Category Archives: Holidays

A Very NewlyWife Christmas

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It was another NewlyWife reunion this weekend as Megan and Matthew came up to celebrate Christmas with the Northern California side of the family. The weekend included a trip to San Francisco’s Union Square, eating, gifting and playing games like Wits and Wagers. Oh, and there was a wrapping paper wad war or two. Here are some of the photos from the weekend.

Emily and Megan on Christmas Eve with the traditional glass of sparkling wine.

Merry Christmas from your favorite (devil eyed possessed) bloggers.

My first Ramos Gin Fizz. Very tasty.

We can’t break tradition! Every year I leave out cookies for Santa and ever year they’re eaten.

We managed to squeeze in a picture with Santa and some more cousins.

Megan and Matt with the Christmas tree in Union Square.

Christmas morning with the holiday log on TV since our fireplace stopped working.

I made my own orange rolls, which are another family tradition.

Matt and I about to open our presents. My MC Hammer bobblehead photobombed in the background.

There were a few rounds of Wits and Wagers, the game of choice this year.

And I got a chance to see my little nephew, too!

It was a very merry Christmas — one of the best yet! We hope yours was great as well!

Christmas Reflections in Luke 2

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I wanted to end our Christmas Biblical reflections with a chat about the angels appearing to the shepherds. Let’s go ahead and read Luke 2: 8-14;

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

(source)

I cannot imagine this scene. I mean, seriously, how crazy must that have been? I do not know how big angels are, but a Debbie Macomber book (which is totally fiction, by the way) suggested that Gabriel was seven feet tall. I doubt that is accurate, but let’s just go with it. So you are in the field, all grubby, watching over your sheep and this seven foot tall celestial being shows up — glowing. And I imagine that the angel was super loud. Right? So you are trying to calm down and not poop your pants, like it says; and then a great company (which I would imagine to be hundreds) appears. Wow. Talk about crazy. Jesus may have been born in a manger, but there was not doubt that he was King of Kings. I hope you remember how awesome He is as you celebrate his birth!

Bags of Candy Coal Tutorial

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Did your man make the nice list this year? Mine did, but I’m going to put coal in his stocking anyways. It was his idea, after all! We saw little bags of “coal” (chocolate) at the apple farm a few weeks ago. Hubby thought I could make them just as easily; and when we found silver choco-rocks, it was as good as done.

Click on through if you want to see my photo how-to. I will recap with words at the bottom (for easy printing and all that jazz)!

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NewlyWife Likes #28

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Last week was busy and fun and now we’re in full-on holiday scramble mode. Still have some gifts to buy and then wrap. Here’s hoping I don’t get swallowed up by angry mobs in the stores. Are you all done with your gift shopping? No? Then how about procrastinating on the interwebs a bit with me…

  • Making a (Home Project) List and Checking it Twice: It’s hard to believe that John and Sherry have been in their new place almost a year now. (Yes, I do refer to them as if I know them in real life, but I don’t.) They recently put out a home project list, which I think is great. After the holidays, I think we’ll get to work on our list.
  • Classy Glass: Do any of you have a furniture or cabinet refinishing project coming up? Consider getting glass knobs a la Anthropologie but for much less with this resource found on Blush Ink.
  • The Minivan Express: While I don’t have kids, I saved this Minivan Express idea because it sounds so cute. The idea is to create The Polar Express by surprising kids with a golden ticket, snacks and seeing Christmas lights.
  • Imaginary French Vacation: This is Glamorous is one of my favorite blogs. So full of eye candy, and this post about Laudrée is no different. I feel like I’ve taken a quick five minute vacation to France. Might I suggest you click over and see for yourself.
  • Wrap in Style: I like these wrapped boxes with simple decoration: sparkly ribbon and bright crepe paper. Click on over to 100 Layer Cake for more cute ideas.

That’s all for this week. See ya next time!

Tips for Hosting a Christmas Party

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This weekend marked our fourth Christmas party thrown at our house. It’s always a fun time to eat, drink and be merry with all of our friends. Here are some pictures from the night as well as some tips for hosting a Christmas party. Do you have anything else to add? Share your party wisdom in the comments.

  • Encourage people to dress their best. It’s not very often that people get dressed up these days, which makes it more fun when you do. It also helps sets the tone of what kind of party you’re wanting. Perhaps your friends can get a little rambunctious sometimes. I find that being nicely dressed tends to keep people on their best behavior, or close to it.
  • Be festive. Decorations are great, especially when you can find them all around the house. Some affordable options are non-breakable ornaments in a vase or on a charger plate. Tinsel is cute, too, and you can find plenty at the dollar store.

  • Prepare ahead of time. Cleaning, moving furniture, food prep — all things I wish I had done the night before or two nights before.
  • Make a cooking schedule. Figure out in advance the times and temperatures for what you’re making. Write it down and calculate backwards from just before the party starts.

Cupcakes by Jillian

  • Go for a semi-homemade menu. As much as I like to cook and bake, slaving away in the kitchen all day and night isn’t very fun. You’re worn out before the party has even started or you miss the party trying to finish cooking. I loved the Santa brownies I posted about and ended up doing those with the little brownie bites from Costco. I made some buttercream and cut some strawberries and boom — done.

  • Don’t stress. This is the first year I’ve taken more of a laid-back approach to party planning. It all got done and while we missed a couple of things, everyone had a great time. Stressing out only makes it worse for everyone.
  • Use disposable plates and cups. One year we used our regular glasses. Not only did we keep running out and having to wash them all night, we had to wash a ton of stuff the day after.
  • Be thankful. We often get too caught up in worrying about everything going on at the party. It’s a time to be fun and carefree with your favorite people all at the same place, which probably only happens once a year.

 

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