Getting into the Christmas Spirit!

Am I the only one who wishes Thanksgiving was like two weeks earlier?!

I feel like I'm in a mad dash to feel all Christmasy before the season is done!

So, to help me really soak in the next four-ish weeks of Christmas,

here's what I've been doing:

watching It's a Wonderful Life (for the first time!)

listening to my three favorite Christmas albums:

Amy Grant, 98 degrees, & The Nutcracker Suite

lathering my body with Christmas-scented lotion

and putting up my favorite Christmas decoration we brought to

(and took home from)

a white elephant party last year:

*Many thanks to my girl Lizzy for our first homemade ornament!

(Lizzy called herself the unicycle when we were dating, because she said it was like we were on a tandem and she was riding along with us on a unicycle - ha!)

All these Christmas smells and sounds have also got me thinking about Christmas traditions!

What kind of Christmas people are we going to be?

Are we going to go all out and do that radio station thing where the christmas lights on your house dance to the beat?

Are we going to have inflatable snow globes in our front yard?

Are we going to dress up in olden time outfits and go caroling?

Are we going to provide gifts and necessities for families in need?

Are we all going to open matching pajamas on Christmas eve?

(my family never did that one… which explains why most of my pajamas are hideous and mismatched.)

I don't really know all the answers to these questions
(except for one above tradition we started last year that I love!)

but I'm sure time will tell.

I would, though, like to keep a Christ-centered Christmas,
which for me means things like:

amp up my scripture reading

spend minimal time on social media

and wake up early to accomplish what I need to so I can focus more on others

I know those things don't sound like your typical festivities...
but hey, if I can do them I think the Christmas spirit will take care of itself!

And one more thing to help with the Christmas spirit...

The Mesa LDS Temple is one of the few temples that goes all out with their Christmas lights!
As part of the Christmas lights, every night at 7:00 PM on the north side of the visitors center is a concert, and I am so honored to be the hostess for a few of the Christmas concerts this year.

 I hope to see you there!