{happy holidays}

may your days be merry & bright...

wishing you a happy christmas filled with love and laughter!

A&O

{local love} holidays in highland park

friday night: date night. it was A's turn to plan the surprise date - a christmas-tastic afternoon/evening in dallas.

{galleria!}

first stop: the galleria. shopping, lattes, and the biggest christmas tree this side of rockefeller center. we watched the kids ice skating around the tree and stayed long enough to see the cheesy light show. we talked about our crazy weeks and did a lot of people-watching. one sweet hello kitty hat and one cozy grandpa sweater later we headed south for phase II of our date.


christmas lights in highland park. we're not talking inflatable snowmen here, people. they take their christmas decorating very seriously. a christmas tree in every room, a string of lights on every branch of every tree in every yard {no lazy zig-zagging here}. you can do your own driving or take a carriage ride through the town. either way it's definitely the best christmas light situation in all of dallas.  

{memory lane}

towards the end of our christmas lights tour, we drove by my old elementary school. we got out and peeked into the windows and played at the playground. it was such a perfect winter night - cold and clear, with the brightest moon ever. we played a little basketball and then crossed the street to the soccer field. i vividly remember running laps and playing kickball there, back in the days when my biggest worry was about which keds to wear with my color-blocked tee shirt and christmas was at its most magical. 

{party animals} our blue blue christmas party

A and i throw a christmas party every year. we usually make ourselves crazy in the process, but we love it anyway. this year we threw a "blue christmas" party: blue champagne punch, blue yummies, and my favorite: blue stripey straws. everybody wore blue and much merriment was made. 
each year we pick a charity to include in the festivities - this year we asked our guests to bring a bag of dog or cat food to donate to a the north texas food bank. we ended up with tons of food for needy pets {thanks, friends}! our cats thought they'd hit the jackpot when they discovered all the food under the tree the next day. they were pretty brokenhearted when we took the food away, but then we explained the meaning of christmas to them and they were okay with it {i think}.

{homebody} holiday decorating

every year right after thanksgiving we decorate for christmas. we put on christmas movies, decorate the tree, bake sugar cookies, and generally just get all christmasy.

{scoop's favorite day of the year!}

{gubs helps make paper snowflakes}

{the finished product}

{A gets creative with leftover dough}