Holiday Traditions

During our holiday, we spent a few days in a rented cottage near the mountain.  I was there with a handful of my family, and had the pleasure of enjoying some of those holiday traditions that really only occur when you are all completely out of your comfort zones.

Reminiscent of school holidays, where structure and routine disappear and you have a bunch of unscheduled time on your hands.  We found a puzzle in one of the cupboards.  Someone started it, and over the course of the weekend, every family member contributed their skills.  Even the little guys.  How tolerant of us.

It got to the point where we felt we couldn't actually leave until the puzzle was completed, which made for a *fun* nighttime drive through The Gentle Annie (I have no idea how it earned that name - let's just say there were tears, and they weren't all Garland's).

It's easy to forget the simple pleasure that can be found when completing a meaningless activity like this.  And really, not so meaningless if you account for the conversations, giggles, and even faux arguments that ensue.  *Bonding*.

Cowboys-as

Christmas Linky Party

Anyone else as excited about Christmas as I am?  I'm pre.tty excited.  I think this year feels extra special because a) it's the first time Eleanor will be really aware of what's going on, and b) we are not moving house this year - therefore we get to do all the decorating/build-up that we haven't been able to in previous years (we have moved house around Christmastime three years in a row).  Both of those reasons mean that this is kind of our first family Christmas.  This year we get to start building the traditions that will be carried through the years.  We will be creating those special Christmassy memories that our kids will look back on for the rest of their lives.  Yep, in my books, this is a pretty special year, Christmas-wise.

On top of that, we are actually hosting Christmas this year.  A smaller version, with only one of my siblings here (sniff sniff, will be missing the rest of them dreadfully).  But we will have the parentals and two aunties (Zan's sister, as well as one of mine), so it will definitely feel pretty festive.  And this year we have a son in our midst too!  Wow!

More on this, soon...

So anyway, I've been chatting to the very lovely Cat of Catalina's Cottage, and we thought that it would be fun to have a linky party through December (and the rest of November), sharing posts about our Christmas traditions.  Both she and I are adopting elves this year, a very sweet tradition that you can read all about here, so you will probably be seeing those cheeky imps quite a bit through December.  If you have an elf, or if you have written posts about anything lovely and Christmassy, pop back here each Friday and leave your link.

Our newest resident - we scored ours from The Book Depository.  Free shipping y'all!

We are starting early (as in before Dec - also, yes, it's Saturday today), because I'm an impatient girl and can't wait that many days. You can leave as many links as you like from posts you've written throughout the week, and don't forget to check out the other links too, there's bound to be lots of lovely inspiration to be found. I've even created a button, which was quite a challenge for me (but such is my dedication to Christmas) which you are welcome to grab and put on your blog.   It's official y'all.

<div class="The-Golden-Adventures-of-button" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.verydarkhorse.blogspot.com"> <img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dNIUyGnOmJ0/UJwyhlamyyI/AAAAAAAAKW4/LORacqZ26Jo/s1600/xmas+linky+150.png" alt="The Golden Adventures of" width="150" height="150" /> </a> </div> <!--end button code box-->

p.s. this is my first time using a linky and a grab button, so please let me know if there are any issues with either and I will *try* to resolve them ;-)