Season of Sparkle

Glitter is constantly swimming through the air in my household during the holiday season. All of our Christmas decorations seem to have some degree of sparkle whether it be lightly (or not so lightly) dusted on an ornaments, on these branches that fill vases in our living room, accented on the gift wrap on the presents under the tree, or in the form of sequins on the seventeen stockings (yes, seventeen!) hanging on our stairwell. I'm not one to complain, though. I'm a sucker for sparkles (as you've heard before) and the holiday glitter never fails to make me grin during this already joyful time of year.

These golden trees and pinecones that make up the centerpiece for our dining room table certainly keep with the metallic, sparkle theme.

After forty years, my family has accumulated quite the collection of ornaments.

One of my personal favorites

Each school a member of our family has attended is represented on the tree. A&M and UT make two appearances because two kids have attended each of these universities. But, I'm pretty sure those Aggie ornaments are collecting dust in the back of the tree...

Some--if not most--are just cute and random, like this piñata.

We display our Texan pride with this darling cowboy boot ornament, which are hung right in front of the somewhat camouflaged gift tucked beneath the branches.

We even managed to find a cheerleader to reminisce on my cheer glory days at MHS.

Just to prove I wasn't kidding about those seventeen stockings. And this doesn't even include my mom and dad. But Ty did make the cut, so I guess that's kind of cheating. Mimi does not mess around and made sure Quinn and Evan had their stockings in time for their first Christmas.

Here are my very own wrapped gifts for my parents and my sibling secret santa. What lies beneath the black & white wrapping and the glittery red bows will be revealed in the coming days.

Though I'm clearly partial to my own family's decorations, I think that's the best part of Christmas--the uniqueness within each family. As December 25th quickly approaches, I've concluded that what I look forward to most about the holidays are the traditions. The familiarity that comes with Christmas time, with both the people you're surrounded by and the routine that carries on from year to year. Though it's a holiday celebrated by many, we all have our own unique way of doing things. And as our family expands, the thrill of Santa continues, keeping the Christmas spirit alive and well, and keeping us all young at heart as we join together to celebrate what really is the most wonderful time of the year.