It began around 11pm on the 31st of October… we all started giving each other sideways glances because we all knew what the other was thinking… are we really going to switch to Christmas at the stroke of midnight? The answer was a resounding “yes!” We all slept hard after partying even harder with family and friends to Monster Mash and the likes, and woke with an excitement only the holidays seems to bring. I sent out a text to most of my family and friends with funny memes and one singular message, “It’s CHRISTMAS!!”
I don’t know if you still get excited about the holiday season, but at the House of Valentina, it’s sacred. For us, it’s a time to celebrate with our loved ones with a childlike enthusiasm. We don’t hold back. We run headlong into the season with a peppermint mocha in one hand and a freshly baked cookie in the other!
Even as our kids have gotten older, we still celebrate like they are little. It’s never been about the presents for us. When the kids were little we didn’t have a lot of money to spend on gifts, so we’d wrap up their favorite cookies and maybe a new outfit and a toy or two. We’d stuff their stockings with toothpaste and essentials that would get them through until their birthdays and they were always thrilled! Even socks seem more exciting when you pull them from a stocking with a flourish of excitement!
You’ll find us spending loads of time in the kitchen baking together this time of year, watching festive movies and cuddling by the fire with hot cocoa. To us, that is the ultimate gift of the season- Time together is the most precious of all life’s gifts!
I was thinking about all of that today as I danced around the house while Jack tried to keep up with the whirlwind. We put up the trees and even managed to get the wreath hung (without Jack falling off the ladder though I really thought it unlikely since he was clinging to it for dear life! Haha)
In the next few days we will be sharing loads of tips and tricks for how to create elegance and warmth with your holiday decor. We’ve got recipes and gift guides and so many fun things to share, but we hope, more than anything, that the childlike magic will be felt in every one of our words and actions because that has always been and will forever be what we love the very most about this time of year. xxV
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