"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." -Buddy the Elf

43 Days Until Christmas

     Hello! Welcome to my blog, The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year! My name is Rachel Merry, and I have a very great love for Christmas.  I love Christmas because it is all about love, joy, giving, and most importantly, the birth of Jesus! It is my hope that through this blog you will also be inspired to spread the true meaning of Christmas.  It is so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle and forget what Christmas is really about.  (Don't be that person. :))   I'll be sharing things like recipes, crafts, and all of the things that my family will be doing to celebrate this wonderful time of year! 

Here's one idea to get you spreading the Christmas spirit that a friend shared with me:
http://courtneydefeo.com/light-em-up-2013/

Light 'Em Up is all about spreading joy and kindness by doing random acts of kindness throughout your community.  A good way to get this going in your own family (you can also go out and do these things with a group of your friends!) is to sit down and make a list of the things you would like to do.  Then make a jar with all of your ideas inside, and pick a new one every day! There is a list of ideas on the link above from Courtney Defeo's blog, but you can of course make your own great list! A few things that I've written down on ours so far includes:

1. Taking cookies and hot chocolate to the gate guards (we live on a military base)
2. Putting a gift in the mailbox for the mailman  
3. "You've been elfed!" (This is similar to when you get "Boo'd" on Halloween.)  You bake a pie or cookies or any festive treat you like and print a sign like this:

and then you just take it to an unsuspecting neighbors house, ring the door bell, and run like the wind! Then your neighbor will answer their door, (and be totally surprised, because this is a fun thing that not enough people know about!!!) and BAM! They've been hit with some good ol' Christmas cheer! Mission accomplished! 

     As I am writing this it started snowing outside! THE FIRST SNOW OF THE YEAR! It's sticking and everything! It's time to break out your boots! Bring out the hats! Put on your coats! Make some hot chocolate! Play Christmas music! (I'm listening to the Elf soundtrack, a favorite of mine) Start spreading joy! I know we haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving yet, but it is never to early to start spreading joy.  (Hopefully you've been spreading joy all year long, because joy is not meant to be a seasonal thing!! :)) Thank you for reading! I hope you've gotten some good ideas and I hope you'll share yours with me!

Check back soon for more! 

Rachel Merry