Wine Girl Mommy’s World

Tag: Christmas

• Christmas tree trail

  Posted at 12:26 pm by CS, on January 2, 2020

  If you’re looking for something fun and free to do in the Orlando area, and are a lover of Disney, look no further than the Christmas Tree Trail they have at Disney springs.

  This is slowly becoming one of my favorite things to do around the holidays so I really hope Disney continues to put it on. Really would hate for them to take it away. I do believe it’s getting more and more hype, they’ve been doing it since 2016, so I’m taking that as a positive that it will stick around.

  It’s pretty simple in what it is, it’s a trail of beautifully decorated Christmas trees that are themed to the Disney movies, characters, attractions around the parks. Each tree is decorated with items and designs that showcase the theme of the tree. Throughout the trail as well you’ll see fun posters depicting play-ons from different movies. And if you catch it right, you’ll even see snow in Florida. (Side note, it’s really just snope, but still fun to see) This would make a great date night, or family outing, and because it’s at Disney springs, which is free to park, it won’t cost anything to go see.

  While they have the same trees each year, they really put effort into updating the tree so it’s just a bit different each year. They are also adding new trees each year which I always find wonderful.

  I personally think they should add a Tinkerbell/Pixie Hollow tree. And some sort of Pixar tree for other movies other than Toy story. So maybe next year Disney will surprise us.

  

  You can see below how they update the trees over the years. The left is from their first year 2016, and the right is from this year. Both of the tangled tree. My personal favorite.

  

  Posted in Thing I Love | 0 Comments | Tagged characters, Christmas, Christmas trees, Disney, Movies, trail, tree

• Christmas 2019

  Posted at 11:57 am by CS, on December 30, 2019

  Christmas 2019 came and went so fast that it seems like it was all a blur. Sadly, it was mostly a blur because I ended up sick. Thankfully, it only lasted most of Christmas Day, so while that was nice, it was also a bit of a bummer because I could not enjoy the day with my family like I really wanted to.

  I was expecting Cameron to wake up early like every kid does on Christmas morning. And while she did wake up fairly early, it was no earlier than her normal wake up time. It wasn’t like she was jumping on the bed, yelling at us to get up. I was feeling horrible at that point, so sadly I was just sort of laying there and trying to muster the energy to get out of bed.

  We were celebrating Christmas at my father-in-law’s house, so the three of us, in our matching PJ’s (the one thing I asked of my husband this year), went downstairs to get the day started. While we tried not to spoil Cameron with gifts, she did still have a good bit under the tree from friends and family, and we didn’t want Christmas morning to last all day, so we figured, the quicker we had her start opening gifts the better. I laid down on the couch while we waited for my father-in-law to wake up and then we moved over to the tree to let her begin her present opening.

  We wildly over estimated how interested and excited she would be to open gifts this year. I thought with her being two that this would be a magical year. I think I’m going to have to wait about one more year to get that excitement. While she did open a couple gifts, she of course was much more interested in what the gift was after it was open. We opened her first gift and she proceeded to want to play with that for 30 minutes and didn’t seem to want to bother with any other gifts. We finally had to sort of hide the gift to get her to unwrap more of her presents. In the end, we ended up unwrapping most of her gifts for her for the second year in a row. But she was excited for what she got. Some highlights were play food for the kitchen she would get once we got back to our house in Florida, a fisher price little people school, a Disney princess magnet set, some books, and some etch-a-sketch writing boards.

  Us adults got in on the gift action too in between opening Cameron’s gifts for her. While I tried so hard to be excited about my new computer and my gift cards, I was still just feeling so bad. My husband did a great job picking out my gifts, I’m sad he didn’t get the overjoyed reaction to them because of how sick I felt.

  Mid to late morning we had done a good bit of gift opening so it was time to sit back and relax just a little bit. My big idea of a grand breakfast went out the window, and I could not even think about what to make for lunch. Poor Cameron just had to eat what we could find in the kitchen to give her, but she was such a trooper, and honestly she didn’t seem to care much since she had so much new stuff to play with.

