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Inspired Holidays {Day 7}:: Creative Memorable Holidays

Creative Christmas Memories & Decorating Idea

One of my readers, Dana @ Cooking at Cafe D (who is doing a 31 Day series on 31 Minutes to a More Organized Life!) left me this sweet comment:

I’m really enjoying this series.  it goes to show that it doesn’t take a large effort – just a little effort and a little thought – to make something special.

Yes. Thank you. True words. That is my goal.

So, in thinking about the topic of being inspired for the season ahead, I stumbled across a delightful idea over at Canadian House & Home.

Simple cloth bags with numbers of them, a use-what-you-already-have ornament tucked inside. Each day of December, children get to open a bag and another ornament goes on the tree.

Amen.

Simple creativity and meaningful holiday decor. It just takes a little thought, a little effort.

Sometimes we get overwhelmed, thinking holidays have to be complicated ordeals. Or that having a beautiful holiday home requires amazing design sense, money, lots of time, or showcasing all the latest trendy stuff. And we miss the whole point.

We can start now with a goal to choose a few simple ideas for creative yet memorable decor, a few easy fun treats to enjoy and share, a few simple-to-make comforting holiday meals. Then decide which meaningful traditions we want to keep this year.

And then we can let go of the excessive expectations that will stress us out, zero in on a few special ideas we really want to do, and we’ll actually have time and energy to make them happen and ENJOY them.

We don’t have to jump ahead to Christmas yet, we can and should still savor Autumn. Just start your list of simple holiday ideas and traditions so you can start gathering what you need and begin weeding out the rest.

Inspired Holidays {Day 7}:: Creative Memorable Holidays

 

Want to catch up on the first six days?

Day 2: Plush Pumpkin Fall Giveaway!

Day 3: Why I Love this Season

Day 4: Ideas for Decorating Naturally

Day 5: Simple Fall Decorating Around The House

Day 6: Your Style: Get in the Holiday Groove

And here is where to find the list of other creative and inspiring bloggers involved in this 31 Day series!

20 Comments

  1. Life with Kaishon

    This idea is so simple and fantastic. I love it. Thank you for sharing. I am going to try to remember to do this at Christmas time. So creative!

    Reply
  2. Sarah

    Love this idea! Totally doing it! THANKS!

    Reply
  3. Sarah

    Love this idea! Totally doing it this Christmas with my two little ones! Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Glenda Childers

    I love the idea of the numbered bags. Such a nice visual, too, for kids of counting the days until Christmas.

    Fondly,
    Glenda

    Reply
  5. Shannon

    Oh how I wish I had little ones when I see an idea like this! How cute! I guess I will have to wait for grandkids! Please visit my blog post today! I’ve got some great holiday ornament ideas brewing! Have I ever told you how much I LOVE your blog!

    Reply
  6. Imperfect

    We did something similar growing up – we had a Jesse tree. The ornaments were wrapped in a little box and we got to open one each evening. There was a small devotional that went with every one. By Christmas day, we’d gone through the Bible and arrived at the birth of Christ.

    Reply
  7. Heather

    What a terrific idea. So simple and yet it creates a wonderful tradition for the children.

    This weekend is full of traditions with the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving – a walk around the lake, pumpkin carving in the backyard and pumpkin pie by the campfire as the sun sets. Can’t wait.

    Reply
  8. Dana

    Oh, Melissa, it was so sweet of you to mention my comment :)

    Yeah, we’re try to keep it simple at home, but if I don’t keep and eye on it…I can start to complicate things.

    LOVE the ornament in a bag idea!

    We were just talking about the holidays over breakfast yesterday. We are a new blended family and since we are sorta of starting from scratch, we get a chance to be INTENTIONAL about going forward.

    We get to CHOOSE what we want our holidays to looks like. We really simple traditions will be meaningful. (Like the ornament in a bag!)

    I’m actually excited about seeing how many special little moments we can create that don’t take a lot of time. And, we’ll see together which of them make it to next year – and grow legs on becoming traditions.

    I’m so glad you are doing this series!
    All the best!

    Reply
  9. Franki Parde

    “Canadian House and Home” is my “new” “go to” magazine. I LUV IT! franki

    Reply
  10. Julia

    What a fun idea! I’m all about simple traditions like that that I know I can actually follow through on each year. Love this one! :)

    Reply
  11. Angela

    I wish our oranments would fit in our Advent Calendars! My mom made these adorable Elf Advent calendars that hang on the bedroom doors, but some of the pockets are too small for ornaments. I do put bows on the tree so I could put bows in on those days. This is a really cute idea! If you click on the link below you can see what they look like. So adorable! I just cannot imagine not putting them up!

    http://www.garnethill.com/advent-calendar-elf/13423

    Reply
  12. Maya

    I’m loving the stripes too!!

    Reply
  13. Richella at Imparting Grace

    That IS a delightful idea! What a great way to get the tree decorated in a non-stressful way. And I’m thinking that paper lunch bags tied with twine, raffia, or ribbon would be a fine alternative to cloth bags to make it even more simple. I can even imagine brown paper bags clothes-pinned to a line, perhaps with some greenery and pine cones added for good measure. The possibilities are endless, and what a fun way to count down the days to Christmas.

    Reply
    • Melissa

      I love that idea Richella, I was wondering the same thing…what would be another way to use this idea if you didn’t have cloth bags or don’t sew…paper bags would be very cute, inexpensive and simple!! Brilliant.

      Reply
  14. treisha

    Amen! I usually start thinking Christmas is October so I have my thoughts together. Its mire important to enjoy the season than stage the season in perfection. This is a wonderful idea, and as my family will be in full transition during the holidays, this will be the perfect new tradition for our new home.

    Reply
  15. Janet

    That’s a cute idea!

    Reply
  16. Karen

    What a brilliant idea! When my sister and I were little we each had our favourite ornaments that we liked to hang – the problem was that we liked the same ones and would try to get to be first to hang them! This idea would be the prefect solution to that problem:=) Thank you for sharing:)

    Reply
  17. Kristen

    What a cute and simple idea! Thanks for sharing another great idea to make our holidays memorable. I will remember this for when I have kids!

    Reply
  18. Kim

    Love this idea! Totally doing it for Christmas!! Thanks for the daily posts! They are awesome!

    Reply
  19. birdsandsoap

    This Christmas I am looking forward to making a “Jesse Tree.” I have small children and will be doing it along with our advent calendar. It tells the story of the line of Jesse, bringing Old Testament Scripture to light, showing God’s faithfulness over 4,000 years,leading up to the fulfillment of prophecy with the birth of the Messiah. You make ornaments with each one referencing an event of God’s deliverance of His people and place them on the Jesse Tree that is made from branches (this would be fun to place an ornament in each bag along with the scripture each day so it is a surprise). Here’s a link for more info: http://www.crivoice.org/jesse.html . I believe it is an ecumenical tradition, because I had never heard of it until I started doing a little advent research. I think it it will be a great teaching tool for the advent season!

    Reply

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