christmas pj’s here}

First of all.. we always wear Christmas pj’s.  Because it’s at my house so.. of course we do. :)

Christmas Party

After everyone chats and gets comfortable it’s time for our annual sock exchange!  Every girls brings a pair of socks wrapped.  They can be any kind of socks – really comfy, fuzzy socks, crazy unique socks, Christmas socks.. whatever!  Then each girl gets assigned a number (#1 through however many girls are there).  #1 goes first and picks a present and opens it and keeps the socks.  #2 picks a present and opens it and can choose if she wants to keep her new socks or trade them for the socks #1 chose.  Every girl from then on can choose if she wants to keep her new pair of socks or trade with someone else for their pair.  One pair of socks can only be traded twice so once it has gone through two people it stays with its new owner for good.. is this making sense?  Ha.. :)  Anyway.. it’s always a fun because there are usually a few pairs of socks that everyone wants!  The girls get laughing over the sock trading and who knows what else and it’s always a good time.  Fun party activity if you are hosting a group of girls!  I also think it would be fun to try a Favorite Things party with this crew.  You can read more about how that party works (and see some fun gift ideas from our last Favorite Things party!) here.

Holiday party

Love them all so much!  After the sock exchange we serve treats and hot chocolate and everyone spreads throughout my house to eat and chat. :)

Christmas Party

Some years we have also also done service activities with the girls in addition to our annual sock exchange.  One year we made baby blankets to take to a nearby women’s shelter.

Christmas Service Party

writing letters - Christmas party

And another year we wrote thank you letters to people serving our country and to people serving in our church.  Always nice to make sure people feel appreciated for all they do.

Christmas Party
El and some close friends. :)

Christmas Party

This pic was from last year’s party.  Having these sweet girls in my home just makes me happy!  All of our December traditions do.  Tomorrow is my girls last day of school!  I’m kind of bummed Kole has one more week to go at his school.  I get so excited to have my kids home so we can really start enjoying the holiday!  Late night drives to look at Christmas lights, delivering gifts to neighbors, making our annual Christmas hugs, picture with Santa, visiting the nativity at the SD temple, hot chocolate station, wrapping wrapping wrapping, Christmas pj movie parties galore, gingerbread house decorating, late night chats in the hot tub, having friends over.. oh my word.  We have a lot to fit in!  I better sign off and get started.

I think I’ll start with the hot chocolate.

:)

xoxo, Erin
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12 thoughts on “Christmas Kitchen and a house full of girls!

  1. Your kitchen looks fantastic, Erin. So fun and festive. That Santa advent is really neat. I like the deer on the table, too. Your popcorn bowls are fun. I think my favorite is the sign above the stove. Makes me smile to look at it. Thanks for keeping it real with the last shot of the kitchen. Appreciate that. :) Hosting that party every year for the girls is a wonderful tradition and it looks like you’ve done some wonderful activities with them. Thanks for sharing that. I’ve done gift exchanges like what you described and it made complete sense. I think I missed your Instastory though. That would have been fun to watch. Thanks so much for sharing, Erin. It’s a bit of a bummer that your kids’ vacations are offset by a week. But on the bright side, you’ll have your little man to yourself for a bit later. He may want to wash a lantern or two…:) Have a great weekend!

    1. Thank you so much Jeanne! So happy you like it all. :) I laughed out loud about the washing lanterns. I have no doubt that’s exactly what Kole and I will be up to that week. ;) I hope things are slowing down for you at work and you are able to enjoy the holidays with your sweet family! xo

  2. Erin, do you know about the trick to flatten natural fiber rugs? Just use a spray bottle to spritz a small area with water, press down on the bumpy part, and hit it with a blast from a hairdryer. I’ve tried this on both runners and larger area rugs and it works like a charm!

    Your home looks so festive and happy!

    1. Oh my word Christine.. I’ve never heard of that trick! Thank you so much for letting me know! I’ll be trying that this weekend for sure! Those bumps are driving me crazy. :) Thanks again for sharing that with me (so sweet of you!) and happy holidays! xo

  3. Your house is lovely, but I have to admit it is very refreshing to see the picture of day-to-day life. It is hard as a career mom to always see these spotless, beautiful homes and then wonder why I just can never get mine to stay that way longer than an hour or two (kids ages 9,8,4 and dog!) So again thank you for the “real” photo! :)

    1. Oh my word Bridget.. thank you! My house never stays spotless! Like I said in this post, it’s incredibly hard to just keep it clean like this for a 30 minute photoshoot! And it is SO hard to juggle housework/career/mom stuff and everything in-between. Especially when you have three kids running around. Blog/Instagram clean house pictures are meant to inspire, but they are most certainly not every day life. :) Enjoy the holidays with your beautiful, messy family and I’ll do the same! ;) xo

  4. I’d love to know where you got your adorable “merry christmas” sign in your butler’s pantry. It’s dreamy. Like always, love reading your blog.

  5. Oh, Erin, your kitchen looks so pretty all dressed-up for Christmas…..but then it always looks pretty, even when it’s messy! I tried some fresh greens one year, but even spritzing them with water every day wasn’t enough for AZ dry air. I always enjoy seeing how you decorate your kitchen window area….adore the advent sign.

    That is such a nice thing you do with all those teenage girls. I love that they were making the tied fleece blankets in that one pic….so important for children to learn the “gift of giving” at an early age. You are a super mom!

    Merry Christmas & warm hugs to you and your family!
    Carol

    1. You are such a sweetheart Carol! Thank you so much for your thoughtful words. They mean so much! Our fresh greens don’t last very long either and I gave up spritzing water on them because it didn’t seem to help much! I’m always looking for something fake that looks real but haven’t found it yet. If I ever do I’ll let you know! :) Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family! So grateful to have you for a friend. :) xo

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