How to store your Christmas decors

It is a bit of a sad occasion when it's time to put away those glitzy Christmas decors, right? But that's something we have to do.

I usually ask the girls to help me so they would have the chance to say goodbye to the holiday season. And because I wanted this to be as special as putting up the decorations.

Here's what we do?

- I would usually line up the sturdy boxes that I have collected and labeled accordingly
- We'd collecting the decors in one room, until we reach the last destination which would be the Christmas tree
- To avoid tangled Christmas lights, try the empty kitchen rolls trick.
- Wrap the breakable pieces in newspapers or tissues, if you werent able to keep their original packaging which is really recommended
- We'd start putting together the related items re: Christmas balls and other Christmas tree decors together; wrappers and ribbons together, etc
- For bigger items, such as our Christmas teddy's; we've kept their plastic covers to avoid dust.
- What we do with our gift wrappers and ribbons? We put them together in one bin.
- For our Christmas tree, it is collected by the volunteer fire brigade that would be turned into compost
- And last yet the most significant, toth girls would have their turn in taking down the star of Bethlehem on top of the tree - that's a tradition already

first IC

and then MC

And now the decors are out, MC suddenly turned to me and said, 'Mama, wow, there's a lot of space to play where the tree used to be.'

Red, red wine

Pula = Red

Isang araw na pumunta kami sa isang vineyard. Unang inalok ang aking si IC ng 'pulang vino'. Tuwang tuwa namang tumango ang bata. Kasi daw nauhaw na sya sa biyahe. Tungga agad.

We visited a vineyard and IC got the first taste of the 'red wine'. She said she's very thirsty because of the long drive.

At isa pa raw. Halata ba sa kanyang mga labi? Huwag mag alala. Hindi pulang vino na nakakalasing ang ibinigay sa kanya. Kundi ang kanilang espesyal na brand na 'kinderwein' (pang batang vino). Ito ay gawa sa purong katas ng espesyal na ubas.

After the first glass, she asked for more. Look at her red lips as a result. But dont worry, she got the 'kinderwein' ( wine for kids ); which is a juice made from a special grape sort.

Get the kids 'snow' busy

And we thought it would be another no 'snow' winter. In our place, winter is really mild; thus, we tend to drive to the mountains to experience the snow. Yet this year, especially for the past few days -- it was really freezing!

In fact, as I am writing this down, it's -10 degrees already! I told my husband am not looking anymore, or else I'd freeze on my seats just thinking about it!

And what about the girls? Well, snow is fun! They got up early, ate a hearty breakfast and dressed up without any dramas as they were afraid that our neighbor would be shoveling the snow in front of our walkway before they got out.

Then I got the kids' 'snow' busy with such things as:

1. They shoveled with glee, but only in one area. I had to drag them to another area :) The trick is, we have two kiddie shovels for them ready.

2. A chance to run around in the garden, especially to check the koi pond that's covered in snow. 'Mama, would our kois freeze?' asked IC. I told them no as Papa's got a tube on top of it that would help air circulate.

3. Snow ball fights, as long as nobody cries :D

4. Sledding, we've a good slope on the way to the garden. They should only stop before reaching the sharp needles of MC's tree (Chilean fir tree).

5. Creating snow angels, and this, despite the fact that the girls hate to have wet hairs! All for the snow fun, of course.

6. We also walked around the neighborhood, umm, simply hearing the crunch of the snow beneath our shoes! But for IC, she had to collect her ball of snows around the neighborhood, promising to come back for them later :D

7. And yes, I pulled the sled on the streets with the girls laughter in the air. Just be careful when you do this, our street isnt a busy street.

8. Snow man! Small snow men are now guarding our street :D

Oh, and make sure the kids are warmly dressed, with the whole gear.

And afterwards, as we dont have a shoe rack for dirty, wet boots -- I prepared a newspaper towel to leave those wet boots to dry. What else did I prepare? Warm tea and a big lunch, snow fun creates big appetites, too.