Christmas layouts

I've been in a 2 pg, many Christmas picture mode the last few days! gotta love getting 14, 16, and 19 pictures on one LO :) click the pics to see them larger.

journaling: We put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving this year. Everyone did something to help, from sorting and ‘fluffing’ branches to putting them in the slots on the tree trunk. We also got the lights and bead garlands on the tree Friday night. By the time those were done it was almost bedtime and Mama was too tired from going out shopping very early in the morning to do the ornaments. So, the kids had to wait until the next day to put them on the tree. Sarah thought that all of the ornaments were toys to play with and got very upset when she was told that she had to hang them on the tree. The train ornaments were her favorite ones. Finally she calmed down and started trying to hang the ornaments on the tree. She still likes to pull one off occasionally to look at it closely, but for the most part she leaves them alone.
credits: Christmas Goody, Holiday Trim, and felt tree from A Diva's Holiday by Corina Nielsen at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com; LO template by Aggie Aviso for SweetShoppeDesigns challenge; Paper Curls by Anna Aspnes at DesignerDigitals; Glitter style by Flergs; Artistry Frames and Journal 2 by Fee Jardine at SweetShoppeDesigns; fonts: CK Becky

journaling: This evening was the big event that the middle school band has been practicing for for two months- the Parade of Lights. The weather men had been predicting cold, wet weather for several days but it was actually quite pleasant for a December evening with only a little wind and no precipitation in any form in sight- it was much colder and wetter last year on the night of the parade. I dropped Bryce off at the school at 3 that afternoon, dressed in his black school hoodie and pants, jingle bells adorning his feet, a santa hat on his head and light strings wrapped around his trumpet. After photos were taken they had one last practice time before they were bused downtown to wait for their turn to march in the parade. We finally left the house about 4:45 to head downtown- we had intended to leave a bit earlier, but by the time we finally got it figured out how we could record the live broadcast of the parade on a local TV station it was later than we thought. It turned out all right- we found a good spot near the end of the parade route with an unobstructed view and we ate a sack dinner while we waited for it to start. Sarah got into the parade atmosphere and was waving back to everyone who went by for a while. She was starting to get really restless by the time the HMS band finally got near our spot on the route. She wasn't too happy with us when we told her she couldn't run around in the street. There were a wide variety of entries in the parade, everything from the standard flatbead trucks with singing choirs, to dog groups, to firefighters, to the librarian drill team pushing their lighted bookcarts in synchronization. The favorite float of all of the kids in our block was the Chik-Fil-A dancing cows- they were doing the chicken dance when they went by us! The HMS band did very well- they were just as good as the better high school bands we saw. They were certainly one of the biggest bands in the parade, and the only middle school there out of the 12 bands. And of course, Santa in his sleigh was at the end of the parade telling everyone to have a very merry Christmas! ~Colorado Springs, December 1, 2007
credits: Basic Blacks by Saxon Holt, Holiday Wire Wraps by Mama Mia, Red Rub On Alpha by Christina Sturmaggio, colored papers from Kitch Christmas by Sophia Sarducci, flower by Christina Sturmaggio from Sleigh Bells Collaboration- all at sophiasarducci.com ; Holly Jolly Shimmer Dust by Kristin Cronin-Barrow at SweetShoppeDesigns; Bright Lights and Candy Cane Doodles 2 by Dani Brath at SBB; 2 @ a Time Layered Templates by Amy Bleser at SBB; fonts: CK Constitution

journaling: Christmas Eve was spent with the Massey side of the family. This year, we opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa Massey at their house early in the afternoon, and then the whole Massey family gathered at our house for the Christmas Eve dinner and party. This is the only year that the whole Massey clan gathered at our house for the annual Christmas dinner. After dinner we sang Christmas carols and enjoyed each other’s company.
credits: everything from SophiaSarducci.com: Hippie, Kitch, and Mod Christmas kits from Christmas Through the Ages Collection 2, Summer Brights Ribbons, Spot on Journaling Spots, Holiday Beads by Sophia Sarducci; Christmas Trims Alpha by Mama Mia; Red Rub On Alpha by Christina Sturmaggio; staple by Patrizia Pascala;
fonts: CK Script