A few weeks ago, in November, I shared with you all our 2017 Christmas Bucketlist. As I mentioned in the original post, I borrowed the idea from Kelle Hampton and you can check out her original post along with her other amazing content on her blog.
So let’s get down to business…how did we do? Well, pretty well, I must say. Let’s start at the top:
Tree Up: Check! The tree was up, dressed and has been giving us the cozies since before December started.
Muppet Family Christmas viewing: Loss and I finally got around to watching this, my absolute favorite holiday tv special from the late 80’s, this past Thursday. It’s so fun and I love knowing most of the script and songs from watching it so much when I was a wee little lass. I love that my parents and I still make jokes from it to this day. (Hint: this isn’t on dvd, so search youtube. It’s easy to find and so worth the effort!)
Black Friday Baking with Mom: I loved baking with my mom on Black Friday! We spent most of the day in the kitchen and I share a few recipes from that time together (Grandma Ruby’s Cereal Mix and the Mini Cherry Cheesecakes) here on the blog. Isn’t my mom the coolest around? I certainly think so!
Cider and Tree Snuggles: So, we drank cider and hot chocolate and we snuggled beside the tree. My favorite moment, though, was Christmas Eve. Loss and I were watching King of the Hill on Adult Swim (one of our favorite shows to watch together) and I snapped this photo. It’s certainly one of my favorites of us from this entire year.
Out of Town Holiday Roadtrip: We haven’t actually done this yet, but Loss and I are taking a little jaunt up to Nashville for a show a few days into the new year. Given his work schedule, the holidays get crazy and we try to take a mini vacay somewhere to reconnect and just chill in the new year. 2018 is turning out to be no different and I’m so excited for our little adventure!
Exchange Stockings with Loss: This year we didn’t do much in the line of ‘big’ presents for each other, but I did fill up a stocking for each of us. There’s just something fun about filling up this bag with all the goodies that make Loss super happy, including the gummy bears that are one of his favorite treats (but only Haribo!).
Send Christmas Cards: I wrote about sending out cards a little earlier in the month and truly enjoyed sending out this mail so much. It was especially fun getting DMs from friends on twitter and friends I haven’t seen in quite a while saying thanks for the cards and getting some in the mail as well. The postage might have been a little pricey for two books of stamps, but I think it was well worth it to send some love to friends.
See the Bass Pro/Cabella’s trees and get photos, sit in front of the fireplaces: Ok, well, I got a photo in front of one tree at Bass Pro. After that, shopping season really kicked in and I refused to go near these places. Come on, do you blame me?
Look at Christmas Lights: Instead of going to Rock City and fighting crowds and an ever-diminishing bank account, we rode around with my parents and Joey and Jacque this past weekend and looked at lights around some local neighborhoods. We had just opened up presents together, too, so we had matching pajama pants that had been gifted to us and we rode around like I remember doing when I was much younger. It was so much fun to just ride around, not worry about anything too heavy in the world and just enjoy the pretty, twinkling lights that were out and about. That night is for sure one of my favorite memories for all of the Christmas season.
Main x 24: We went, we saw, we hung out, we conquered, then we came home and napped from 4-8 pm. It was a lovely day on Main Street!
Christmas Time, Chill Out Date Night: Christmas Eve we were out and had a few errands to run after church with the family, so we headed to Old Chicago for a calzone and it was so yummy and a fun little afternoon, chill date. I’ve also decided every Christmas Eve should now have Italian food included in it.
DIY/Gift Made and Written About: See the holiday baking items linked a few paragraphs up…those are pretty DIY and make great gifts!
Classical Holiday Films Listed/Watched: I was pretty proud of my TCM Rundown when it came to Christmas films this year. While the list I compiled was nowhere near exhaustive, it had the bulk of them and I hope you guys found it helpful. I did manage to watch (most of) The Shop Around the Corner 2 or 3 times along with Meet Me in St. Louis and Christmas in Connecticut. You guys, I just love classic films and these make my heart sing (clang clang went the trolley) (Hope you get my “Trolley Song” reference! #nerd) ).
Get a 2017 Ornament: Done! This year’s is a simple one from Target that spoke to me and made me think of superheroes- something we have a lot of in this house. I just love having an ornament from every year and from different places we have been. I love having a tree with special memories hanging on it.
Take a Photo in Front of the Choo Choo Christmas Tree: This is my favorite tree in all of Chattanooga. It always is. It’s huge and gorgeous and is in the lobby of one of my favorite buildings in town, too. This year was a huge bonus, since I got a photo in front of it with not only Loss but my good friend Ken when he visited, too. I told you it was a special tree- it will forever remind me of people I love and the times we spent together downtown.
Antique Mall Open Houses: I’m proud of how many of these we hit up, even right after Loss got off work and had not gotten a ton of sleep. I got some good decorating ideas and I really feel like these events that take place in early December (usually) are super fun and get you in the festive spirit (atleast they do for me). We didn’t win any door prizes at any of the events but we did get to snack on some yummy treats and enjoy some extra delicious apple cider!
Donate to Give Kids the World: This is one other task I haven’t quite gotten to yet, but it is going to be done within the next few weeks. I love supporting GKTW and all the work they do in housing families who come to Orlando through programs like Make a Wish and treat them to a cost-free week of theme parks, themed days at the resort and an environment where families can simply relax. I recieve the quarterly newsletter and, it never fails, anytime I crack that baby open, the tears come. The stories from families who have visited the resort and the hope and happiness it gave them- man, it just is amazing. These folks are doing good work and I make it a point every year to donate, if only just a little bit, to the amazing cause.
What did your Christmas Bucket List look like? Did you get it all done? Let me know how it went!
JLB Nerdy 
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