  After lunch I did something I very rarely do, I took a nap with Cameron. I’m not one to take a nap in the middle of the day. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to take naps in the middle of the day if time permitted, but I’m the type of person where if I fall asleep in the afternoon, I tend to wake up feeling worse. Today was not that day to care about if I was going to feel worse, I already felt terrible, and since I didn’t sleep well the night before I was exhausted. So Cameron and I took an afternoon nap, and luckily when I woke up I was starting to feel a little bit better. I was still crazy weak, but my stomach wasn’t bothering me as much, so I call that a Christmas win.

  We spent the afternoon just playing with new toys, watching Christmas movies, and trying to rest and relax. My husband made a wonderful dinner of ham, green bean casserole, stuffing, and rolls. Not a large dinner, but it worked for us. After dinner I started to not feel great again, although this time it was a migraine I tend to be prone to if I don’t have caffeine, or eat a lot, or are stressed. Thus when Cameron went to bed, I was right behind her since we were driving back to Florida the next day and I knew I had to be better for that.

  All in all, it was a great Christmas. I do wish I could have a re-do solely so I could be feeling better. Now we only have to wait another year for Christmas 2020.

  

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged 2019, Christmas, morning, presents, sick

• Kid friendly holiday movies

  Posted at 4:03 pm by CS, on December 26, 2019

  There are a lot of great Christmas movies out there. And the joy if watching Christmas movies with your family is amazing. Trying to find kid friendly Christmas movies is not that difficult of a task because most if not all are family friendly (minus those rare holiday horror films) but here are our families favorite kid friendly movies. And keep in mind we have a 2 year old, so I’m sure these movies will change as she gets older. And these may not make everyone’s favorites list, they are just the ones we have found ourself opting for when we want to watch a Christmas movie.

  The Grinch– now while I love myself the classic “How the grinch stole Christmas” and even the Jim Carrey remake, the one that makes our list is the most recent cartoon grinch movie. Cameron loves the bright colors and the music. I love how while it’s still very similar to the original, there are some plot differences that still make the movie very good. And I’ll admit, this grinch doesn’t look as mean as the ones in the past, he’s actually pretty cute.

  Christmas chronicles– the Netflix original movie where siblings Kate and Teddy Pierce hatch a scheme to capture Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. When the plan goes awry, the kids join forces with a somewhat jolly Saint Nick and his loyal elves to save the holiday before it’s too late. It’s cute, maybe cheesy at times, but I think the message about loving your brother/sister is a good one. And I mean Kurt Russel is great as Santa.

  Trolls holiday- Queen Poppy and the trolls try to help Bridget and the Bergen’s come up with a new holiday. It’s a short and sweet film, and when Cameron went through her trolls phase she loved this movie. Just like the trolls movie, there is plenty of music and singing and bright colors. And it’s not that long of a film so that helps the little one keep their attention.

  Olaf’s frozen adventure– Olaf tries to help Anna and Elsa find a new tradition. In true Olaf fashion nothing really goes right even though he’s trying to help. Add in some catchy music numbers and this is a winner in our book.

  The Santa clause– this has been a favorite of mine for years. I’m a big Tim Allen fan, and a movie where he becomes Santa is great. First having to convince himself that it’s true, and then having to convince others so he can stay out of trouble. It’s a good family classic.

  By all means this list isn’t even the tip of the iceberg, but we could be here for days if we listed all the great movies. These are just the ones that have made the top of our list, this year at least.

  Posted in Mom-ing, Thing I Love | 0 Comments | Tagged Christmas, holiday, Movies

• Our holiday traditions

  Posted at 11:51 am by CS, on December 23, 2019

  As I was growing up, I always swore I was going to have so many holiday traditions, and start them young enough so that my kid(s) would always remember them.

  Then of course I had a child and realized how hard it was to actually create traditions and keep to them every year. Luckily though we do have a few traditions that we have done around the holidays for the past few years, and hope to continue doing for years to come.

