Happy Holidays Fam! Welcome or Welcome back to the blog. 

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“Gmorning
November
You lurch & you lumber
From bonfire to ember
From waking to slumber
You deaden the grass
& you piss in the pot
The birds all haul ass
And the pumpkins all rot
Remember, November:
Momentous elections
Ignite us, divide us,
Divine new directions
November—
Chill.

Gnight, November
Come in from the cold
We’re making hot cocoa
with WHOLE milk: we’re bold.
CHILL, November. CHILL.” — Lin Manuel Miranda

Within the last 5 years or so, people get really jazzed about Christmas.  Yes …we love Fall, and were crazy about decorating our houses for Halloween, but there’s something about Christmas and winter in general when everything slows down and turns cold.  In my neighborhood, people (or my neighbors) have put those pumpkins on the curb (I threw mine out the day after Thanksgiving), and the Christmas lights and trees are already up and lit.

I may have mentioned that I’m right next door to a garden center, and when I walk by (aw man) those trees smell so damn good.  I wish I could carry that scent around all winter long, but I digress.

Over the years I’ve started decorating earlier and earlier.  Last year I had decor up by the first week of December, and my tree up by the first weekend, and I still tweaked my decorations up until a week before.  I really wanted a different theme but this year has been about clearing my debt and saving some coins so I don’t want to spend money if I don’t have to.  However, I really want this brown, amber golden Christmas tree theme.

MISSION: Create my beautiful holiday-themed tree only spending $25 (Mission Excepted, LOL)

Here’s a DIY I found on YouTube to aid in this mission.

I found this cool DIY that can help me achieve that goal and anything else I’m hoping to find at a Cyber Monday sale. But I digress.  My holiday prep always starts with a checklist as I am the list queen 👸🏾.

If you want to use my template here is the link in Canva where you can type in your own tasks and notes. (Canva Link)

This week is easy and I’ve already got half my list don’t for the rest I really have to sit down and think about gifts.  I feel like everything is coming at me all at once so it’s hard to slow down sometimes and focus.

My daughter and I split the cost, so we hauled wrapping paper, tissue paper, bags, gift toppers, tape, some shirt boxes, and ribbon.  This is a combination of online and going to Target. (And since we are at Target I was able to get two gifts for our Toys-for-Kids drive at work)

We seriously don’t need any more paper.  I also find it helpful to create a gift wrap station. (gotta add this to the list)  It’s everything we need to wrap gifts all corraled in one basket. (i.e., tape, pens, ribbon, paper, bags, etc.)

I’m off to a good start by finishing some things early. This was so I don’t feel overwhelmed, or feel that I rushed things and didn’t truly enjoy the holiday.   We all know that the holiday is not about the gifts or the decorations. It’s so much more.  Time to reach out to loved ones, donate your old clothes to people in need, your unused pantry items, or help out at a shelter. And with that…I’ll close this post today.

Thanks so much for visiting the blog today.  Don’t forget to like, or comment, and I’ll see you back here soon with more holiday prep.

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