Merry Christmas!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday today with their family and friends! 

10 Movies to Watch on Christmas Eve

Its Christmas Eve everyone! I hope that all of my readers are exactly where they want to be today. Unfortunately, my husband is spending the day at work, but he gets off early and has all Christmas day to spend with Zander and I. So, I feel as if we are truly blessed in so many ways as a family.

I like to take time on Christmas Eve to just hang out with my family and watch a few of our favorite Christmas movies together. Now that we have a baby, I see how important these traditions are going to be in just a few years, and I can't wait to share my favorite movies with my little man.

10 Christmas Movies to Watch on Christmas Eve 

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas: This is by far my favorite movie. I watch it for Christmas and Halloween every year. Also, its perfect for children of all ages to watch and enjoy. 
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with Jim Carey): I absolutely love this movie. Jim Carey is always so funny and brings a whole new feel to this timeless Christmas classic.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the cartoon): 
4. A Christmas Carol: This movie based off of the classic Christmas story of the same name. Its definitely a must for any Christmas lover. 
5. A Christmas Story: I LOVE this movie! I can remember my first time watching this movie: "You'll shoot your eye out kid!" Plus, I have always wanted that girlie leg lamp.
6. Arthur Christmas: This is a new movie on my list but it looks absolutely amazing! 
7. The Santa Clause: Tim Allen makes an amazing and totally funny Santa is this great Christmas movie! 
8. Elf: Will Ferrell makes the perfect Christmas elf with tons of enthusiasm for the holiday season. 
9. Miracle on 34th Street: This is actually my mom's absolute favorite Christmas movie. So, when I was a kid, we would stay up and watch this movie every Christmas Eve. 
10. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: I just love watching this poor family and their crazy antics. 

What are some of your favorite Christmas movies? Feel free to leave all of your wonderful comments in the section below because I love hearing from all of my readers! 

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Printable Christmas Gift Tags

Good morning everyone! I hope that everyone is all ready to celebrate Christmas with their family or friends on Thursday! I know that I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and showing off my handsome little man.

Today, I'm going to share with you some printable Christmas gift tags that I made for my own gifts this year. I hope that some of you can use these!

Grab Your Own Printable Christmas Gift Tags Below

Grab your own printable gift tag here.

Grab your own printable gift tag here. 

How to Get These Free Printable Gift Tags

• Right click the images above or click on the links above and save to your computer.
• Open gift tag in a Microsoft Word document and size to your desired height.
• Print.
• Decorate your gifts.

Do you like decorating your Christmas presents with unique decorations? Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or personal stories in the section below. I love reading all of your comments! 

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DIY Christmas Gifts

Happy Monday everyone! Christmas is Thursday and I'm happy to say that I have all of my shopping and wrapping done. For once, I had everything done weeks in advance so I'm pretty happy with myself. Do you have all of your shopping and wrapping done?

DIY Christmas Gifts

Every year I make all of the gifts that I give out by hand. I always try to make things that everyone can use. And honestly, there's nothing more useful than food. If you're stuck on what to get that special someone, here are the presents I made this year. These DIY dip mixes are not only easy to make but delicious as well.

Grab your printable label here.

Garlic 'N Chives Mix

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 2 tsp minced onions
• 4 tsp dried chives

How to Make This Mix

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Place ingredients in an air tight bag.
3. Print out, cut out, and staple label to bag.

Grab your printable label here.

Veggie Dip Mix

• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp dill weed
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tbs chives

How to Make This Mix

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Place ingredients in an air tight bag.
3. Print out, cut out, and staple label to bag.

Grab your printable label here.

Italian Dip Mix

• 2 ½ tsp celery seeds
• 2 ½ tsp paprika
• 2 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 ½ tsp onion powder
• 2 ½ tsp paprika

How to Make This Mix

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Place ingredients in an air tight bag.
3. Print out, cut out, and staple label to bag.

Do you get your Christmas shopping done way before Christmas or do you wait to the last minute? If you are an early bird, do you have any tips or tricks that you'd like to share? Leave any questions, comments, or personal stories in the section below! I love reading your comments.

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Five Christmas Home Decor Ideas

Christmas is just around the corner. Seriously, we've only got twenty-three days left until the sleigh bells start ringing. Its kind of hard to believe that Christmas is so close and I have yet to finish anything Christmas related! I plan on making all of my Christmas gifts in the next week or so. I'll be sharing all of my DIY gift ideas over the next few weeks with you guys.