  December 1st is tree day! So while I love Christmas with the best of them, I also understand that we should try and keep Christmas beginnings until after thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always getting the short end of the stick and I am guilty of trying to start early. So while I may decorate the house right after thanksgiving, our tree tradition is December 1! We like real trees, so we go out and as a family pick a tree, try to find the best one, and bring it home for it to get ready for decoration.

  Christmas box– I’ve written about Cameron’s Christmas box in a previous post, so I won’t go into much detail here. But this is a tradition that we started when she was born and will continue for as long as she’ll allow us. It may change up a bit but the sentiment will remain the same. She will receive her box either December 1 or 24, with some fun Christmas goodies.

  Cookie baking- She may not remember her first few years of cookie baking, but I really enjoy finding a few recipes on Pinterest and testing them out. When we bake them all depends on how hectic our schedules are, but I figure, the closer to Christmas the better so they are fresh for Santa.

  Christmas book/movie on Christmas Eve– as Cameron is getting older, I’m getting more and more excited for this one, as she understands movies more and can sit through them. But what we do on Christmas Eve is sit down with a movie of some sort, trying to find a family friendly one, and then ending the evening reading “A night before Christmas,” before sending her off to bed.

  One present on Christmas Eve– this is one that I remember doing as a kid, we always got to open one gift on Christmas Eve. It was normally one from an extended family member, but it was always kind of fun to have a little taste of what may be coming the next day. So now we get to do that with Cameron, let her choose one gift and she can open it before bed on Christmas Eve.

  Christmas music while opening gifts– this one may seem silly, but I loved opening gifts while listening to Christmas music on Christmas morning. There is just something magical about Christmas music.

  Ornament exchange– I got this idea from a friend of mine (shout out Sarah) when her and her fiancé exchanged ornaments shortly after they got engaged. It was such a great idea I decided we should do it too. This way our Christmas tree becomes filled with memorable ornaments. It’s super fun to see the different ornaments each year and what they represent from the past year.

  Christmas lights– this is one that we have yet to really start, but I’m hoping it kicks in soon. Driving around town with Christmas music playing and looking at Christmas lights. Or going downtown and seeing them, however we can look at Christmas lights as a family I want to do.

  Matching pajamas– I’ll admit, I never thought I would want to do family matching pajamas, but seeing how cute people look while matching Christmas morning made me a believer. It started with just Cameron and I because I couldn’t convince my husband, but this year I was able to convince him to at least participate for at least present time. And I had to make sure to get “manly” pajamas.

  I’m sure as the years go, these may change, or get updated, or we may find new ones that work with our family, but it’s so nice to find things to do as a family around the holidays.

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged Christmas, holiday, traditions

• Toddler Stocking ideas 2019

  Posted at 12:46 pm by CS, on December 19, 2019

  I’m constantly trying to figure out the best gifts and stocking stuffers for my child. I want them to be equally fun and educational while attempting to not go overboard like I have the past two Christmas’s. Especially this year since we aren’t moving until after Christmas, so none of our Christmas decor is out so I don’t even have a stocking to put her stuff in. Therefore I did have a little leeway with not having things need to fit into a stocking. But I still didn’t want to be hauling a lot of unnecessary stuff when we moved since I know I’ll be doing another purge of things while we unpack.

  Here’s some of the things I decided to put in her “stocking” this year.

  Stuff she needs: things like socks, a toothbrush, comb, hair ties, utensils and items that she has to use just about every day and items that may be falling apart or are in need of a replacement.

  Things to read/learn: I always try to add a board book or two in her stocking. I really want her to love reading like I do so I hope the more books she has, the more likely she is to love reading. Also things like flash cards, and stickers.

  Activities: Because this year with her not having an actual stocking, I can give her a few items that wouldn’t normally fit in a stocking. This year we went with a coloring book, a few activity packs, and a wooden puzzle. This year she’s been into arts and crafts so I figured activities that she can do would be a perfect addition to her stocking.

  Miscellaneous: These are the things I find that I just think she will like. This year I found a cup, and some Frozen music books since Frozen is a big deal in our house this year. We still have a few weeks left before Christmas so who knows what else I may find.

