Santa Visit and Christmas-y Ideas

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving.  We did and I will post about it tomorrow. I tend to post a lot more this month because we have so many fun Christmas traditions that I like to record.

We typically go to see Santa the day before Thanksgiving but due to a fishing trip for the boys, we went a night earlier. This was a somewhat emotional trip for me as Will had promised me that he would go see Santa until he went to college.  That means this was the last year all three kids would go see Santa.  I know it is kind of silly but we have gone to see Santa every year since Will was born.  I LOVE going to see Santa as a family.  We always make a day or night out of it by going to eat and walking around window shopping and having fun family time.

Here is Will's first and second trip to see Santa.

You can see he was not too happy that second year.

And here are the photos from this year.  They are all iPhone pictures.

The kids goofing around

After we saw Santa we walked around and looked at the decorations and window shopped.  It was fun family time.  We played around in the Apple store and Brooks Brothers.  Then we went to dinner.  It was really nice.  I thought I would cry at Santa but the photographer lady (who was very nice) talked to me so much that I was distracted and not 100% in the moment.  I guess it was good because I did not get upset and my memories are more of the time we spent as a family that night.

Now onto some Christmas shopping ideas because after all it IS Black Friday!

So this summer I read a book (as did the rest of the US) about de-cluttering. The book is really good and I did a ton of de-cluttering. The book is called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  The key is to only keep things that bring you JOY.  I really ask myself a number of questions before I bring something new into our house now. The book has really been good for me.  It would make an excellent Christmas gift for someone who need to organize and de-clutter.

I mention the book because it has made me so much more intentional in what I purchase. So if I buy something, it was something I really loved and felt like I would use. I want to share with you some great deals I have found.

I like nice quality clothes and accessories but I also try to keep the "trendy" pieces on a reasonable price point.

This is by far the best thing I have purchased recently.  As I mentioned in my last post, most of my jewelry was stolen in a break in a few months ago.  I LOVE chunky fun jewelry and I had quite a collection of pieces that I wore constantly.  They were not worth anything to the thieves but I wore them a lot.

Anyway, this necklace is so awesome.  It arrived this week and I planned my Thanksgiving day outfit around it (but the weather did not cooperate). It is on major sale today so the price is awesome. I think I'll order another one to give as a gift.

I will admit that I am kind of addicted to plaid this season and I see everyone else is too.

I LOVE this tartan plaid pencil skirt.  It is on sale (30% off today) here and here.  I ordered one and plan to wear it to work and for some holiday occasions.

Keeping with the plaid theme.  I love this scarf (above) as it is lighter weight and the tassels make it really cute.


There are a million plaid scarves out there this year at every price point and I think they make a great gift for a woman of any age (teen to grandma) and one size fits all.  I usually have one or two on hand for last minute gift giving.  This one is a great price and would be a good gift for babysitter or teachers.

This one is a great deal too.

Another thing I wear all winter long is these vests.  I have one in cream, tan, red and olive green.  I bought the tan one first from a high end store and paid a lot for it.  Then I found these and they are just as nice at a fraction of the price.  They changed the pattern a little this year but I really like it.

This is THE best money I have ever spent.  I had heard people rave about these for years and I could not see the big deal.  Well, I finally bought one a few years ago and I wear it constantly.  I even found a kids one for Kate that she lives in.  We call them "our cozy."  In fact I have mine on right now while I write this post.  I wear one mostly around the house but I also wear it to barre class and running errands.  It is lounge wear technically but it looks like a sweater.  It is THE SOFTEST thing you will own as it feels like a soft hug.  It would make a very special gift for someone and it comes in lots of colors.  I am not a big fan of the ombre ones.  I have either cocoa or pewter and it is super neutral. I also want to add that mine is not this long at all and I am rather petite.

Mine fits more this this.



And since I am on the "cozy" theme.  This is another really special purchase.  I had always wanted linen sheets but they can be very pricey for a king size.  So, when I saw these on sale right before my birthday, I knew that was what  wanted.



I LOVE them.  I wish I bought them years ago.  They are so soft but cool and crisp too.  Now I wish all of my sheets were this linen.

Each year, people ask me about the cute holiday dresses I buy for Kate.  Honestly, I start looking in September at local boutiques, places like TJ Maxx and Marshalls and Nordstrom.  As Kate gets older, it gets harder to find a few holiday dresses.  She wears them to The Nutcracker Ballet, The Teddy Bear tea, our Santa visit, Christmas parties, etc.  Each year I buy two and then she usually has a few that still fit from the year before.

I found these that I really like this year. I love this dress.  It is beautiful and it is only $26 on sale right now.

It also comes in a silver metallic

This brocade fit and flare is on sale too



This one is adorable and it comes in toddler, little girl and big girl sizes.



This plaid one is really cute too.


This one is darling too.



And Kate has this gold lame dress and it is so cute. It is on sale right now.



I plan to post about our Thanksgiving tomorrow.  Don't forget to enter the Minted contest in my last post.  They are having great sales today too.  Click on the sale on my sidebar.

Disclosure Note:  This post contains some affiliate links and if you purchase items after clicking on links I will receive a small commission from the company (at no cost to you). I only link to products or companies I have used and loved. Thank you.