On to Christmas!

WARNING: Lots of Christmas graphics in use. Sorry - I couldn't resist!

Last night, it snowed! Okay, not a lot, but it put a very pretty sprinkling of frosty white on everything. I love it. Not the cold, but the feeling that the holidays are truly here.

While my daughter-in-law was here visiting for Thanksgiving, we got the inside of the house decorated for Christmas. She's great that way - being as much into the holidays as I am. My boys... Yeah, they'll help if I ask them to, or if they see me doing it alone. But I can tell it's not something they really enjoy.
Bev and I enjoy it! A lot.

Besides, the boys were pretty busy.
My oldest son is buying a franchise restaurant, so he's swamped with paperwork and deals. My middle son is in his last year of college and spent much of his visit on the computer, doing classwork.
My youngest son chased after his 2 year old son, who has a double ear infection and went from excitedly playing with all my noisy Christmas plushes, to cranky at the drop of a hat. Poor little guy.

Thanksgiving Day was my husband's birthday, so I tried to insist that he sit still and relax. Unfortunately, our cable went out. And the cable company, which infuriates me, can't come to fix it for a WEEK.
So anyway... I decorated.

The week before, while our ever-changing Ohio weather was mild and almost springlike, I'd gotten all my outside lights up.

My shopping is done, wrapped, and under the tree!
With as crazy as it gets after Thanksgiving, I always try to get my shopping done in advance. See, I like to wrap everything fancy. Lots of bows and ribbons... and it takes time. The trick here is that I'm also writing up a storm, having just finished a new Winston novella, and now working on my next Servant novel. I have to pick days to shop when I know I won't get as much writing done.

I juggle to fit everything in! But it works for me.

Some time this week I'll do my Christmas cards, which is very time consuming. My email loop - LoriFosterBookjunkies - is doing a card exchange, and as much as I LOVE all the wonderful readers and authors on my list, I just can't take part. As it is, I send out a couple hundred cards each year.

Know what I do with the ones I receive? Well, after displaying them around the entry door for folks to admire, I save the prettiest ones and frame them for special holiday pictures during the season. Each year I trade out those from the year before with new ones. They look gorgeous in white, silver or gold embossed frames in special places around the house, replacing the more traditional decorations I use the rest of the year.

Back when my husband and I married 30 years ago, we started having Christmas Eve at our house, and we still love it. These days, we end up with anywhere from 35 to 50 people, depending on how many of the late teens bring dates, and how many babies have been born, and how many kids bring a friend. Everyone is welcome, so some of the family members have brought a lonely neighbor, a friend, an extended relative by marriage... I love it.

It's something that's very, very special to me, and I try to make enough cookies that everyone can take a plate home.

What do you have done so far?

Are you an early bird, or a rush-last-minute person?

Do you shop for lots and lots of people, or only a few?

Do you decorate your house inside and out, like me, or with only a small tree?
Or not at all?
Whatever you choose to do, however you celebrate the holidays, I hope it's a wonderful time for you - the weeks before, the time after. I wish you lots of smiles, warmth from friends and family, and peace in your heart.