It sure doesn’t feel like Christmas around here. I believe this is for few reasons.

1. This is our first year in KY, so there is an adjustment that occurs to learning holidays in a new place.

2. It has been very rare for Tom and I to be together for the holidays. Actually there has only been one other year (out of 7) that we will be together the WHOLE time for Christmas. It just is what it is…

3. There has not been snow. Ice, yes, but “play in it and build snowman” snow, no. This was my December last year.

4. I didn’t realize how much my “inner” schedule was dictated by the residence hall schedule. I have not done a hall closing/opening since May, so it’s just been a continuous semester for me. I am used to having this huge hooplah of getting thousands of students out of my “house” and then hibernating for days. Not so much this year.

5. I haven’t bought a single Christmas present…Talk about being behind! Ugh.

6. We only have two Christmas decorations out. Growing up, my step-mom started decorating elaborate-gorgeous-magazine-like scenes once November hit, and my mom listened to Christmas music for months straight along with the Lifetime-like Christmas movies before Lifetime was a thing. So only having two things out is really sad when I start to think about it.

I talked about the wreath a few days ago, and how we didn’t want to get out all of our stuff due to traveling. I cannot wait until we are forever stationary because I am really looking forward to having roots for the holiday season.

Anyway, so we have the wreath, and one more item.

I bought these jingle bells last year when Hobby Lobby was having their Christmas blow out/whatever. I think they were like a dollar or two.

So they have been sitting in my “to make” craft box for a whole year. So I figured it was something simple to put up and provide us some holiday happiness.

Supplies Needed for Jingle Tree

• jingle bells (I had 6 containers, but I only used about 4.)
• cardboard tree
• one big ornament
• glue gun

Sorry the pictures aren’t the best quality. This was the night when we tried getting the sewing machine to work, and our first attempts at the wreath. So we were not happy craft campers. This was an attempt to save my crafting sanity with an “easy craft.”

First I sorted out the colors and figured out a “pattern” I would follow. The pattern didn’t last too long because I realized I had more green and red than the other colors. Thanks packaging guys.

I just hot glued them row by row. I put them as close together as I could.
You can see the wreath debacle over there….

You can see the cardboard still. You could add garland or tinsel in the middle, but I was too lazy/cheap to get those. And it doesn’t look bad without it. I think if I had it in a brighter room, I would think differently and would want the extra bling in the cracks.

In the wreath adventure, I had broken one of these disco balls. However, it worked out nicely that it fit perfectly on top of this tree. So I just glued it on top. Perfect topper!

So there you have it, now you have seen the two decorations in the Whitener household. Someday it will be different, but for now we are traveling holiday experiencers.