Five Ways to Decorate Your Home for Christmas

Do you decorate your house for Christmas? Over the past few years, I have not decorated my house, but with a new baby in the house I feel like I am obligated to make his first Christmas the best it can be. Here are some tips that I have incorporated to share the holiday spirit in my house.

Decorate Your Tree

Over the past few years I have put up a tree, but I never really put much thought into it. This year is different. I am making a number of tree ornaments that go along with my tree theme. Next week, I will share my tree theme with you guys (hint: its a book and a movie!). There are several ways that you can decorate your tree: themes, colors, or just do whatever you want. Decorating the tree was my favorite holiday tradition and I hope that Zander loves it just as much as I do.

Hang the Stockings with Care

I don't actually have a mantle to hang our stockings on, but I do have a cute window that will work perfectly. I'm not sure what I'm going to fill a newborn's stocking with but at least he has one and that is what really counts!

Nutcrackers

Nutcrackers remind me of the great holiday play The Nutcracker- three guesses why. I have always, always, always loved nutcrackers. I even have a small collection that I have been hoarding for years and years.

Snow Globes 

I've never been one for snow globes. I mean, I'm clumsy and anything that is made out of glass and filled with water just seems dangerous. But, there are less fragile versions of this old favorite tradition that doesn't cost anything and is more durable that other options.

Spread Cheer with Family and Friends

Let's face it, the holidays are meant to be spent with family and friends. So, the best way to decorate your home for the holiday season is to spend time with the people that you love the most. And most importantly, have fun and enjoy your time with your loved ones.

What are your favorite ways to decorate your home for the holiday season? Leave your replies, comments, and personal favorites in the section below! 

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Free Printable Letter to Santa

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that everyone enjoys their weekend!


Today, I want to share with everyone a free Christmas printable. Since my little guy is too little to actually write a letter to Santa this year, I will share this printable letter to Santa with him later on. But for now, your little ones will be able to enjoy this cute printable and write all of their wishes to Santa out!

Grab Your Free Printable Letter to Santa Below

Grab Your Free Printable Letter to Santa here.

How to download this printable:

1. Right click on the link above and save the image to your computer.
2. Open the image in a Word Document.
3. Print out as many images as you need!
4. Have your children write down everything that they want from Santa. 

Do you still let your children write to Santa? Feel free to leave your comments and personal stories in the comment section below!

Do you want to see more of Methodical Living? Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Also, if you need help organizing that one room in your house or need an organizing solution feel free to email me at methodicalliving@yahoo.com. 

What's Your Christmas Tree Decoration Personality?

Decorating the Christmas tree has always been one of my favorite traditions. I absolutely love picking through boxes of decorations to find the ones that perfectly represent how I'm feeling about the holidays that season. My family has had these same wooden ornaments since my mom was little and they are my absolute favorite. I hope that one day, my son has fond memories of sorting through boxes of ornaments and finding his favorites to hang on the tree. 

Classic

This tree is the one that I grew up with for the entirety of my childhood. The classic tree is just that: classic. You can pick out your favorite ornaments, lights, and ribbons for your tree. Honestly, none of the decorations do not even have to match if you don't want them too.

Theme

I have personally never done a theme tree, but I am trying my hand at this particular tree this year. This holiday season I plan on decorating an Alice in Wonderland themed tree. A themed tree is perhaps my favorite type of tree because you can do anything you want to do. I came up with a great plan on reading a fantasy novel to my son and decorating a themed tree each year during the holiday season. Next year, I plan on creating a Narnia tree!

Color

Color trees are extremely popular. My aunt has stuck with her color tree (in white) for years. They're always in style and can match your personality perfectly. Just pick your favorite color and decorate away. You can even do an ombre effect and use different shades of the same color to get a different look.

Mini Tree

A lot of people do not have the space to incorporate an entire Christmas tree into their homes; so, a miniature tree is used to add a bit of whimsy to their living spaces. These can be really fun to decorate while tiny ornaments and other decorations! Also, I love the idea of using miniature trees to decorate smaller rooms and add more pizzazz to your house for the holidays.

What is your Christmas tree decoration personality and some of the traditions that you do each and every year? I love learning more about my readers so leave all of your comments in the section below and I will answer as soon as possible! 

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