  I’ve found the best place to get stocking stuffers is in the dollar spot at Target. I also got a lot of her items at places like TJMaxx, Ross, and Marshall’s. I found that making sure not to spend a lot of money on the stocking stuffers is a good deal because a lot of times these items get lost at the bottom of a toy bin.

  What do you get to put in your toddlers stocking?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged books, Christmas, fun, learning, puzzles, socks, stocking, toddler

• Christmas box 2019

  Posted at 11:36 am by CS, on December 9, 2019

  Every year since Cameron has been born we have done a Christmas box for her. I’ve toyed between giving it to her on December 1st it December 24th. For the time being, I have been doing it on the 1st, and as she gets older I plan on giving it to her on Christmas Eve.

  Here’s what I have been putting in her box the past few years, and what I plan to give her in years to come which is why I will shift from the 1st to the 24th.

  

  And yes I realize there is frozen theme to the box this year. What can I say, girl is obsessed.

  First off we start with pajamas. Normally they are festive and holiday day themed. These past two years I’ve done a few pairs in her box. Mostly because she’s at the age where she tends to get things dirty, so I give her options to wear throughout the month of December, and then there are her actual Christmas pajamas which I normally don’t let her wear until Christmas Eve so that they stay night and clean. I know, she’s a kid and should be able to have fun and make a mess, but when you have matching family pajamas you want to make sure everyone is wearing them on Christmas. As she gets older, and can be trusted a bit more with messes, I’m sure I will go down to only one pair. This may be when I switch the box to Christmas Eve, because then there would be a lesser chance of them getting dirty. Because we are still moving around and not quite settled, I have only one pair in her box this year, because the other pair which she will wear Christmas Day is packed away waiting for us to move.

  Next up, a Christmas ornament. This may be her actual Christmas ornament for the year, or just something that I thought she would like. I love our Christmas tree to have ornaments that show our passions, and personality, so when Cameron is interested in a topic, or a movie, or character, or hobby, I like to be able to show that with an ornament. Right now she is very much into anything frozen and Olaf, so her ornament this year was an Olaf ornament.

  Next, a Christmas book or two. I like to try and find books that have some sort of holiday meaning or message, or would just be fun to read. And this way as she gets older she will have a whole collection of holiday books so that we can take picks of what we want to read each night before bed. We have been into reading the llama llama books, so this year I got her the llama llama holiday book. As well as one other Christmas board book.

  New to the box this year is some sort of activity/craft. Not sure if I will continue this tradition, but she’s at the age where she’s getting into doing activities and coloring and doing arts so I wanted to include something of that nature for her to do. I found the play pack in the dollar section at target so you really can’t beat the price.

  A Christmas or holiday movie. This is something that I have added in the last two years. And while streaming services are making DVDs a little more obsolete, I still like the fact of giving a dvd to watch in the future. Especially because sometimes, no matter how many services you may stream, they may not have the one you want to watch. And my hope in the future, when she gets a bit older to not only stay up later, but sit still through a whole movie, is that I’ll give her the box on Christmas Eve with the movie we will watch that evening. And that would pair with the last and final thing for the box. Which would be,

  Snacks. Some sort of holiday snacks. Be it popcorn for the movie, or a holiday snack of some sort. Along with hot chocolate, or apple cider, or egg nog (virgin of course), maybe with a fun mug as well. This once again will need to be for when she gets a little older and can handle more types of foods.

  I’ve also thought about putting socks/slippers in her box as well, that may be another thing for another year.

  The box may change from year to year, but I’m hoping she still gets excited about it since I’m hoping to establish it as a way we can have family time during the crazy month of December. I think that is another reason as to why I am thinking of switching it from the first to Christmas Eve, so it can become a tradition where she know on Christmas Eve, she will put on her new pajamas, and we will watch a movie with snacks, then read a bedtime story, put her ornament on the tree, then off to bed to wait for Santa. That is until she feels she is to cool for her parents.

  Do you do Christmas boxes for your children? If so, what do you put in them?

  Posted in Mom-ing | 0 Comments | Tagged activity, books, Christmas, Christmas box, Christmas Eve, December, movie, ornament, pajamas, Santa, snacks

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