Low key holiday traditions

There are a lot about the holidays that are NOT low key no matter how I try.  Decorations, for instance.  We can choose to decorate minimally but it is pretty useless because once you step outside the bubble of your home, you are positively bombarded with decorations and light up gew gaws everywhere.  So decorations are a big thing for us and we just try and make sure most are not of the breakable variety.

Food.  We can't seem to get through the holidays without 27 dozen cookies.  While we give away a vast amount of those to family and friends (EXTENDED FAMILY who don't live in this house!) a lot go in our tummies too.

Music.  K and I adore the music of the season.  It is everywhere anyway, so we embrace it in our home as well.

But to avoid the gimmes and try and slow the pace, one of our family traditions is creating a mural on the wall of our dining room. We put up a double row of craft paper and Kirsty who is immensely talented  sketches it out. The kids help with details like making bricks for the chimney of a house, decorating a tree, shingles for a roof, etc.

I have found a few pictures from the past to give an idea of what we do.

I can't find anything from 2006, I know we took pictures but something went awry and they were not saved.  This is a picture from Elisabeth's first birthday 12/16/06  You can see a bit of the mural in the background of the shot.  There was a big painted tree and K cleverly adorned it with lights that really lit up.

This was part of 2008's mural.  A faux fire place. The kids did the bricks and then Kirsty glued them on and painted the "grout" and did the rest of the scene.  Somewhere in there was a window with Rudolph peeking in but I don't have a picture that shows that part.  Obviously I am a sloppy photojournalist!

This year the kids' vision was of Santa's sleigh being pulled over a house top.  Kirsty has the scene roughed out and the sleigh done.  Actually she has done considerably more since this picture was taken earlier today.

One of the mural helpers hard at work!Paint is supposed to go on the PAPER?  Now you tell me! See KC?  Like this, says Lissa!

So anyway, more memories are being made and I will post pictures of the finished mural when it is done.